United States Eventing Association

Fast Facts: 2024 EA21 National Camp

What better way to start off the New Year than with the 2024 USEA EA21 National Camp? Starting Tuesday, January 2, 18 talented young riders that were hand-selected from the pool of participants from the EA21 Regional Camps which took place across the summer of 2023 will come together at KingsWay Farm in Temecula, California, for a five-day deep-dive camp experience with eventing legend David O'Connor. In addition, Kentucky Three-Day champion Tamie Smith's groom Alyssa Dobrotin will be joining as a guest speaker to discuss proper horse management. The official schedule of this year's camp is outlined below:

The Facts:

• The USEA Emerging Athlete U21 Program (EA21) was first launched in 2022
• EA21 riders consist of members of the USEA Young Rider program who are aged 21 and under per FEI standards. The riders must be established at the Training level or higher (minimum 4 MER’s at the Training level or higher).
• The USEA received nearly 200 applications for the 2023 EA21 regional program, and a vigorous selection process chose 12 riders for each of the five EA21 regional clinics.
• All EA21 clinics are/were taught by Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) certified coaches.

The five EA21 regional clinics were as follows:

• Central Clinic | Holly Hill Farm (Benton, LA) | Saturday-Sunday, June 10-11, 2023, taught by Bec Braitling;
  
• East Coast I Clinic | Morven Park International Equestrian Center (Leesburg, VA) | Tuesday-Wednesday, June 27-28, 2023, taught by Shannon Lilley;
• East Coast II Clinic | Stable View Farm (Aiken, S.C.) | Tuesday-Wednesday, July 25-26, 2023, taught by Emily Beshear;
• West Coast I Clinic | Twin Rivers Ranch (Paso Robles, CA) | Tuesday-Wednesday, June 27-28, 2023, taught by Rebecca Brown;
• West Coast || Clinic | Aspen Farms (Yelm, WA) | Tuesday-Wednesday, July 11-12, 2023, taught by Rebecca Brown

The EA21 coaches worked with the selection team to invite 18 riders to the 2024 USEA EA21 National Camp. Two of this year's alternate athletes were called upon to fill positions unable to be utilized by the originally selected athletes. This year's EA21 athletes are listed below in alphabetical order:

1. Camryn Chung
2. Julia Beauchamp Crandon
3. Molly Duda
4. Kayla Dumler
5. Sarah Ertl
6. Emeline Gilbert
7. Katherine Hyndman
8. Kiersten Miller
9. Tate Northrop
10. Audrey Ogan
11. Caitlin O’Roark
12. Harper Padgett
13. Maia Ramberg
14. Bree Robinette
15. Kelsey Seidel
16. Braden Speck
17. Annabelle Sprague
18. Elsa Warble

• Meet the athletes: Get to know each of the 18 selected athletes here.
• The EA21 national camp will be taught by USEA EA21 Director of Coaching, David O’Connor
• There are 14 riders who signed up for catch-ride horses to ease the travel needs to the West Coast from various parts of the country. Many thanks to Tamie Smith, Kaylawna Smith, Bec Braitling and Teresa Harcourt for helping to coordinate these horses for the riders.
• The EA21 national camp will take place at KingsWay Farm in Temecula, California, January 2-6, with an introductory meeting on January 1. The USEA would like to thank Linda and Terry Paine, founders of KingsWay, and Tamie Smith, who operates out of the facility, for hosting this year's National Camp.
  • Special thanks to Robert Kellerhouse and Galway Downs for hosting the stabling for the EA21 National Camp, as well as offering their facilities in the event of rain or poor weather conditions.
• Kerrits, the Official Competition & Training Apparel of the USEA, will be providing merchandise and uniforms for the week, to all EA21 camp riders.
• The national camp riding sessions will be open to auditors. The classroom lecture sessions are closed to camp members only.

For questions regarding the Emerging Athlete U21 Program, please email Kate Lokey at [email protected].

Helpful Links:

• EA21 Homepage
• Event Coverage

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About the USEA Emerging Athlete U21 Program (EA21)

The purpose of the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 Program (EA21) is to identify and provide consistent quality instruction to the next generation of elite event riders. The aim is to create a pipeline for potential team riders by identifying and developing young talent, improving horsemanship and riding skills, and training and improving skills and consistency.

The USEA Emerging Athletes U21 Program was launched in 2022 with a model of five summertime regional clinics taught by selected USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) instructors, leading to a winter national camp consisting of selected Young Riders from the regional clinics. Athletes who are 21 years or younger, are current members of their USEA Young Rider Area program, and are established at the Training Level or higher, are eligible to apply for the EA21 program. Click here to learn more about the USEA EA21 Program.

The USEA would like to thank Kerrits, Ride iQ, Sidelines Magazine and WeRideTogether for sponsoring the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 Program.