United States Eventing Association

The USEA Poggio Horsemanship Fund is a USEA Foundation program designed to fund educational programming to improve horsemanship and horse’s lives. Poggio II, for whom the Fund is named, lived to age 29 after a storied career that took him, his devoted rider Amy Tryon, and an army of other members of the eventing community, around the world.

The Fund is available to support research, speakers, programs, clinics, or other creative projects so that riders, owners, grooms, and anyone else who cares for horses can continue to learn and strive for the best quality of life for our equine partners.

If you have an educational horsemanship program you would like to offer, please contact Katherine Cooper ([email protected]) at the USEA Foundation to discuss your idea and apply for funding. To offer support for this program, you can donate here.

More About Poggio II

Amy Tryon found Poggio II in the classifieds section of “The Seattle Times” and would go on to produce one of the great, consistent talents in modern American eventing. The Thoroughbred gelding’s resume is full of accomplishments. He and Tryon competed in two FEI World Equestrian Games and two Olympic Games, winning two bronze medals. They finished third at Rolex Kentucky in 2002 where Poggio was awarded Best Conditioned Horse. They finished 10th at Rolex in 2005 and had a top-20 finish at Burghley in 2003. Poggio was also named the 2006 Eventing Horse of the Year by “The Chronicle of the Horse.”

But it wasn’t just the performance success that made Poggio so great. He attracted numerous fans due to his pure joy for life and his job, made evident by his quick thinking and his incredible, albeit unorthodox, jumping style. He took a troop of people around the world with him and, as Tryon's husband Greg Tryon wrote at Poggio’s passing, “The power of Poggio was his ability to bring people together, for his personality reminded us all of the beauty of horses, of our ‘Why.’ ”

About the USEA Foundation

The fundamental mission of the USEA Foundation is to protect and preserve the sport of eventing for future generations and to provide support for the core educational, safety, and equine welfare programs of the USEA. In addition, the Foundation administers educational grants for riders with the intent of preparing them to reach their goals. Learn more about the USEA Foundation at www.useafoundation.org.