United States Eventing Association

Effective Dec. 1, 2023, USEF rule EV145.8 will require, whenever possible, new cross-country obstacles (for which frangible devices are appropriate) to be constructed with FEI approved frangible technology for the Training level and above (previously it was Modified and above).

On July 24, the USEF Board of Directors convened for a special meeting. During the meeting, the Board approved an amendment to the protective headgear certification rule change, which was originally approved during the Mid-Year Board meeting in June.

USEA podcast host Nicole Brown is joined by Dr. Barry Miller of the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab and Catherine Winter of Ride EquiSafe for an important, informative, and engaging discussion about helmet safety. For more than a decade, the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab has investigated helmets in football, cycling, equestrian sports, and more, collecting more than 2 million data points related to injury and biomechanics research.

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Eventing Watch List ("Watch List”) program has undergone a review and, as a result, the process has been updated. The Watch List is comprised of USEF and/or USEA members competing in the U.S. who have been identified as displaying potentially dangerous or unsafe riding during warm-up or any phase at a USEF Eventing Licensed Competition, received an FEI Eventing Recorded Warning or Yellow Card for Dangerous Riding at any FEI event, been penalized at a national competition for Dangerous Riding, or received a Yellow Warning card for Dangerous Riding at a national competition. The goal of the Watch List is to improve rider safety and provide licensed officials (Technical Delegates and Ground Jury) the opportunity to observe athletes at future events.

USEA Podcast host Nicole Brown and Tony Sandoval from Coach Sando Training talk about how riders can make their own conditioning, in addition to their horses, a priority. From "proper core engagement" to "box breathing," the tips and techniques they discuss will improve your time in the saddle and beyond. "Movement is medicine," Sandoval said. "It will do a lot of the things needed to keep you healthy without taking so many pills or all the things that are quick fixes. Movement is difficult. It's difficult to get into your daily practice, but once you do, it is enough medicine that you need to be able to do what you enjoy longer."

Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers from the University of Minnesota are investigating if genetic variants can help identify horses at high risk of developing potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias. Cardiac arrhythmias are thought to be an important cause of sudden death in horses during exercise. Most horses that develop arrhythmias have no underlying structural heart disease, making it challenging to detect animals that may succumb to the condition.

Please always remain vigilant when it comes to sending any personal communications via email or text. Every year we receive reports of members and leaders of our sport receiving phishing attempts both online and by phone. These are often communications disguised as being sent from USEA staff or other leaders. As the years go on, the phishing attempts appear to be more directed and tailored.

It has been brought to the attention of the United States Eventing Association (USEA) that there have been issues with mail delivery by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to the USEA office associated with the busy holiday season. There have been numerous reports by members of letters being sent to the USEA office which have not been received dating back to before the Thanksgiving holiday. We are working with the USPS to attempt to address and resolve this situation. If you have sent in physical mail to the USEA office with no response, we encourage you to contact the office at (703) 779-0440 or via email at [email protected] to verify its arrival.

The USEA Board of Governors (BOG) concluded a productive two days of the August BOG meeting on Wednesday, August 9th in Dulles, Virginia led by USEA President Max Corcoran. All but four BOG members were able to attend in person this year. Many key items related to eventing in the U.S. were discussed at great length including safety, membership strategies, competition procedures, visibility of the sport, and more over the course of the two-day gathering.

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is hiring an Advertising and Marketing Assistant, Coordinator, or Manager. Title dependent on experience. Please read on for details of the job.