The Charles Owen Technical Merit (COTM) Award aims to reward juniors and adult amateurs that demonstrate safe and appropriate cross-country riding technique and educate riders and trainers as to what constitutes safe cross-country riding.
The COTM Award will be presented at one event in each of the 10 USEA Areas at the Training level to one junior and one adult amateur rider who have not competed at the Intermediate level or above. Every eligible rider at the Training level is automatically judged during their cross-country round on the five criteria listed below and receives a scoresheet with written comments, providing valuable feedback on their cross-country riding technique.
The winners of the Charles Owen Technical Merit Award at each event during the year will receive a Charles Owen body protector and helmet bag, and then the overall highest scoring junior and adult amateur rider from all 10 events will receive a voucher for a Charles Owen helmet. The USEA will also provide ribbons through third place for each junior and adult amateur at every event that hosts the COTM award. The tentative 2019 COTM calendar can be found below.
Pine Top Advanced H.T. | February 23-24, 2019 | Thomson, GA (Area III)
Golden Spike H.T. | June 15-16, 2019 | Ogden, UT (Area IX)
Coconino Summer I H.T. | July 5-7, 2019 | Flagstaff, AZ (Area X)
The Event At Rebecca Farm | July 24-28, 2019 | Kalispell, MT (Area VII)
Cobblestone Farms H.T. | August 2-4, 2019 | Dexter, MI (Area VIII)
Genesee Valley Riding & Driving Club H.T. | August 17-18, 2019 | Geneseo, NY (Area I)
Shepherd Ranch SYVPC H.T. II | August 24-26, 2019 | Santa Ynez, CA (Area VI)
Otter Creek Fall H.T. | September 13-15, 2019 | Wheeler, WI (Area IV)
Texas Rose Horse Park | November 9-10, 2019 | Tyler, TX (Area V)
Full Moon Farm H.T. | November 10, 2019 | Finksburg, MD (Area II)
About the Charles Owen Technical Merit Award
In 2009, the Professional Horseman’s Council in partnership with Charles Owen founded the Charles Owen Technical Merit Award to reward juniors and adult amateurs for demonstrating safe and appropriate cross-country riding technique and educate riders and trainers as to what constitutes safe cross-country riding.
The Charles Owen Technical Merit Award is presented at one event in each USEA Area each year at the Training level to one junior rider and one adult amateur rider who have not competed at the Intermediate level or above. Every eligible rider at the Training level is automatically judged during their cross-country round on the five criteria listed below and receives a score sheet with written comments, providing valuable feedback on their cross-country riding technique. Level III and IV ICP Instructors, USEF licensed eventing officials, and USET Senior Team riders are all qualified to judge the Award. Click here to learn more about the Charles Owen Technical Merit Award.
The USEA would like to thank Charles Owen for sponsoring the Technical Merit Award.
What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.
Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.
As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.