United States Eventing Association

The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) looks forward to meeting current and prospective coaches, as well as riders, trainers, owners, breeders, and supporters of the sport of eventing, in Citra, Florida, on Tuesday, January 13 through Thursday, January 15, 2026, for the USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) Symposium. This three-day hands-on educational opportunity will be hosted at Robin Walker and Kara Andrew’s Malvern House Farm and will feature many top eventing coaches and professionals in the industry to lead various interactive educational sessions.

“Karen and I are both looking forward to hosting the ECP Symposium at our farm in Florida,” Walker exclaimed. “We have been involved in these programs since their inception and are proud to continue supporting them as we have in the past. As strong supporters of education, we believe it is the foundation for the success of riders, coaches, and the sport as a whole.”

You may be thinking this event is only for coaches, but you don’t have to be an ECP Certified Coach to attend! Anyone who is interested in learning more about the best practices for teaching eventers in the U.S. is welcome to attend. Registration is open now, so click here to submit your application today!

The Eventing Coaches Program focuses on honing the evaluation skills of

coaches at all levels by identifying the correct, incremental steps of progression needed for each individual horse and rider combination. Since no two combinations are exactly alike, it is imperative that coaches at every level can accurately evaluate what is in front of them and meet that horse and rider where they are in that moment, using exercises from the ECP Handbook by the Levels as the foundation of learning.

Following the historically popular format of the ECP Symposium, each session will be run in a working group format, which provides a highly interactive learning experience for all involved. Attendees will be broken into small groups and asked to evaluate horse and rider demonstrations with the goal of honing their ‘eye.’ After each demonstration, the small groups will work together to discuss and identify four key criteria: (1) current skills and/or level of the demo horse and rider, (2) issues or potential areas of improvement, (3) underlying causes, if any, and (4) prioritization of next steps. The event moderator will then call on various groups to share their ideas with the intent of identifying common themes and innovative ideas. An ECP Faculty member will be paired with each small group to help moderate idea sharing between members.

The ECP Symposium attracts coaches with a wide range of experience, from low-level beginners to those with years of expertise coaching professionals at the highest level of our sport, creating a safe space to discuss and debate training techniques, teaching skills, and increments of progression among peers. Each level of ECP coach has lessons to be learned from one another. Riders have also been enlightened about their own struggles and successes when they view different situations through the training-progression scale.

In addition to the course work, well-known professionals in the industry will be brought in, both in-person and virtually, to speak to attendees on their areas of expertise. In the past, these speakers have ranged from sports psychologists to Olympic level eventing judges, and more! Stay tuned for announcements on the event schedule and presenters in the coming weeks.

Registration for the 2026 ECP Symposium at Malvern House Farm in Citra, Florida on January 13-15 is open now. Current ECP Certified Coaches and/or USEF Licensed Officials can attend the event for a discounted rate of $180 for all three days or $60 per day. The public is also welcome to attend for $300 for the full event or $100 per day. Boxed lunches are available for purchase in single day or full event increments on the registration form. Advanced registration is greatly appreciated, so click here to submit today.

If you have any questions about the ECP Symposium or the Eventing Coaches Program, please contact Nancy Knight, Senior Director of Education, at [email protected], or Brandi Bishop, Coaching & Administration Coordinator, at [email protected].

About the USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP)

Coaches are essential to the training of riders and horses for safe and educated participation in the sport of eventing. The USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP), formerly known as the Instructors’ Certification Program (ICP), was initiated in 2002 to educate all levels of eventing coaches with crucial training principles upon which they can continue to build throughout their teaching careers. ECP offers educational workshops and assessments by which both regular coaches, Level I through Level V, Young Event Horse (YEH) coaches, and Young Event Horse professional horse trainers can become ECP certified. Additional information about ECP’s goals, benefits, workshops, and assessments as well as names and contact information for current ECP certified coaches, YEH coaches, and YEH professional horse trainers are available on the USEA website. Click here to learn more about the USEA Eventing Coaches Program.

The USEA would like to thank Marshall+Sterling Equine Insurance, Stable Secretary, Strider, and the United States Pony Clubs, for their support of the Eventing Coaches Program.