United States Eventing Association

The USEA Emerging Athletes U21 (EA21) program was established in 2022 with the aim of creating a pipeline for potential U.S. team riders by identifying and developing young talent and pairing them up with influential educators within the sport of eventing to improve their skills both in and out of the saddle.

The U.S. Equestrian Federation has announced the host location and dates for the 2024 and 2025 USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships (CCI1*, CCI2*-S, CCI3*-S). The Maryland International and Horse Trials will host the Championships in Adamstown, Maryland, on July 5-7, 2024, and July 6-8, 2025.

Losing a horse can shake a rider to their core and leave them questioning if they have the heart to carry on, but 2024 EA21 National Camp athlete Braden Speck had to learn how to channel all of his love for the sport of eventing after heartbreakingly losing three horses in a row due to uncontrollable circumstances.

Applications for the USEA Emerging Athlete U21 Program are now available. The purpose of the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 program (EA21) is to identify and provide consistent quality instruction to the next generation of elite event riders. The aim is to create a pipeline for potential team riders by identifying and developing young talent. The intention is to provide young athletes with access to an added level of horsemanship and riding skills in order to further their training and skill development with greater consistency.

Molly Duda picked up eventing just five years ago, and when she did, she never would have expected to have the 2023 she had.

In just its second year, the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 (EA21) program just completed its second ever EA21 National Camp in the first week of the new year in Temecula, California. The EA21 program was devised to identify and provide consistent quality instruction to the next generation of elite event riders.

The second annual USEA Emerging Athletes U21 program (EA21) national camp wrapped up on Saturday after a wonderful week of education, hard work, and fun. EA21 Director of Coaching David O’Connor led the camp with 18 selected athletes for the EA21 national program this year, which took place at KingsWay Farm in Temecula, California.

The last day of the EA21 National Camp held at Kingsway Farm put the top of the pyramid into place with its focus on cross-country day. After four days of arena work, theory, and a solid foundation, it was time to see how training in the ring translated to out of the ring.

Day four of the EA21 National Camp held at Kingsway Farm in Temecula, California, dawned frosty and started with a bit of reflection. “I've just been thinking about all week, how [David O’Connor] used to always say to me to be a student of the sport,” Caitlin O’Roark said candidly. “I've always wanted to do this as a career. [The camp has] just made me want to even more.”

Back to the flatwork and back to the classroom for the third day of the EA21 National Camp held at Kingsway Farm. Having combined the study of the aids with the German training scale and the rider responsibility scale, participants returned to one of the first concepts discussed on day 1: training to compete.