United States Eventing Association

“The best description I can give of what it was like to compete [Furtive] in the long format is that he made me fearless,” said Beth Perkins. At just 18 years old, the fearless Perkins placed sixth individually at the 1974 Burghley World Championships with Furtive. Since then, Perkins has dedicated her life to the sport of eventing. She’s experienced the highs, the lows, and the changes to the sport. She’s competed at the toughest events in the world and has earned top placings and team medals along the way.

Earning national recognition in the sport is a victory that takes years of hard work, and for some, the hard work started with the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) program. Increasing in popularity since its creation in 2004, the mission of the program is to identify upper-level event horses during their 4- and 5-year-old years. A true testament to the program’s success, this year, two YEH graduate horses represented the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics, the historic winner of CHIO Aachen was a YEH graduate, the USET Connaught Grant Recipient was a YEH graduate, and almost every national year-end leaderboard has at least one YEH graduate ranked in the top 10.

The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing program has steadily gained popularity since its creation in 2014. In 2016, the USEA intercollegiate national leaderboards were introduced, and every December a new set of nationally ranked riders are named.

The USEA Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) launched the Volunteer Medal Program in 2020 to enhance the recognition of these resilient volunteers. The Volunteer Medal Program recognizes the volunteers who consistently volunteer year after year. Hours earned are cumulative over a lifetime of volunteer service. To earn a bronze medal, volunteers must record 500 volunteer hours; to earn a silver medal, volunteers must record 1,000 volunteer hours; and to earn a gold medal, volunteers must record 2,000 volunteer hours at eventingvolunteers.com.

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) Board of Governors have voted to enter into contract negotiations with Equestrian Events Inc. (EEI) and Mary Fike to host the 2023 and 2024 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.

The 2021 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico is only one week away! Start planning your personal agenda as next week will have a jam-packed schedule starting on Wednesday, December 8 through Sunday, December 12.

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is thrilled to welcome back Gallops Saddlery as a Contributing Level Sponsor of the 2021 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention. This year’s Annual Meeting & Convention will take place at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque in Albuquerque, New Mexico on December 9-12, 2021.

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to announce the new collaboration with Ride iQ, a one-of-a-kind platform with on-demand audio lessons taught by the world’s top equestrian coaches. Ride iQ will join as an ‘Official USEA Educational Collaborator’ and will provide educational content to all USEA members.

The Holekamp/Turner Grant was founded in 2015 by Timothy and Cheryl Holekamp of New Spring Farm and Christine and T.J. Turner of Indian Creek Farm. This grant gives a USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championship competitor the opportunity to represent the United States at the FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships in the 7-year-old Championship (a CCIYH3*-L) at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France. The intention of the grant is to further develop an upward pathway for U.S. team horses in the sport of eventing. Grant recipients who are North American bred will be awarded the full cash grant of $17,500. If the winner is an imported horse, he will be awarded $8,000.

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is thrilled to welcome back World Equestrian Brands as the Title Sponsor of the USEA Rider of the Year Leaderboard for 2021 and 2022. This year’s USEA Rider of the Year will be honored at the 2021 USEA Year-End Awards Ceremony held during the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention on Saturday, Dec. 11 at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque in Albuquerque, New Mexico. World Equestrian Brands will generously provide the winner with a prize of $500 in value. Next year, the USEA Rider of the Year will be recognized during the 2022 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention which will take place in Savannah, Georgia on Dec. 7-11, 2022.