United States Eventing Association

A Look Back and a Look Ahead

"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes, Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear. Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes, how do you measure, measure a year?" So goes the classic song from RENT, and boy what a year it has been!

The USEA had a record number of members this year, 12,913 to be exact, with 42,851 starters at 238 events across the country. In celebration of another incredible year of horse sport, we're looking back at some of the nearly 800 articles we published before we ring in the new year! The USEA is also looking for your help in 2018 so read to the end for your chance to contribute to next year.

Let’s take a look back at some of the series that the USEA published in 2017.

The USEA kicked off a brand new series this year, Events A-Z. While we only made it through the first five letters of the alphabet in 2017, we are excited to continue the rest in the coming years! Did you miss any? Be sure to catch them here: The Event at Archer, Area VII Young Rider Benefit Horse Trials, Arrowhead Horse Trials, Aspen Horse Trials, Aspen Ridge Horse Trials, Bucks County Horse Park Horse Trials, Caber Farm Horse Trials, Camelot Equestrian Park Horse Trials, Carolina International CIC & Horse Trials, Catalpa Corner Charity Horse Trials, CCC Spring Gulch Horse Trials, CDCTA Horse Trials, Champagne Run at the Park Horse Trials, Chardon Valley Horse Trials, Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials, Cobblestone Farms Horse Trials, Coconino Horse Trials, Colorado Horse Park, Copper Meadows Horse Trials, Course Brook Farm Horse Trials, Derbyshire Farms Horse Trials, Dunnabeck Horse Trials, Equestrians Institute Horse Trials, Essex Horse Trials

We don’t want you to get eliminated, so we broke down the USEF Rules For Eventing for you – one rule at a time! Brush Up on Rule Changes for the 2017 Season, Are You Entered in the Correct Division?, Entering Events, Exercise and Warm-Up, Accidents and Injuries, Dress, Equipment Edition, Dress, Attire Edition, Saddlery, Disqualification.

The USEA has a rich history, and it is important to remember the great riders who have won in the past. Read through the Trophy Tales to take a trip down eventing history. Young Rider, Rider of the Year, Lady Rider of the Year, Horse of the Year, and Mare of the Year.

Volunteers are the heart of the sport, and we were so excited to highlight one volunteer every month this year! Look for many more in 2018 as well. Jane and Terry Lynch, Julie White, Allison Thomas, Cricket Killen, Irene Doo, Margie Davis, Betsy Knight, Carol Rowan, Susan and Van Firth, Margaret Crevar, Dale Clabaugh, and Catherine Baker.

Giving a young horse a strong foundation is so important to their future success in the sport, so we published a multitude of resources on young horses: Introducing Adjustability to the Young Event Horse, Introducing Adjustability to the Young Event Horse Part II, Looking at the Young Event Horse Program Through Eyes of Talented Young Rider Gabby Dickerson, Testing Obedience and Accuracy in Young Horses with Gabby Dickerson, Young Horse Training: 'Closing Your Leg Doesn't Mean Go Faster', Young Horse Training: The Importance of Inside Leg to Outside Rein, Introducing Liverpools to Your Young Event Horse with Sharon White, Introducing Trakehners to Your Young Event Horse with Sharon White, Introducing the New Future Event Horse 4-Year-Old Division with Susan Graham White, A Closer Look Into the Course Design of Young Event Horse Jumping Competitions with John Michael Durr, A Breakdown of the Aids with Eric Dierks, Creating Balance to Instill Confidence in Young Horses with Eric Dierks, Making Flatwork Fun For Your Young Horse, Introducing Turn On the Forehand To Your Young Horse, Conditioning the Young Event Horse, Gridwork for the Young Event Horse, Creating A Safe Zone When Exposing Your Young Horse to New Things with Megan Kepferle, Creating an Effective Warm-up For Your Young Horse with Megan Kepferle, Choosing the Right Young Event Horse For You with Jenny Caras, Building a Stronger Young Event Horse Through Transitions with Jenny Caras, Fighting The Winter Blues with Your Young Event Horse: Part 1 with Lauren Ferguson, Fighting the Winter Blues with Your Young Event Horse: Part 2 with Lauren Ferguson.

Two-time USEA Lady Rider of the Year, Olympic and Pan-Am Games rider, Lauren Kieffer took the USEA along on “bringing up babies” as she shares a year in the life of four of her 6-year-olds in their journey to become top level event horses. Catch up on part 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

We love profiling our members and we highlighted several throughout the year in our “Now on Course” series as well as the Road to the AEC: Amy Kaplan and Salisbury Knight, Nan Schumaker and La Cosa Nostra, Army Wives Take On the AEC, Booli Selmayr Hopes to End the Year on a High Note, From the Cross-Country Course to the Sandbox, Eventing: More than a Sport, My Will to Ride Helped Me Walk Again, Getting There, On a Horse of My Own, Defeating the Odds, Who Needs 20/20 Vision?, Overcoming My Fears, A Century Together, From Sliding Stops to the Start Box, South Dakota Native Takes Up the Reins on A New Discipline.

Daniel Stewart’s Tip of the Month is always a big hit and re-reading them may help you make it through the winter blues! The Power of Positivity, Reframing for Resilience, Super Model, Own it - Don’t Groan it!, Are you a Survivor or a Victim?, How Come?, Happy in Your Happy Place.

In addition to the USEA’s regular website articles we produced bi-monthly podcasts. Be sure and subscribe in order to listen to any you may have missed from 2017!

If you were a USEA member, you received six issues of Eventing USA which featured coverage of the top events of the year, educational articles, profiles as well as the regular columns such as Horse Health, Year in the Life, Grid Pro Quo, Amateur Zone, Committee Corner, and Winner’s Circle.

Now that you have had a chance to review last year we want to hear from our members what you want to see in 2018! Click on this link or fill out the survey below.