United States Eventing Association

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

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.