United States Eventing Association

It was 1987 in southern Illinois when an eventing superstar was born. Lauren Nicholson’s parents were accustomed to seeing horses throughout their neighborhood, but they knew nothing about equestrian sport at the elite level. When Lauren was 6 years old, they helped her pursue lessons at a local stable in southern Illinois, but they had no idea how far those lessons would eventually take her. A passion was ignited that was so strong, it would drive her to help the United States claim the team gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, and go on to compete at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.

Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.

There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.

Despite our best plans and organizational efforts, life with horses can very often mean we are cycling through Plans B through Z when we start the day with Plan A in mind. If your summer schedule includes your first horse trials or your hundredth, it’s always helpful to check-in with your own organization methods to stay prepared and ensure competition day runs as smoothly as possible.

One of my favorite sayings is, “You don’t win ribbons at horse shows, you only pick them up there.” The idea behind this message is that our ability to succeed is really created in our schooling sessions where we learn and practice the many skills required to ride successfully.

Any day spent with a horse is bound to be a good day, because each and every one of those days will be filled with endless learning experiences and memorable opportunities. Unfortunately, sometimes it can be a bit tricky to see those opportunities for what they are, or even worse, mistakenly view them as obligations, and it can all start with a few innocent words, called obligation-creation phrases, that we might unintentionally mutter to ourselves.

Janice Binkley might have 35 years of coaching experience under her belt, but that hasn’t stopped her from working towards a new goal—becoming certified through the USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP). “I want to support the program,” said Binkley. “I believe in the program. I really feel like we need to be like the British Horse Society with their certification program, or like the Germans—they know how to do it right.”

The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is thrilled to announce Ride EquiSafe as a “Bronze Level Sponsor of the 2024 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC)” taking place at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, Aug. 27- Sept. 1.

Will Faudree strutted down the jog strip at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event horse inspection in a hot pink suit and cowboy hat with a big grin on his face. Fans love this version of Faudree: the easygoing persona, the smile, the laughter, the obvious care he has for his horses, and his love of Broadway musicals. But once you get to know his story, you begin to appreciate just how amazing it is that he approaches the chaos of his day-to-day life with comedy and a positive attitude.