Dear U.S. Eventing Community,
Our country and our world are facing a pandemic the likes of which haven’t been seen in over a century. This is creating a monumental barrier to our ability to enjoy our sport in a normal fashion. We recognize the tremendous burden this is placing on our competition organizers, venues, and professionals. Our hearts are with you and we will do everything we can to bring the sport back to full speed as soon as possible. It is essential that the eventing community does our part in this challenging time. I am confident we will get through this and eventing will resume like normal. We are a tough and resilient bunch and we will kick on!
I want to notify our members and the general public that the United States Eventing Association (USEA) has prepared for difficult times. Since the USEA was founded over 60 years ago we have been well-guided by volunteer leaders on the USEA Board of Governors and they have held true to our mission, goals, and core values. One of our primary governance measures is maintaining several months of cash coverage to sustain our Association in times of difficulty. While there is no telling how long this pandemic will seize up our sport and the economy, rest assured that we will be here to support you on the other side. We are also incredibly lucky that the USEA Foundation has worked over the years with the USEA Board of Governors and the small but mighty USEA Staff to raise funds for when they are needed most. We are continually grateful for the support we have received from all of those on our honor roll of donors.
At the onset of the pandemic the USEA Staff took immediate steps to conduct a department by department evaluation of the essential services our office provides to the eventing community. We were able to enable telework for about 95% of those essential services, and the services unable to be completed remotely will be handled by staff local to the USEA headquarters in Leesburg, Virginia. Additionally, we have suspended all work-related travel and identified additional areas to enact cost-cutting measures. Finally, we evaluated our individual staff duties and delegated temporary staff replacements should it become necessary.
As of March 17th the USEA headquarters is closed to the public, but we are working hard to make sure that you do not experience any disruption of service. We will re-evaluate our office status on March 27th and announce further plans. While the USEA headquarters is closed the USEA Staff will still be available by phone and email. As always the USEA will endeavor to communicate the status of our sport and encourage you to review the announcements and resources available on www.useventing.com.
Thank you for all that you do for our sport!
Respectfully
Rob Burk
USEA Chief Executive Officer
United States Eventing Association (USEA) members from all over the country gathered on Friday night for the 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention Year End Awards Ceremony. The evening’s ceremony was led by Master of Ceremonies Jim Wolf and recognized riders, horses, and game-changers in the sport of eventing with multiple awards and grants.
Hosting the Annual Meeting of Members each December has been a requirement set forth by the United States Eventing Association (USEA) by-laws (then the United States Combined Training Association) since 1959. This year, USEA members are gathering in St. Louis, Missouri, for the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention from Dec. 7 - Dec. 10 for four jam-packed days of educational seminars and open forums full of conversation surrounding our sport. Lunch on Friday, however, served as an opportunity for attendees to gather together for the USEA Meeting of Members once again.
As the 2023 competition year draws to a close and many of the high-performance and other riders are connecting at this year‘s USEA annual convention, the Great Meadow International organizers would like to update you on GMI.
United States Eventing Association (USEA) members at the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention were in for a treat on Friday as the U.S. Eventing Team was on hand to discuss their accomplishments this year at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.