This past weekend the USEA was notified of the passing of a true champion of eventing Tremaine Cooper. An athlete, course designer, builder, father, husband, son, friend, and so much more. Tremaine’s quiet, thoughtful approach resulted in tremendous advancements for the sport of eventing in all areas but especially in the safety and design of cross-country courses. Tremaine died in an accident while working outdoors, near his home.
Tremaine was born on May 8, 1968 to Peter and Diana (Starr) Cooper at Yale-New Haven Hospital, in New Haven, Conn. He spent his childhood in the town of Bethany, Conn., and was a graduate of The Foote School, The Hopkins School, and Colby College, graduating with a degree in Geology in 1991.
Tremaine grew up on a farm and started riding when he was 5 years old. He was a graduate 'A' Pony Clubber and started eventing in 1984 competing through the Advanced level. At an early age, Tremaine started helping out with the cross-country courses at the Pony Club rallies at his parents’ farm.
At the end of high school and through college he started building seriously and ended up constructing courses throughout the U.S. as well as in New Zealand and the U.K. Tremaine then focused more on course design, earning his FEI 'I' license more than 15 years ago. He designed at some of the premier equestrian sites around the country, including Morven Park, Millbrook, The Fork, Aspen Farms, Poplar Place, the USEA American Eventing Championships, and many others.
Tremaine was one of the national USEF Course Advisors, was involved in the educational design seminars for both the USEF and the FEI, was co-chairman of the building/design committee, and sat on the USEA Board of Governors. In 2006 he was awarded the Neil Ayer Course Designers’ Award for his service to the sport as a cross-country course designer. Most recently Tremaine worked with the USEA staff to establish the frangible distribution program through the USEA headquarters.
Tremaine is survived by his wife Marion, his daughter Sadie, and his son James. Also by his parents, his brother Elisha, by countless brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews, and all the animals on his farm.
There will be a memorial on Monday, March 22, 2:00 p.m., at Morven Park in Leesburg, Va. (Mansion parking lot).
Tremaine's family is establishing a fund in his honor within the USEA Foundation. Donations may be sent to the USEA Foundation, 525 Old Waterford Road NW, Leesburg, VA 20176 or by visiting www.useafoundation.org/donate and by using the drop-down menu titled “Use my donations to support:” indicate that the donation is "In Honor of Tremaine Cooper."
Riders in both the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L are sharing similar sentiments about this year's cross-country courses: course designer Derek di Grazia didn't play around this year. Here is what some of the riders across both divisions had to say about the tracks they will aim to conquer on Saturday.
Off The Record decided not to let Michael Jung be the only record-breaking entry at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event this week and delivered a career-best score in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S on Friday morning. He and Will Coleman delivered a test that received a score of 21.8, not only marking a personal best for the horse but also securing their position at the top of the leaderboard going into cross-country tomorrow.
Boyd Martin and the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 were the last pair to go in the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L field on Friday afternoon and were warmly greeted to the bluegrass with an impressive downpour that outshined anything the other horse and rider pairs had to combat throughout the day. But that didn’t stop this pair from putting their best foot forward and impressing the judges enough to earn them a score of 26.0, just 0.2 points ahead of second-place pair Tom McEwen (GBR) and Brookfield Quality.
Please always remain vigilant when it comes to sending any personal communications via email or text. Every year we receive reports of members and leaders of our sport receiving phishing attempts both online and by phone. These are often communications disguised as being sent from USEA staff or other leaders. As the years go on, the phishing attempts appear to be more directed and tailored.