United States Eventing Association

ICP Now ECP – The Eventing Coaches Program Reboots Education Initiative

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to introduce you to the Eventing Coaches Program (ECP). Formerly known as the Instructor’s Certification Program (ICP), the ECP will continue the original program’s mission of producing and improving the craft and art in the teaching of riding and horse management for the sport of eventing through the application of the highest principles of horsemanship.

Robin Walker, Committee Co-Chair and founding faculty member noted that “it became clear in recent years that the Instructor’s Certification Program needed to be reevaluated. As a committee we asked ourselves ‘Are we keeping up with the sport? Are our standards where they need to be?’ and these discussions prompted the birth of the newly improved Eventing Coaches Program.” Walker continued, “This has been herculean effort for the Committee, and I am very proud of the work that has already been accomplished. Creating a solid education program country-wide at every level of the sport is a huge task, but we have seasoned professionals at the helm and tremendous resources to create an updated, modern education program that supports all current and future coaches.”

“The name change, from the ICP to the Eventing Coaches Program, is another step towards raising the awareness and nurturing the development of the highest quality of coaching and instruction in our sport through constantly improving educational opportunities,” said Jennifer Rousseau, ECP Committee Member. “Our competition coaches have an extraordinary role to play in the success and safety of all athletes, horse and human, and the ECP program is on a mission to provide the USEA with world class coaches and instructors at every level.”

The program strives to educate all levels of eventing coaches to confirm the knowledge base, both theoretical and practical, upon which they will continue to build throughout their career.

Along with the rebrand, the USEA will host the 2023 Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) Symposium on January 17-19 at Barnstaple Eventing in Ocala, FL. The 2023 Symposium will invite hundreds of Eventing Coaches to partake in a multi-day educational seminar and unite through their shared interest in educating the next generation of our sport.

“I very much believe in the program, as it has raised the standard of instruction and coaching in Eventing. There have been many changes in our sport over the past 20 years that I have been a part of this committee, and our instructors’ program has evolved with those changes. Over the last several years our committee has put enormous effort into revising and updating the curriculum, raising the standard, and creating the USEA Eventing Handbook by the Levels, now available to all USEA members,” said Phyllis Dawson, ECP Committee Co-Chair and founding faculty member. “This is an appropriate time to also update our name: the Eventing Coaches Program, or ECP, reflects the instructor’s role in our sport and ensures our program is recognizable across the different equestrian disciplines around the world.”

A standardized calendar of workshops and assessments for 2023 will also be released shortly to allow participants to make long-term education plans around their competition schedules.

“I have been working with the ICP since 2004 and am excited about the name change, as it makes the program globally recognizable. With the release of the USEA Eventing Handbook by the Levels and the annual Symposium, the ECP will continue to provide education to all coaches with the safety of horse and rider as the top priority. I am looking forward to the future of the program and my continued work with the amazing group of horsemen and horsewomen on the ECP Committee,” said Nancy Knight, USEA Senior Director of Education.

About the USEA Eventing Coaches Program

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 Instructor's Certification Program (ICP), was initiated in 2002 to educate all levels of eventing coaches with crucial training principles upon which those instructors 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) instructors, 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 Eventing Coaches Program.