United States Eventing Association

From his first outing at the Novice level in 2020 to his last outing of the 2021 season at the Hagyard Midsouth Three-Day Event at the CCI2*-L level, Ocala Horse Properties’ 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse Gelding Shanroe Cooley (Dallas x Shanroe Sapphire) amassed 15 wins, never placed out of the top three, and continues to boast a spotless cross-country jumping record. With Liz Halliday-Sharp in the tack, the young gelding’s consistency was rewarded by being named the 2021 USEA Preliminary Horse of the Year and the USEA 6-Year-Old Preliminary Horse of the Year.

The Turner family’s 16-year-old Anglo European mare On Cue (Cabri d’Elle x On High) has had no shortage of headlines written about her recently. Her 2021 season with 2021 World Equestrian Brands USEA Rider of the Year Boyd Martin can be summed up in one word: impressive. Out of the mare’s six official outings in 2021, On Cue brought home five top-five finishes with four of those being international placings.

When James and Helen Alliston saw the chestnut Canadian Warmblood yearling Nemesis (Novalis 46 x Maesy) online, they decided to take a bit of a gamble and purchase the young horse sight unseen from his breeder Danielle Burgess in Kamloops, British Columbia. They never imagined that their calculated risk would pay off when several years later Nemesis would be named the 2021 USEA 7-Year-Old Intermediate Leaderboard Champion.

Young rider Alexandra Baugh has had a stand-out year by anyone’s account. The 20-year-old athlete is not only competing horses at the two, three, and four-star levels, but she also earned herself the title of 2021 RevitaVet USEA Young Rider of the Year. Baugh is based out of Lexington, Kentucky with her four top mounts and was the runner-up of the same title the year prior, but her successes with this year’s team proved unbeatable. Her string includes Altorac Farm's 15-year-old Holsteiner gelding Mr Candyman (Canto x Mantara), her own 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding I Spye (Harlequin du Carel x Lambardos Corner), Altorac Farm's 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding MHS Fernhill Finale (Verdi x MHS Ryans Daughter), and Altorac Farm's 9-year-old Selle Francais gelding Dogano de L’Oiseliere (Ogano Sitte x Joly Star).

The life of an adult amateur is never easy. Between balancing school or work with riding, and factoring in all of life’s other responsibilities, it can be quite a challenge. This year’s USEA Adult Amateur of the Year Award winner Katie Lichten of Hamilton, Massachusetts is no stranger to the dedication required to make all of those scales balance equally. As an active student in the business school at the University of Virginia and a four-star eventer, Lichten often finds herself juggling a handful of roles and responsibilities as she pursues her degree in IT and Business Analytics as well as a upcoming transition to professional rider.

Earning the title of World Equestrian Brands USEA Rider of the Year is a huge honor, but earning it five times is a testament to a lot of hard work, exceptional horses, supportive owners, a great team, and a whole lot of grit. The 2021 World Equestrian Brands USEA Rider of the Year winner, Boyd Martin, has all of that and more, leading him to earn this title for the fifth time in his career.

In the sport of eventing, it is not often common to see a stallion present among the hustle and bustle typically characteristic of an event. Upon first sight, you might never realize that Isselhook’s First Sight TSF, also affectionately referred to as Goody, is a stallion based on his demeanor. The 7-year-old Trakehner stallion (Lossow x Fuenflinden) thinks he is just another one of the guys, according to rider Alex Green, who says she is constantly impressed with his demeanor. After putting in consistent performances during the 2021 season, Goody earned the title of the 2021 SmartPak USEA Stallion of the Year.

Tamie Smith’s year has been nothing short of action-packed as she packed up all 25 of her competition horses and made her way to the East Coast for the first part of the year before hopping on a jet to Tokyo where she served as the U.S. team reserve for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She then stayed overseas and competed abroad for a little while before returning home to the West Coast. While this year has been full of opportunities to show, her aspirations are bigger than just competition. The 2021 Bates USEA Lady Rider of the Year has been full steam ahead chasing goals in both her riding career as well as in her impact on the sport’s future.

Sidnee Milner and My Valentine did not become partners out of sheer coincidence. The pony and rider combination that took home the 2021 SmartPak USEA Pony of the Year award were a product of the thoughtfulness and generosity of family friend and trainer Tawn Edwards. Milner was, at the time, a young and inexperienced child rider looking for a partner to teach her the ropes of eventing; My Valentine was a well-seasoned eventing pony who knew the job of advancing young riders well and was looking for her next partner. Over their three-year relationship, the duo have accumulated various ribbons and accolades together with 2021 being the most impressive of their seasons thus far.

This year, the 2021 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention will host a full-day educational show jumping design clinic on Wednesday, December 8 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Led by the well-known show jumping course designer, Chris Barnard, this seminar will be educational for any USEA member interested in learning more about the show jumping courses. Read below for more information.