The 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event is truly an eventing lover’s paradise with four full days of competition, vendors galore, opportunities to meet some of the sport’s greatest riders face-to-face, and so much more. For a seasoned Kentucky veteran, hopping over to the Kentucky Horse Park for the fun feels easy enough, but attending Kentucky might feel a bit overwhelming for first-timers. We chatted with USEA members from all over the country to get their favorite Kentucky tips to share with you. Check them out here!
Have you thanked your competition management team lately? Here’s your spring season reminder to do just that! Whether you’ll be debuting in the Starter division or cruising around at Advanced, competition management has a lot of moving parts to manage that will ensure a great experience for you and your horse. Keep your competition management team happy and help support the future of eventing with these quick tips from STRIDER.
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.
The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to announce the athletes selected for the 2024 USEA Emerging Athlete U21 Program (EA21). USEA Young Rider program members aged 21 and under are eligible for the program. The purpose of the USEA EA21 Program is to identify and provide consistent quality instruction to the next generation of elite event riders.
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.
Some kids are just born loving horses. Eleven-year-old Priscilla Pignatelli is the perfect example. “Her dad and I used to joke around that she has loved horses since she learned they said neigh,” recalled mother Grace Pignatelli. “We were non-horsey parents, so it took us a while to realize it wasn’t just a phase!”
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.
Growing up in the pony hunters, my parents never wanted to buy a horse. They reasoned: "You'll grow out of them," or "They're too expensive." They made good points, not that I understood that at the time...
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.