United States Eventing Association

With 850 competitors on the roster, putting on this year’s USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds was no easy task. And like all other horse trials in the U.S., the AEC still relies heavily on the efforts of volunteers to bring its efforts to fruition. Over 750 volunteer shifts were filled over the course of the 7-day-long competition by an outstanding 300-plus volunteers. Those volunteers hailed from all over the country, with 30% of the final volunteer number driving in from out of state. Eventing enthusiasts flew in from each coast to help make this event a special one for the qualified competitors this year. While on grounds, the USEA caught up with a handful of these spectacular individuals to get the down low on why they opted to volunteer at this year’s national championships.

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is ready to set our sights on the 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention in St. Louis, Missouri! On December 6-10, USEA members will come together at the “Gateway to the West” at the Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel to discuss, learn, and enjoy being surrounded by fellow eventing enthusiasts.

It was by mere accident that David Slagle stumbled upon the horse world and the sport of eventing. "I'm not a horse person," he said, "but I discovered the sport. Really, Elisa Wallace is responsible, as I just happened to be watching YouTube videos and came across her mustang training videos, which led me to her. She posts cross-country helmet cam videos, and I started watching those and thought, 'Man, that looks like fun.' I didn't know anything about the sport. I spent my first few years in Lexington, Kentucky, but I knew about racing, not eventing. And I saw these videos and said, I want to go to one of those events."

The last of five EA21 Regional Clinics just wrapped up, so what better way to get the scoop on the EA21 program than by chatting with some actual EA21 riders? This week USEA Podcast host Nicole Brown sits down with EA21 East Coast rider Camryn Chung, EA21 West Coast rider Kayla Dumler, and EA21 Central rider Emeline Gilbert to discuss the clinics, their biggest takeaways, the friendships they made along the way, and more.

Tuesday’s building blocks laid a strong foundation for riders to grow from on the second day of the USEA Emerging Athlete (EA21) East II Clinic, held at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina. Similarly to the first day, clinician Emily Beshear explained that her goal was to give riders a variety of tools for a variety of situations—some which might solve problems today, but others that may come in handy in the future.

The sport of eventing wouldn’t be possible without the amazing volunteers that donate their time to support competitions across the country all year long. As of July 14, a total of 38,040 hours have already been recorded through EventingVolunteers.com for 2023, and there is still much of the season left ahead. The Volunteer Incentive Program, which was formed in 2015, was created to recognize the USEA’s dedicated volunteers through national and area leaderboards which award year-end awards and prizes. Here are the volunteers that are currently topping the leaderboard for 2023!

Emily Beshear encouraged riders to get creative and think outside the box on the flat in the first day of the USEA Emerging Athlete (EA21) East II Clinic. Twelve hand-picked participants worked with Beshear, a USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) coach, at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina.

A good canter with a consistent rhythm was the key to success during day two at the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 (EA21) West II regional clinic at Aspen Farms in Yelm, Washington. During the morning lecture that kicked off the day's educational activities, Brown recounted a lesson that she was taught by U.S. show jumper and Olympic gold medalist, Joe Fargis, that "there is no smoke and mirrors in riding. If you sit on the horse well, the horse will go well. Simpler is better." Brown built on this theory throughout the rest of the day, consistently returning to the German training scale and reliance on the flatwork to find success over the fences.

This week, USEA Emerging Athletes U21 (EA21) and ECP Level IV coach, Rebecca Brown of Dallas, Texas, is back on the West coast at Aspen Farms in Yelm, Washington to teach twelve talented Young Riders at the EA21 West II Regional Clinic. Day one started with a dressage lecture from Brown, which focused on the German training scale and the varied uses of each part of the rider's body in communicating with their horse. These themes were then translated into the dressage lessons that followed throughout the morning.

The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) will be traveling to Area IV this Dec. 6-10 for the 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention in St. Louis, Missouri! Join us at the “Gateway to the West” to form bonds with fellow USEA members, participate in the governance of our sport and explore a city that is well-known for barbeque and blues.