On Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. Central time, join Eric Dierks for a live stream interview with Jim Wofford.
Wofford has had a successful riding career, joining the U.S. Eventing Team in 1965 and remaining a member until 1985. During this time, he trained under Bert de Nemethy and Jack LeGoff.
Wofford competed in the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games on his famous horse Kilkenny, winning team silver both times, and was also named to the 1980 Olympic Games but did not compete due to the Olympic Committee’s boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. He was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal many years after. He also competed on the U.S. Eventing Team at the 1970 World Championships at Punchestown, Ireland, winning an individual bronze with Kilkenny, and at the 1978 World Championships with Carawich, winning a team bronze.
Wofford’s records also include five wins—each on a different horse—at five U.S. National
Championships, a team gold medal at the
1967 Pan American Games, and two wins at the Kentucky Three-Day Event (1981 with Carawich
and 1986 with The Optimist — coming out
of retirement to ride the horse for student and fellow Olympian, Karen O’Connor). He
also competed very successfully abroad from
1959 –1986. In all, Wofford competed at the Advanced level over 20 years. During this time,
he also raced as a steeplechase jockey and fox
hunted for over 20 years.
Wofford retired as a competitor in 1986. He continues to ride, along with his wife, two daughters, and three grandsons.
Click here to register for the live stream interview.
This live stream is provided by the Illinois Dressage and Combined Training Association.
What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.
Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.
As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.