United States Eventing Association

Ever wonder what it would be like to be a professional eventer? While not all of us have the means, time, or talent to reach the top of our sport – reading the blogs of top eventers is a great way to put yourself in the shoes of the talented equestrians. These blogs will give you a glimpse of the writer’s everyday life, highs and lows, and behind-the-scenes of the world’s top events.

Jan Byyny of Purcellville, Virginia has been riding and eventing for over 30 years and has competed at some of the world’s top events. This year she was selected to the USEF High Performance A Squad with Waterfront and B Squad with Syd Kent. In Jan’s latest blog she said “I’ve been really lucky, and have had one of the nicest Springs, with five of the nicest horses I’ve ever ridden. I’m celebrating while it’s happening, because doesn’t happen often. I’m going to enjoy it while I can!”

Allison Springer is based in Middleburg, Virginia and has competed and coached throughout the country. Allison has had multiple ribbons at three-day events throughout the country and in 2009 was named to the USEF High Performance B Squad with two horses.

Chelan Kozak of British Columbia, Canada was first named to the Canadian Eventing Team at age 25 and since then has successfully competed at the World Equestrian Games, Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Badminton Horse Trials, and many more events. Her blog has also been featured on EventingNews.com.

Phyllis Dawson lives and trains at her Windchase Farm in Purcellville, Virginia. Phyllis has been competing at the Advanced level of eventing since 1977. She has successfully represented the U.S. in International competition, including the 1988 Olympic Games and the 1997 European Championships. Phyllis’ blog includes vivid descriptions of events that have happened on her farm, her June 10 post included, “Can you believe it? It has been one year today since lightning caused the fire that burned our barn down. Last summer it seemed like the world had turned upside down, and coping in the aftermath of the fire and during the rebuilding phase took most of our time and concentration. But now, looking back with the distance of time, the whole thing already has a sort of feeling of unreality. The memories are vivid, yet in a way it almost seems like it happened to someone else. But having said that, I was certainly nervous when a colossal lightning and thunder storm came through this evening!”

Boyd Martin of West Grove, Pennsylvania is a CCI4* rider who has had success all over the world. Although born and raised in Austraila, Boyd moved to the U.S. in 2006 to be Phillip Dutton’s assistant trainer and recently Boyd changed his citizenship to become an American. Boyd has had a very successful year and is currently the second ranked rider on the USEA leaderboard. Be sure to check out Boyd and his wife Silva’s blog to keep up with all their happenings.

Max Corcoran who lives in The Plains, Virginia is Karen O’Connor’s head groom and her blog, “Inside the O’Connor Cavalry” gives a fantastic insider view of Karen and David O’Connor and all of the happenings of the busy eventing mecca that is the O’Connor Event Team. Max’s most recent post tells about all the excitement that surround the O’Connor Event Camps and the lucky participants.

Courtney Sendak from Baltimore, Maryland is CCI2* rider, B-Level Pony Clubber, winner of the 2006 CCI* Silver Medal at North American Junior Young Riders Championships. Courtney is currently planning on participating at the CCI2* at NAJYRC with her purebred Connemara, but there have been a few bumps along the way. However, Courtney continues to keep a positive attitude, and as she said in a recent blog, “Because Young Riders is at the end of July, we will be cutting it very close for getting Willy back up to his peak fitness level... but the dream is still alive.”

If you know of any other blogs of top riders or people involved with eventing, please let us know.