United States Eventing Association

2025 ECP Symposium, Hosted by Galway Downs, Moves West on Jan. 14-16

The United States Eventing Associations’ (USEA) Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) is pleased to announce the dates and location of the upcoming 2025 USEA ECP Symposium, hosted by Galway Downs. The annual ECP Symposium, which is typically held in the southeast U.S., will be moving West next year to further open the door to education to a wider audience of interested candidates. The symposium will now be hosted on Jan. 14-16, at Galway Downs in Temecula, California.

You may be thinking this event is only for eventing coaches, but you don’t have to be an ECP Certified Coach to attend! This three-day immersive educational experience is recommended for anyone who is interested in learning more about coaching for the sport, including current coaches, riders, parents, owners, avid supporters, and more. Registration is open now, so click here to submit your application today.

The ECP focuses on honing the evaluation skills of coaches at all levels by identifying the correct, incremental steps of progression needed for each individual horse and rider combination. Since no two combinations are exactly alike, it is imperative that coaches at every level can accurately evaluate what is in front of them and meet that horse/rider combination where they are now.

Again in 2025, the ECP Symposium, hosted by Galway Downs, will be run in a working group format, which provides a highly interactive learning experience for all involved. Attendees will be broken into small groups and asked to evaluate horse and rider demonstrations presented at the venue with the goal of honing their "eye." After each demonstration, the small groups will work together to discuss and identify four key criteria: (1) current skills and/or level of the demo horse and rider, (2) issues or areas of improvement, (3) underlying causes, if any, and (4) prioritization of next steps. The event moderator will then call on various groups to share their ideas with the intent of identifying common themes and innovative ideas.

Gathering coaches with various knowledge and expertise, from those with experience teaching lower level beginner riders all the way up to Advanced professionals, is an enriching opportunity that provides a safe space to discuss and debate training techniques, teaching skills, and increments of progression among peers. It's been evident in recent years that each level of ECP certified coach has lessons to be learned from one another. Riders have also been enlightened about their own struggles and successes when asked to view different situations from the training-progression perspective.

In addition to the hands-on educational opportunities, several well-known professionals in the industry will be brought in, either in-person or virtually, to speak to attendees on their areas of expertise. In the past, these speakers have ranged from sports psychologists to Olympic level eventing judges, and more! Stay tuned for announcements on the event schedule and presenters in the coming months.

Registration for the 2025 ECP Symposium, hosted by Galways Downs on Jan. 14-16 is open now! Current ECP Certified Coaches and/or USEF Licensed Officials can attend the event for the discounted daily fee of $60 per day or the full event fee of $180. The public is also welcome to attend, and their rates are $100 per day or $300 for the full event. Boxed lunches are also available for purchase in single day or full event increments on the registration form. Advanced registration is greatly appreciated, so click here to submit today.

If you have any questions about the ECP Symposium, hosted by Galways Downs or the ECP, please contact Nancy Knight, Senior Director of Education, at [email protected].

About the USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP)

Coaches are essential to the training of riders and horses for safe and educated participation in the sport of eventing. The USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP), formerly known as the Instructors’ Certification Program (ICP), was initiated in 2002 to educate all levels of eventing coaches with crucial training principles upon which they can continue to build throughout their teaching careers. ECP offers educational workshops and assessments by which both regular coaches, Level I through Level V, Young Event Horse (YEH) coaches, and Young Event Horse professional horse trainers can become ECP certified. Additional information about ECP’s goals, benefits, workshops, and assessments as well as names and contact information for current ECP certified coaches, YEH coaches, and YEH professional horse trainers are available on the USEA website. Click here to learn more about the USEA Eventing Coaches Program.

The USEA would like to thank Galway Downs, Parker Equine Insurance, the United States Pony Clubs, and Strider for their support of the Eventing Coaches Program.