From horse trials in her home state of California where she prepared herself and her horses to take on the best in the nation and around the world to five-star events overseas where she represented the United States on some of eventing’s biggest stages, Tamie Smith had a remarkable season and finished 2022 as the Bates USEA Lady Rider of the Year for the second year in a row.
TerraNova Equestrian Center in Myakka City, Florida, held its first CCI4*-S competition in the fall of 2021 and is now gearing up for the location’s third-ever FEI event and inaugural spring event this weekend during The Event at TerraNova which takes place March 30-April 2.
Are you following along with the action from home this weekend? Or maybe you're competing at an event and need information fast. Either way, we’ve got you covered! Check out the USEA’s Weekend Quick Links for links to information including the prize list, ride times, live scores, and more for all the events running this weekend.
Many riders across all levels have found that working with young horses has provided them with the most valuable experiences in eventing. The opportunities for young event horses have never been more exciting. The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse East Coast and West Coast Championships continue to grow in profile as the culmination of a calendar of qualifying events is expanding to more areas of the country. More American riders and their young horses are aiming for the FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championships at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion D’Angers, France, particularly thanks to programs like the Holekamp/Turner YEH Lion d’Angers Grant. That’s become one of the most attended sporting events in the entire country. It’s given young event horses from the United States a chance to represent the growth of the American eventing community’s dedication to properly developing talent in the sport.
Galway Downs International Horse Trials, held in picturesque Temecula, California, will host the West Coast’s top riders this weekend as they prepare for their spring three-days, along with horse trials divisions from Advanced through Beginner Novice. This year features record turnout, with 320 entries across all divisions.
The Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International featured a strong group of experienced pairs in the marquee CCI4*-S division, and by the end of the competition, held March 16-19 in Raeford, North Carolina, the top-10 was packed with several five-star veterans and Advanced level winners.
Mary Bess Davis wasn’t exactly expecting to find her name in the mix with Imperio Magic, as she’d just moved her 9-year-old Anglo European gelding (Cassender C x Khadija Des Hayettes) up to Advanced last fall, but by the end of the weekend, the pair had made one of the biggest leaps up the scoreboard from 23rd after dressage to finish 10th.
Waredaca is launching a new program to honor its dear friend and supporter, the late Jimmy Wofford. The Waredaca Eventing Education Foundation (WEEF), a 501(c)(3) charity, was formed with the mission to support eventing education at Waredaca Farm. The Foundation's first project is the creation of The Jimmy Wofford Legacy Fund to promote eventing education.
USEA Podcast host Nicole Brown catches up with USEF Eventing Technical Advisor and Chef d'Equipe and USEF Eventing Elite Program and Team Facilitator Max Corcoran to talk about building towards the future and what is to come for U.S. eventing in 2023 and beyond.
One of my passions is continuing to be a good student, because I think no matter how old I get, there are multiple reasons learning new things inspires me. First and foremost, it helps me be a better rider and trainer, so my horses benefit. Second, it helps me be a better teacher by exposing me to different ways to have a relationship with a horse or a student.
This month we’re going to begin a three-part series on how to create positive riding experiences by making sure the words you say to yourself and the thoughts you think to yourself are positive. Referred to as self-talk, internal dialogue, or brain babble; the words you say to yourself can have a huge impact on your performance. In fact, your thoughts and voice are actually considered behaviors, and just like how positive physical behaviors (i.e. a balanced transition) can create success, your verbal behaviors can also accomplish the very same thing. So let's spend the next few months talking about how to talk to yourself!
Being spontaneous has paid off for Kevin Keane and Sportsfield Candy. “I bought him on a Wednesday and showed him on a Thursday,” Keane recalls about his first event with his Irish Sport Horse gelding, then 9 years old, at Plantation Field Horse Trials (Unionville, Pennsylvania) in September 2016. “I owned him for part of a day, and the next morning I showed up at a CCI and jogged him up for a two-star, and we went clean and clean and clean.”