Feb 06, 2018

EquiRatings Quality Indexes (ERQIs) Now Available on USEA Horse Profiles

By Leslie Mintz - USEA Staff

Last spring the United States Eventing Association (USEA) announced a new partnership with EquiRatings. Following eight months of behind-the-scenes work, EquiRatings Quality Indexes (ERQIs) are now available for all USEA registered horses who have competed in the last five years.

After a very successful rollout of the system in Ireland over the last two seasons, the USEA will be the second country to utilize the ERQI risk management tool. It will also be implemented in Britain and Australia in various ways over the coming seasons.

The ERQI is a risk management tool that assigns a value to each USEA competing horse. The ERQI is calculated as a probability, a number between 0 and 1, with horses closer to 1 showing statistically higher levels of positive performance in the cross-country phase. ERQIs are displayed on each horse’s profile in a color code representing the level of risk the horse carries on cross-country. The ERQI is built on the ‘data footprint,’ (the past results) of each horse, and applies a marginal gains approach to improving fall rates.

The ERQI system will allow USEA members to track and monitor risk in a tangible way. The USEA is committed to safety and this partnership with EquiRatings will ensure continuing assessment of the performance data. By providing every horse, at every level, with an ERQI, riders will have a visual indicator of risk at each specific level. Rider responsibility is a huge part of making eventing safer and the ERQI is another tool to make decisions easier for riders. One of the key advantages of the ERQI system is the removal of subjectivity from the assessment of risk.

A horse’s ERQI will only be displayed for associated riders or owners. To view a horse’s ERQI, login to USEA Online Services. Once logged in, click on “My Related Horses” in the Horses section of the home screen dashboard. If you want to view an ERQI for a horse that you are not currently related to, you will need to add yourself as a rider or owner to the horse’s record. This addition may require contacting the owner to make the change or submitting a change of owner request with proper bill of sale documentation.

An example of ERQIs listed on a USEA profile.

Each color represents the grouping of risk which the horse falls into. The USEA will display this probability in groupings and by color code (red, orange, yellow and green).

Green/Light Green: Horse at this level is competing with the normal amount of risk.
Yellow: Horse at this level is competing with a slightly higher level of risk than normal.
Orange/Amber: Horse at this level is competing with a much higher level of risk than normal.
Red: Horse at this level is competing with the highest level of risk.

The ERQI is being used solely as an advisory tool in 2018. The USEA has no requirement for a horse to have a green ERQI to enter an event at the level in question. The ERQI should be treated as a guideline and the USEA strongly recommends that riders use the ERQI and all the other tools at your disposal to make safe and informed decisions.

The USEA and EquiRatings have put together a full list of questions about the use and availability of ERQIs. The document is available here.

The USEA and EquiRatings will be releasing a number of addition resources, including a podcast and Q&A vidoes later this week through the USEA website to help build an understanding of this new risk management system.

For technical questions about the ERQI system (can’t find my horse’s ERQI, etc.) please contact [email protected].

Jul 02, 2024 Educational Activities

USEA Educational Activity Highlight: Sherwood Forest Hunter Pace | Sherwood Oregon | July 13, 2024

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.

Jul 02, 2024 Profile

No Longer Dreaming: Claire Allen's Goal of Qualifying for USEF Eventing Young Rider Championship is Now Reality

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.

Jul 01, 2024 Competitions

Alliston’s Busy Weekend, Braitling’s Reuniting with Five-Star Mount, & Kalkman’s Advanced Victory Highlight Twin Rivers Summer H.T.

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.

Jul 01, 2024 Education

USEA Podcast #364: All Your Grooming Questions Answered

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.

Official Corporate Sponsors of the USEA

Official Joint Therapy Treatment of the USEA

Official Feed of the USEA

Official Saddle of the USEA

Official Equine Insurance of the USEA

Official Forage of the USEA

Official Supplement Feeding System of the USEA

Official Competition & Training Apparel of the USEA

Official Horse Boot of the USEA

Official Shockwave of the USEA

Official Horse Wear of the USEA