United States Eventing Association

USEA podcast host Nicole Brown is joined by Dr. Barry Miller of the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab and Catherine Winter of Ride EquiSafe for an important, informative, and engaging discussion about helmet safety. For more than a decade, the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab has investigated helmets in football, cycling, equestrian sports, and more, collecting more than 2 million data points related to injury and biomechanics research.

Communication is defined as the imparting or exchanging of information or news. Life with event horses often requires a great deal of information to be exchanged. From basic care to facility announcements, lesson schedules, competition plans, coordination of appointments with veterinarians, farriers, and body work professionals, there’s no shortage of information flying around.

The German Training Scale (GTS) is a system of evaluating and prioritizing the way of going of the horse in work and should be used to determine where you start your daily program. The Familiarization Phase of rhythm and relaxation are followed by the Developing of Propulsion Phase introducing connection and impulsion with straightness and collection in the Development of Carrying Power. The clearer the basics of rhythm, relaxation, and connection are established, the easier impulsion, straightness, and collection can be added.

The last three years have been a time of great change throughout the country for homes, businesses and industries. Rising costs of living, shrinking of assistance and changes in demographics have affected so much of our world, and that includes the equine industry. However, not all of the changes are easy to identify. This is why the American Horse Council (AHC), together with the U.S. Equestrian Federation, has kicked off what could be one of the biggest studies in more than 50 years with the 2023 National Economic Impact Study (EIS) for the equine industry.

The U.S. Eventing Association (USEA) Board of Governors (BOG) recently approved a change to the USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) levels.

In 2021, the ECP, then known as the Instructors Certification Program, changed levels to align with FEI competition levels. Since then, the ECP Committee has learned that having certification levels that included more than one competition level was making it difficult for coaches to achieve eligibility to obtain certification at Level I and II due to the requirement that a coach have at least three students competing at the top level of certification.

Nottingham IPH has refinement. He possesses a nice fine tail hair and coat and an interesting shape. He is a little in two parts—what’s in front of the shoulder and what’s behind. I’d prefer to see his near fore forwards by 6"-8” and hind feet the same apart as the front to achieve an ‘open stance.' The camera angle should be square to the girth. His stance in this photo suggests a rather straight shoulder and a straight hind leg. Interestingly, a straight shoulder often accompanies a straight hind leg. There must be a reason, but I don’t know it!

Being a successful eventer involves so much more than riding the three phases of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Joan Simmons, a founding member of what is now the USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) and a Level III USEA ECP Certified Coach, shared her thoughts about how, more than riding, horsemanship is the foundation of a successful eventing partnership.

The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is happy to announce that long-time partner American Regent Animal Health, makers of Adequan® i.m. (polysulfated glycosaminoglycan), will continue their support of the USEA in 2023. Adequan® will return as “The Official Joint Therapy Treatment of the USEA,” the Title Sponsor of the $60,000 Adequan® USEA Advanced Final and a Contributing Sponsor of the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC). The $60,000 Adequan® USEA Advanced Final will take place during the 2023 AEC at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, this Aug. 29 through Sept. 3.

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Eventing Watch List ("Watch List”) program has undergone a review and, as a result, the process has been updated. The Watch List is comprised of USEF and/or USEA members competing in the U.S. who have been identified as displaying potentially dangerous or unsafe riding during warm-up or any phase at a USEF Eventing Licensed Competition, received an FEI Eventing Recorded Warning or Yellow Card for Dangerous Riding at any FEI event, been penalized at a national competition for Dangerous Riding, or received a Yellow Warning card for Dangerous Riding at a national competition. The goal of the Watch List is to improve rider safety and provide licensed officials (Technical Delegates and Ground Jury) the opportunity to observe athletes at future events.

Putting 70-plus eventing coaches and instructors in a room and asking them to share their opinions and experiences could be considered the definition of organized chaos. But at the 2022 and 2023 Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) Educational Symposiums, the resulting thoughtful and creative discussion has become a popular educational segment of the symposium, the fruits of which will be helpful to coaches and students alike.