Oct 02, 2023

Everything You Need to Know for the Show Jumping Seminar at the 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention

By Lindsay Berreth - USEA Staff
Chris Barnard and Marc Donovan worked hands on with participants in the 2022 Show Jumping Seminar. USEA/Meagan DeLisle photo

Have you made plans to attend the 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, from Dec. 7-10? If so, you’ll want to add the Show Jumping Building Seminar to your list of activities.

When is the seminar? The seminar will take place on Thursday Dec. 7 from 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Expert show jumping designers Chris Barnard and Marc Donovan will lead the seminar at the Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel.

What will be discussed? The day-long classroom discussion will include theory of show jumping course design, footing management, best practices, and review of courses submitted by participants.

Who is invited to attend? This seminar is open to anyone who wishes to learn more about show jumping course design for eventing.

Attendance at this seminar will fulfill the USEF Continuing Education Clinic Requirements for “R” Eventing Jumping Course Designers, “R” Eventing Jumper Course Designers, as well as the training program for those who wish to obtain an “R” EVJCD license.

Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) participants can earn two ECP continuing education credits for attending this all-day session. Stay for the entire convention and earn more ECP credits.

How do you sign up? Registration for the seminar is included in all full week passes, or interested parties can purchase a single-day pass for Thursday at $175 to attend. Registration for the convention opens Oct. 1. The registration portal will be available through the Convention webpage on USEventing.com.

About Chris Barnard: Chris Barnard grew up in England and learned to ride at the age of 8 before moving to the U.S. in 1994 to continue his equestrian career at the Millbrook Equestrian Center in Millbrook, New York, as a trainer and rider.

Barnard is a USEF “R” licensed show jumping course designer. He continues to design courses for numerous FEI events including The Event at Rebecca Farm CCI4*, The Fork CCI4*, Morven Park CCI4*, Red Hills CCI4*, Great Meadow International CCI4*, The Virginia Horse Trials CCI3*, Woodside CCI4*, among many others, and he has designed for the North American Young Rider Championships in 2016, 2017, and 2018 as well as the 2017 USEA American Eventing Championships.

Barnard has assisted the British FEI course designer Richard Jeffery at the National Horse Show and the Winter Equestrian Festival, FEI course designer Danny Foster at numerous top-level “A” rated horse shows, and more recently Portugal’s FEI course designer Bernado Costa Cabral at some of the top international jumper shows in the U.S.

Now a U.S. citizen, Barnard is based full-time in Florida with his wife, show jumper Justine Dutton, at their farm in Reddick. Barnard stays busy course designing for events all over the country, and also designing, constructing, and selling his own line of show jumps.

About Marc Donovan: Marc Donovan is the program director at the Carolina Horse Park in Raeford, North Carolina, and a well-known coach and show jumping course designer.

He started riding in the pony hunter and equitation divisions as a child and earned his ‘A’ Pony Club rating. He evented through the CCI3* level.

Now a USEF ‘R’ show jumping course designer, he’s designed courses for events at the Carolina Horse Park, the American Eventing Championships, multiple FEI Events, FEI World Cup qualifiers, as well as horse shows and grand prixs in the U.S. and Canada.

He’s assisted Richard Jeffery at the National Horse Show and Jeffery and Conrad Homfeld at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. He has also designed the show jumping courses for the Gatcomb Park Horse Trials in the U.K. He resides in Whispering Pines, North Carolina.

For more information about the 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention contact [email protected].

About the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention

The USEA Annual Meeting & Convention takes place each December and brings together a large group of dedicated USEA members and supporters to discuss, learn, and enjoy being surrounded by other eventing enthusiasts. The USEA organizes multiple seminars in addition to committee meetings, open forums, and tons of fun! The 2023 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention will take place in St. Louis, Missouri on Dec. 6-10, 2023. Click here to learn more about the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention.

The USEA would like to thank the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention Sponsors: Adequan, Bates Saddles, Nunn Finer, Nutrena, Parker Equine Insurance, RevitaVet, Rebecca Farm, SmartPak, Standlee, D.G. Stackhouse & Ellis, World Equestrian Brands, Gallops Saddlery, Capital Square, Kerrits, and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

Jan 20, 2025 News

Echoing the Dream: Small Acts of Kindness in Eventing

Today, we pause to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and reflect on the powerful moment in 1963 when he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and shared his vision for a better future. Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech was more than just words; it was a call to action that transcended time, culture, and boundaries—a beacon of hope that continues to inspire.

Jan 19, 2025

That “Forward” State of Mind

We’ve all been there—on the horse who pokes his way around the warm-up ring, needs leg, leg, leg coming into the combination, or brings up the rear on every trail ride. None of us wants each and every ride to be a lower-body squeezefest, nor do we wish to do anything with our crop except maybe wave it at that annoying deerfly. In this excerpt from his book The Sport Horse Problem Solver, former international eventer Eric Smiley explains the essential quality of forwardness and how to prepare the horse to expect you to look for it in all that you do together.

Jan 18, 2025 Interscholastic

Stars of the Interscholastic Eventing League Shot to the Top of the 2024 Leaderboards

The inaugural USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) Championships may have been the pinnacle for program members of the IEL last year, but that’s not the only exciting achievement that occurred in 2024. A total of 41 events offered IEL Team Challenges for over 360 program members, and in the end, a year-end leaderboard champion was named at every level from Starter through Intermediate. The following IEL members worked tirelessly with their clubs and on their own competitive journeys in 2024 to earn the title of Interscholastic Rider of the Year at their respective level. Join us in congratulating these up-and-coming eventers on their success!

Jan 17, 2025 Volunteers

2024 USEA Volunteer of the Year Susan Hart Makes USEA History with Gold Medal Achievement

Veterinary pathologist Susan Hart has been trapped in an “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” loop on the USEA Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) Volunteer Leaderboard since 2022. After two years of chipping away at the leaderboard, 2024 was finally her year to proverbially walk down the aisle. With a total of 691 and a half hours, Hart topped the leaderboard to become the 2024 USEA Volunteer of the Year, sponsored by Mrs. Pastures, and win the first gold medal in USEA VIP history, which is awarded for achieving over 2,000 lifetime volunteer hours.

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