United States Eventing Association

“There are 385 million people in the U.S., and only 3.8 million have horses,” David O’Connor said as he began the classroom session on day 4 of the Emerging Athletes Under 21 (EA21) National Camp. “Not all of them are into eventing.”

A change in the original schedule of the Emerging Athletes Under 21 (EA21) National Camp brought cross-country day forward to the third day instead of the original final day. Alongside his work with the U.S. Equestrian Federation and the FEI, EA21 Director of Coaching David O’Connor advises the Caisson Detachment of the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment on horsemanship and will be traveling to Arlington, Virginia, to attend the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter. But no one was disappointed by the change.

Having established clear lines of communication yesterday on the flat, it was time to take those tools to the jumping arena during day two of the 2024-2025 Emerging Athlete Under 21 (EA21) National Camp held at Sweet Dixie South in Ocala, Florida. The curriculum for the second day focused on the rider’s responsibilities and maintaining rideability.

“There’s got to be things that you believe to your core,” EA21 Director of Coaching David O’Connor began on the first day of the 2024-2025 Emerging Athletes Under 21 (EA21) National Camp held at Sweet Dixie South in Ocala, Florida. “For me, that’s communication.”

Being the last rider in the final competition of the day can be an unenviable position. Molly Duda felt the pressure all day while gearing up for her ride on her own 15-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding Disco Traveler (Donatelli x Cadence).

It was new talent on display today in the CCI4*-L at the Eventing Championships at Galway Downs with debutants filling the top of the leaderboard.

The field of competitors at the Eventing Championships at Galway Downs CCI4*-L bring together a wealth of experience to contest the final FEI competition on the West Coast calendar.

Competition at Twin Rivers Ranch did not disappoint today for the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) West Coast Championships. With a friendly galloping course and lots of options for riders to take, each combination was set up for success. Judges Christian Schact (GER) and Sally Ike (USA) had their work cut out for themselves to pick the winners.

The lesson plans for jumping day of the EA21 Regional Clinic West I proved to be just as consistent as day one. The moral of the day? Ride the line.

The goal versus the art was the theme of the day for the 2024 USEA Emerging Athletes U21 (EA21) West Coast I Regional Clinic. From green bean young horses to FEI veterans, the goal was the same for every rider: working the way up the pyramid of the German training scale. The art of riding was how they got there.