United States Eventing Association

Do you want to break into the world of providing eventing commentary at events or brush up on your already-acquired skills? Legendary equestrian commentator John Kyle, who has been "the voice" of the Kentucky Three-Day Event live stream since 2014, has provided commentary for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, 2016 Rio Olympic Games, 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and is contracted to provide his services during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and so much more.

Kelly O’Brien has her eye on a prize. “Pretty much the rest of this season will be targeted towards getting fired up for the AEC,” says O’Brien, 54. She and B E Never Say Never, a 19-year-old Dutch Warmblood, have qualified for the 2024 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds already, thanks to decisively winning all three of their 2024 outings thus far.

What started as an opportunity to gain feedback from participants in an Adult Rider Camp, turned into something so much more and USEA Area VI Adult Rider Coordinator Sharl Talan is eager to share all that she gleaned from the experience with coaches and adult riders across the country.

Gretchen Butts grew up in the long-format era of eventing in the 1970s, completing the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2003 and 2004 and finishing one of the last long-format Burghley Horse Trials (England) in 2004 on her beloved Zydeco.

One of the best thing about our sport is that we all get to share it with the people who mean the most to us. Our friends and family have an open-ended invitation to watch our classes, clinics, and competitions; and our trainers, grooms, horse owners, and barn-mates are permanent fixtures at our most meaningful and memorable events.

For the past couple of years I’ve been moving through a confusing and disconcerting season of my career. I’ve spent my whole life fit (unless injured) and extremely active competing and training horses. A couple of years ago that all started to change with the slow onset of an illness that has taken away a lot of my ability to compete or ride at any level effectively.

It’s a while since we’ve engaged so it’s possibly a good time to press the "refresh" button! As the title suggests, good conformation can assist good soundness and, therefore, good longevity which is obviously in the best interests of both equine and human partners.

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to offer the USEA Adult Team Championships (ATC) at the upcoming USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds. The Adult Team Championships will be offered once again at the Beginner Novice, Novice, Training, Modified and Preliminary levels for members of the USEA Adult Rider Program.

Many years ago, I composed a document for my students called “The Building Blocks for Learning to Ride.” It covered the progressive stages of learning to ride, from sitting on a horse and holding the reins for the first time to jumping cavalletti and preparing for course work. Each step was numbered. I wrote it so that any student of mine who found themselves stuck, in a rut, or regressing could find where they were on this “Building Block” roadmap and then work backward through the previous blocks to see where they might have missed a step or needed to reconfirm a skill.

It may still be early in the season in most of the country, but it is never too early to start thinking about your path to qualification for the 2024 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds! This year, the AEC will return to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, on Aug. 27 through Sept. 1 for another exciting week of championship-level competition for every level of the sport of eventing. With the addition of Starter to the list of USEA-recognized levels, the AEC is going to be even more jam-packed with thrilling competition!