United States Eventing Association

For most professional riders, teaching lessons comprises a fair portion of any given week’s work. And as any good teacher would warn, teaching is its own special artform requiring knowledge and skillsets distinct from those required for riding. These include an understanding of what riders need to learn at each level of the sport, the exercises that best convey these lessons, and a broad view of how individual lessons work together to achieve specific goals. Published earlier this year, the USEA Eventing Handbook by the Levels was created by members of the USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) Committee – along with licensed officials, rider safety experts, and other key industry players – to guide riders and trainers through the competition levels. Available as a free download to USEA members, the handbook features exercises, skills, evaluation tools, and other resources from the Starter through Advanced levels.

The saying goes that the most talented horses have the biggest personalities, and Harbour Pilot is no exception. Retiring this year at the age of 19, Jacqueline Mars’s Irish Sport Horse gelding leaves the upper-level scene with one of the most decorated and lengthy careers in the sport, including in his credits ten CCI5*-L starts and the 2011 team gold and individual silver at the Pan American games. His partner in all of these endeavors has been Hannah Sue Hollberg, who took over the ride on “William” from David O’Connor in 2010.

It’s about that time of year again when eventers across the country are packing their trunks and making arrangements to new locations for the winter months. While some owners might feel more comfortable transporting their own horses, time and resources make it more expedient for others to load their horses onto someone else’s rig for the potentially long journey to their winter quarters. For the safety and peace of mind of everyone involved – especially the equine passengers – two trusted shippers based on the east coast shared their tips for best practices when preparing horses for long trailer rides.

When Helen Alliston and Ebay fell on the Advanced cross-country course at the Spring Event at Woodside on May 28, 2021, everyone thought that the then 12-year-old gelding walked away without injuries. The pair had been leading their division when Ebay caught a leg on a corner jump toward the end of the course and, as a result, had a half-rotational fall, landing on his neck and partially landing on Helen. Helen was transported to Stanford University Hospital with a broken pelvis, but immediate reports after the event announced that Ebay was unharmed in the accident.

The warm-up ring is often the busiest and sometimes most nerve-wracking area of any given competition. With riders and horses of all levels sharing the same – often cramped – space, it can appear as either a finely-orchestrated, balletic ensemble or a chaotic, three-ring circus designed to jangle the tight nerves of a novice competitor. While the warm-up is an essential part of every ride, its techniques can be difficult to master as they can vary greatly, depending on the needs of each individual horse.

“All of life is sentient, and all of life communicates all the time. We have separated ourselves from it. We deny it, but the capacity to hear is there as is the capacity to send. And so the thing becomes as an adult, then, to get back to that place, which is really about intuition.”

“I love to travel. I’m very adventurous. And obviously, I love horses, so to travel and to ride, that’s a win-win for me.” Based in Bucyrus, Kansas, Julie Wolfert probably logs more miles per year on the road than most eventers, a notoriously itinerant bunch. Her most recent and arguably most courageous journey involved flying to East Asia to participate in the Mongol Derby this past summer.

Morgan Cooper was one of those lucky kids who was riding a horse as soon as she could sit up straight. Growing up on a farm in Staunton, Illinois, she joined her mom Dorothy Speakman and grandmother Mary Jane Ball in the family business of breeding and showing Paint horses from a young age.

The three top riders after cross-country yesterday in the Morven Park International CCI4*-L all held on to their placings following show jumping today. Tamie Smith jumped a double-clear round and took the blue with Julianne Guariglia’s 11-year-old Argentine Silla mare Solaguayre California (Casparo x Solaguayre Calandria), finishing on their score of 29.7. Will Coleman, riding Hyperion Stud’s 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding Chin Tonic HS (Chin Champ x Wildera), added 0.4 time penalties to their cross-country score and finished in second place with a 32.6. Mia Farley rounded out the top three on David O’Connor’s 9-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Phelps, jumping a double-clear round to finish on their score of 34.4

Sixteen horses jogged before the ground jury this chilly morning on the last day of the Morven Park International CCI4*-L. All sixteen pairs were accepted. Lillian Heard and Dassett Olympus were held briefly but passed upon re-presentation.