United States Eventing Association

I was lucky to be able to attend the first IDHSNA USEA Future Event Horse Educational Seminar recently held at Hilltop Farm in Colora, Maryland on October 27-28, 2012. Lucky for several reasons: First, that Susan Graham White mentioned it to me when I scribed for her at The Dressage at Stone Tavern Show Labor Day Weekend, second, it was within daily driving distance of where I live in Central New Jersey, and third, the information covered was so interesting and captivating.

The seminar was scheduled over two packed days. Saturday started with a conformation power point presentation by Judy Wardrope. Judy has over 30 years’ experience observing top-performing horses in the Olympic disciplines of dressage, jumping, and eventing. Over this time, she has developed a successful assessment system using specific conformational areas to determine athletic potential in the horse. Her power point presentation was informative and flowed into the next portion of her presentation; application of these conformational principles on live horses. Hilltop Farm provided a great variety of potential athletes for us to view as Judy went over her evaluations. I was left with the desire to run home and analyze my own horses using her assessment tools.

The next scheduled portion was a free jumping demonstration. Michael Bragdell, Faith Fessenden, and Robin Walker led the discussion on style, form, and format. A jumping chute was set along one side of the indoor arena, and we were able to observe a variety of horses performing the drills. Comments were made on attitude, type, and form. I have observed the jumping test at a KWPN Keuring at Iron Spring Farm before, but as a result of this exercise, I feel more confident of how to conduct a free jumping session and how assessments are made. I feel confident that now I can set up a chute at home and perform a free jumping training session for my own horses.

The remainder of the first afternoon was occupied with a mock under saddle class for three-year-olds and application of the proposed Future Event Horse Score sheet. Both Susan Graham White, an FEI “I” Eventing Judge, a USEF “R” Dressage Judge, and a “r” DSHB Sport Horse Judge, and Faith Fessenden, a jury member of the KWPN-NA for their breeding inspections and USEF Dressage Sport Horse Breeding Judge, gave their scores and assessments for the five lovely three-year-olds that were presented for us to consider and evaluate.

Hilltop Farm also thrilled us all with a presentation of their stallions in the indoor arena. Riverman, one of the highest USEF-ranked Eventing Sire, was the Grand Finale.

The Sunday schedule was organized around practical applications of the theory and knowledge covered on Saturday with an emphasis on trying to end ahead of schedule due to pending Hurricane Sandy.

The morning sessions centered around the principles of Future Event Horse judging. Since there were many USEF Judges in the group, the differences between Dressage Sport Horse Breeding Judging and Future Event Horse Judging were stressed. A group of youngsters at varying stages of development: yearling, two-year-old, and three-year-old, were presented with a discussion on maturity and conformational and structural development for each age.

Michael Bragdell and Hilltop Farm staff held a session on show preparation and handling the young horses on the triangle. I was amazed at how well-behaved the group of young horses used for this demonstration was. Overall, all the demonstration horses arranged and provided by Hilltop Farm were beautifully turned-out and well-behaved.

The rest of the Sunday afternoon session revolved on demonstrations and discussion of judging mock yearling, two-year-old, and three-year-old Future Event Horse Classes.

On a personal note, I enjoyed tremendously this first educational seminar on the Future Event Horse. Not only was it free for me as a USEA member, it was easily accessible, and held at a wonderful venue. I saw many familiar faces from volunteering at the New Jersey Horse Park, ESDCTA functions, and ESDCTA competitions. I look forward to continued educational opportunities offered by USEA. I would like to thank the USEA Future Event Horse Committee, Nancy Knight, USEA Director of Education, Jane Mac Elree, Owner of Hilltop Farm, the Hilltop Farm Staff, the seminar panelists, IDHSNA, and the anonymous supporter of FEH for this educational experience.