The 2025 ECP Symposium, Hosted by Galway Downs is just over a month away, which means it is time to submit your registration for this must-attend educational event. ...

Why do some horses and riders always seem to find their balance and their feet when the unexpected happens? The answer may lie in the time-tested practice of gymnastic exercises. Every rider, every horse, at every level can benefit from the use of ground poles, cavalletti, and gymnastic exercises...

Many years ago, I composed a document for my students called “The Building Blocks for Learning to Ride.” It covered the progressive stages of learning to ride, from sitting on a horse and holding the reins for the first time to jumping cavalletti and preparing for course work. Each step was numbe...

Join the Eventing Coaches Program on Dec. 9 at 9:30 a.m. at the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention for a 90-minute, deep dive into the training and coaching of riders and horses for the sport of eventing. The interactive program will focus on developing an “eye” for discerning the current skill set...

The USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) has initiated a renewed focus on the diverse challenges coaches in various regions of the country may be facing. To this end, the program is in the process of enlisting representatives in each of the 10 USEA areas to help guide the program as warranted for ...

The mere mention of the word “equitation” in eventing circles is often met with rolled eyes and raised hackles. No doubt for many eventers the word conjures up images of expensively clothed stick-people with overly arched backs posing as riders on their overly prepped mounts. Those images do not ...

Putting 70-plus eventing coaches and instructors in a room and asking them to share their opinions and experiences could be considered the definition of organized chaos. But at the 2022 and 2023 Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) Educational Symposiums, the resulting thoughtful and creative discussio...

Unlike most other eventing nations, there is no requirement for eventing coaches to be certified to teach or coach in the United States. In most other countries, and certainly in the countries that are the most competitive on the world stage, there is a process by which instructors and coaches ar...