United States Eventing Association

With the Starter level now fully endorsed by the USEA, many competitors are taking advantage of competing at this level in hopes of accruing year-end points on the USEA leaderboard and securing their qualifications for the 2024 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds. For those who are new to competing with the USEA or new to the Starter level, we thought it would be beneficial to dedicate this month’s edition of Rule Refresher to all things Starter related!

One of the hottest topics in any equestrian industry is gut health. Attendees of the 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention were treated to a crash course in the equine digestive system led by Doug Leavitt and Alex Brannon with USEA sponsor Nutrena Feeds. Leavitt and Brannon talked in-depth about the role probiotics and calcite can play in gut and immune support in horses and how Nutrena’s newest proprietary blend, Digestive Shield, checks all of the boxes.

There are currently 48 states which are covered under the Equine Activity Liability Act. This act, which does not apply in the states of California or Maryland, shifts the burden of the risk involved in equine activities onto the participant. However, as USEA Board of Governor member and attorney Yvonne Ocrant pointed out during her seminar, “Equine Law 101: Understanding & Minimizing Risk of Liability in Equine Activities,” which took place during the 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention, there are always exceptions to every rule.

In recent years, the importance of diversity in equestrian sport has taken the spotlight, and Strides For Equality Equestrians (SEE) is working towards making all disciplines, including eventing, a more friendly and welcoming place for Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC), as well as underrepresented groups.

The USEA Foundation’s mission is to “protect and preserve the sport of eventing for future generations and to provide support for the core educational, safety, and equine welfare programs of the USEA.” The Foundation also administers educational grants for riders with the intent of preparing them to reach their goals. There are a variety of grants available to USEA members of all ages and experiences and for those who aren’t riders as well. Most grants come through individual donors who have a passion for a specific area of the sport.

Attendees of the 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention were in for a real treat with this year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Temple Grandin. Dr. Grandin is an icon in the worlds of agriculture and autism and is most notably known for applying her own experiences as an autistic individual to her studies on how stress impacts both humans and animals. In this year’s keynote address, Dr. Grandin shared several different scenarios encountered in both her studies and the studies of her animal science students at Colorado State University that apply to the equestrian community.

The last Olympic long-format was run in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, and the last Kentucky long-format was in 2005. After the transition to the current eventing format, the USEA Classic Three-Day Task Force was born in 2005 by supporters of the traditional format who felt that its influence on the sport was critical in the education of horses and riders.

Several rule change proposals were up for discussion during the Rule Change Open Forum at the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention, held Dec. 7-10 in St. Louis, Missouri. Malcolm Hook, member of the Competitions, Calendars, and Rules Committee (CCRC), moderated the discussion in front of a packed crowd on Saturday. There were 14 eventing-specific rule change proposals (RCP) and six general RCPs that have not yet been approved.

This year’s USEA Annual Meeting & Convention was a special week in St. Louis, Missouri. It included several days of celebration and education, including the year-end annual awards ceremony, as well as the Annual Meeting of Members with very special keynote presentation by Dr. Temple Grandin at the USEA luncheon. This week and weekend would not have been possible without the support of the many loyal partners of the USEA and the Convention.

The 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention came to a close on Sunday with the final USEA Board of Governors meeting. After the call to order, USEA Senior Director of Membership Services/Meeting Planner Jennifer Hardwick gave a brief overview of the annual meeting. There were 321 attendees and 220 who came to the awards dinner. Next year’s Annual Meeting & Convention will be held in Seattle, Washington, from Dec. 10-15 at the Westin Seattle.