United States Eventing Association

Meet the Five Clinicians of the 2020 USEA Educational Symposium

Five highly respected clinicians from all parts of the world will come together on February 17-20 at Barnstaple South in Ocala, Florida to bring a week of education to the 2020 USEA Educational Symposium. The symposium is only one month away, and it’s time to get to know the five stars who will share valuable information for the upcoming year.

Top German rider Andreas Dibowski will be the featured clinician for the USEA Instructors’ Certification Program (ICP) and USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Symposia. Marilyn Payne and Maren Engelhardt will also be assisting Dibowski in the YEH portion on February 19. For the USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) portion on February 20, Susan Graham White and Robin Walker will be the featured clinicians.

About Andreas Dibowski

Andreas ‘Dibo’ Dibowski was a member of the German gold medal-winning team at the 2008 Olympic Games with his horse Butts Leon. He’s won Luhmuhlen twice (2011 and 2016) and Pau in 2010. In 2009, he placed second in the 6-year-old division at the Young Horse World Championships Le Lion d’Angers with the well-known eventing stallion Mighty Magic. The following year, he won the 7-year-old division with Mighty Magic at the Young Horse World Championships Le Lion d’Angers. He’s successfully completed almost every five-star event in the world and has helped secure numerous team medals for German eventing. Dibowski is based out of his training facility in Dohle, Germany. He is married to German rider, Susanna Dibowski and they have three children together, Alina, Marvin-Luca, and Kevin.

About Maren Engelhardt

Dr. Maren Engelhardt is the fourth generation of a horse breeding and competing family and divides her professional life as a neuroanatomist and geneticist between Germany and the United States. Engelhardt grew up in Germany in an environment of young horse training and showing and has taken horses through the lower levels to the Bundeschampionat and up through the three-star level of eventing. She has earned the German FN’s Silver Medal as a competition rider and instructor. Her career with horses has put her in the saddle of almost every horse breed imaginable and combined with her skills as a scientist, this has added a new perspective to her goal of better understanding what should drive the breeding of modern-day eventing horses. She also helped create www.trakehners-international.com and writes for international magazines including Horse International, The American Trakehner, Warmblood Magazine, and others.

About Marilyn Payne

Marilyn Payne is an FEI 4* Eventing Judge and a USEF “S” Dressage Judge. She was the President of the Ground Jury at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, the 2010 World Equestrian Games, judged at the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong, and each of the six four-stars in the world. Payne is also a distinguished trainer, competitor, one of the founders of the USEA YEH program, and co-chair of the YEH Committee. Payne conducts training sessions for both dressage and eventing judges in the USA and for FEI eventing judges overseas. Following in their mother's footsteps, her children Doug and Holly are top eventing riders and trainers, devoted to bringing horses along from their first cross-rail up to the four- and five-star levels. Payne currently resides with her husband Dick at their Applewood Farm in Oldwick, N.J.

About Susan Graham White

Susan Graham White is a USEF licensed Eventing "S" and Dressage "R" judge as well as a Dressage Sport Horse Breeding "r" judge. She is also a licensed FEI Eventing 3*/4* judge. Graham White has judged over 200 USEF/USEA recognized competitions, more than 50 international events, including the 2006 and 2007 North American Young Rider Championships, Scotland’s Blair International in 2006, and the Eventing Young Horse Championships at Le Lion d'Angers, France in 2009. Still an active competitor, Graham White is currently showing in dressage classes at the FEI levels and also presents young horses in hand and under saddle at breed shows. She teaches and trains at Wolfhaven Farm in southern Maryland and heads to central Florida during the winter season. Graham White is the co-chair of the Future Event Horse Committee.

About Robin Walker

Robin Walker began his riding life in England and prior to moving to the U.S. had ridden at the Advanced and international levels. Since then, Walker has continued to ride at the upper levels in eventing and also show jumps successfully at the Grand Prix level. In addition, he is highly involved in the FEH program as he is one of the founders of the program, a co-chair of the FEH committee, and has been a FEH Championship judge for numerous years, including the 2017 and 2018 FEH Championships. Walker is also an ICP faculty member and co-chair of the ICP Committee. Walker has a successful breeding and training program which is based at Maute House Farm in Grass Lake, Michigan. Walker spends the winter season in Ocala, Florida, and continues to find success with horses at every age and every level of eventing.

The USEA has booked a hotel block at the Courtyard by Marriott in Ocala, Florida. Click here to receive the discounted rate or call (352) 237-8000. Make sure to book a room before Friday, January 24, 2020 to receive the special USEA discount.

2020 Symposium Helpful Links:

• Courtyard by Marriott Hotel Reservation Link
• Information on Demo Riders and Horses
• Two Month Until the 2020 USEA Symposium
• ICP Symposium Registration Form
• ICP Demo Rider Registration Form
• YEH/FEH Symposium Registration Form
• YEH/FEH Demo Horse Sign Up Form

About the USEA Instructors’ Certification Program

Instructors are essential to the training of riders and horses for safe and educated participation in the sport of eventing. The USEA Instructors’ Certification Program (ICP) was initiated in 2002 to educate all levels of eventing instructor with essential training principles upon which those instructors can continue to build throughout their teaching careers. ICP offers educational Workshops and Assessments by which both regular instructors, Level I through Level IV, Young Event Horse (YEH) instructors, and Young Event Horse professional horse trainers can become ICP certified. Additional Information about ICP’s goals, benefits, Workshops, and Assessments is available on the USEA website. Names and contact information for current ICP-certified instructors, YEH instructors, and YEH professional horse trainers are available on the USEA website as well, listed by ICP certificate level and type and by USEA Area. Click here to learn more about the Instructors’ Certification Program. The USEA would like to thank Stable Secretary, sponsor of the ICP program.

About the USEA Young Event Horse Program

The USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was first established in 2004 as an eventing talent search. Much like similar programs in Europe, the YEH program was designed to identify young horses that possess the talent and disposition to, with proper training, excel at the uppermost levels of the sport. The ultimate goal of the program is to distinguish horses with the potential to compete at the four- and five-star levels, but many fine horses that excel at the lower levels are also showcased by the program.

The YEH program provides an opportunity for breeders and owners to exhibit the potential of their young horses while encouraging the breeding and development of top event horses for the future. The program rewards horses who are educated and prepared in a correct and progressive manner. At qualifying events, youngsters complete a dressage test and a jumping/galloping/general impression phase. At Championships, young horses are also evaluated on their conformation in addition to the dressage test and jumping/galloping/general impression phase. Click here to learn more about the Young Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, C4 Belts and Etalon Diagnostics for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program.

About the USEA Future Event Horse Program

The USEA introduced the Future Event Horse Program in 2007 in response to the popularity of the already established USEA Young Event Horse Program. Where the YEH program assesses 4- and 5-year-old prospective event horses based on their performance, the FEH program evaluates yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds for their potential for the sport based on conformation and type. Yearlings, 2-year-olds, and 3-year-olds are presented in-hand while 4-year-olds are presented under saddle at the walk, trot, and canter before being stripped of their tack and evaluated on their conformation. Divisions are separated by year and gender. At the Championships, 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds are also required to demonstrate their potential over fences in an additional free-jump division. Click here to learn more about the Future Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, C4 Belts, Etalon Diagnostics and Guardian Horse Bedding for sponsoring the Future Event Horse Program.