The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has issued an Extension of Recommended Caution for California Equine Events. The California State Veterinarian recommends that all equine events of any discipline continue to be postponed through March 31, and all non-essential horse movements also be postponed at least through March 31. In line with this extension, USEF-licensed competitions in California scheduled to take place during this window have taken the following actions:
March 26-27 | Dressage at Southern California Equestrian | Cancelled
March 24-27 | Rancho California AHA Annual Spring | Postponed until June
March 31-April 3 | Galway Downs International Horse Trials | Requested FEI approval to move to April 1-3
USEF applauds the efforts of competition management to prioritize horse and safety welfare during this important timeframe. USEF will continue to work closely with the CDFA, competition organizers, and participants to manage the EHV-1 situation in CA and provide updates to our membership. The information provided is based on information available to USEF at the time of distribution.
USEF recommends the following requirements and best practices for biosecurity are implemented on showgrounds. Competition Managers may require additional protocols.
•Check and record temperatures twice daily and post on stall door
•Any suspicion of illness in horses, including a temperature over 101.5°F, should be immediately reported to the show office and veterinarian.
•Immediately isolate and/or quarantine any horse exhibiting symptoms of illness
•DO NOT travel to another competition for 14 days
•Avoid animal-to-animal contact
•Do not share equipment between horses. IF YOU MUST SHARE, scrub and clean equipment with detergent and dry completely between shared use.
•When filling water buckets, DO NOT dip the end of the hose in each bucket. Hold the hose above the water when filling.
•Wash/sanitize hands thoroughly before and after direct horse contact
•Limit human-horse contact
•Because humans can be a means of disease transmission, avoid moving between barns unless absolutely necessary
If you have questions on the USEF protocols, please email USEF at [email protected]. For additional information, please refer to the California Department of Food and Agriculture and Equine Disease Communication Center websites.
Preparing for your first horse trial and not sure what is expected of you at each level? Over the course of the next few Rule Refreshers, we will be diving into each level and the performance expectations of each phase. Want to better prepare yourself or your students for their first competition or a move-up? The USEA Eventing Handbook by the Levels is a free resource to all USEA members that outlines clear and consistent guidelines for riders and trainers to refer to when navigating their way through the competition levels. You can access this guide by logging into your online services account.
I’m not one for the spotlight. As the voice of the Association, you don’t need to know my personal views, political, eventing, or otherwise. So despite my byline appearing on thousands of articles on the USEA website and magazine, this is probably only the second time I’m writing about myself (the first was about my love for lessons, and reading it now makes me laugh as I am still 100% addicted). But as I am now just a USEA member I thought I would share a bit of my journey to add to our member spotlight series, Now on Course.
You’ve likely spent some time scouring the USEA Calendar to line up your 2022 competition schedule. Now that spring has sprung, it’s time to plan some cross-country schooling outings to make sure you and your horse are as ready as possible. If you own or manage a facility that welcomes guests for haul-in schooling, you’ve likely noticed horses and their humans showing up in droves to get their practice in. A successful off-site schooling day has many, many moving parts. From paperwork and payment to safety, these best practices for hosts and guests will help everything go as smoothly as possible.
US Equestrian is pleased to announce the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team for the CHIO Aachen CCIO4*-S at CHIO Aachen World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany, from July 1-2, 2022. The team will be led by Chef d’Equipe Bobby Costello.