United States Eventing Association

Meet the Keynote Speakers for the 2020 USEA Virtual Annual Meeting

The USEA is pleased to announce that Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp and Piggy March will be the two keynote speakers of the 2020 USEA Virtual Annual Meeting. The moderator of this exciting keynote presentation will be Nicole Brown. This event will take place on Saturday, December 12 at 2:00 p.m. EST via a Zoom Webinar. During this meeting, members will join as ‘attendees’ and can interact with the keynote speakers through the Q&A feature. Start preparing the questions now by learning about each speaker below!

Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp has earned more international wins than any other rider in 2020, with nine international wins and 16 national wins. Originally from California, Halliday-Sharp was formerly known as a professional racing driver in sportscar and GT endurance disciplines. Now, she’s a fiercely competitive CCI5* international event rider who has earned wins and top results at every level of the sport. Halliday-Sharp is based full-time in the U.S. and trains out of Blue Fox Farm in Lexington, Kentucky during the summer and Horsepower Equestrian in Ocala, Florida during the winter. She is currently on the U.S. Equestrian Eventing High Performance Training List and was named the reserve for Team USA at both the 2018 World Equestrian Games and 2019 Pan American Games. With a competitive string of top horses, Halliday-Sharp has her sights set on the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.

In 2019, Piggy March made eventing history as she was the first rider to earn 15 international wins in a single season. This past year, March delivered another record-breaking result at Pau, the only CCI5*-L to run in 2020. She and Brookfield Innocent finished Pau on a score of 22.2 which, according to EquiRating’s records, is the sixth lowest finishing score at a CCI5* in eventing history. One of Great Britain’s leading event riders, March has numerous wins and placings at the top level of eventing. She has been a team member for Great Britain at World and European Championships. She won the individual silver medal at the 2009 European Championships at Fontainebleau and team gold at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina. In 2019, she won the CCI5*-L at Badminton Horse Trials – arguably one of the most challenging CCI5*-L events in the world.

Born in Oxford, Nicole Brown rode horses competitively herself until her late teens. Upon moving to Nottinghamshire, Nicole’s first taste of sports commentating was at a local horse trials. Now, Brown is in demand as one of the UK's top female commentators. With over 10 years of experience, Brown regularly broadcasts to global audiences as the studio lead for the Event Rider Masters in Europe as well as being part of the BBC commentary team for the Burghley International Horse Trials. Brown is also the host of the USEA Official Podcast and the EquiRatings Eventing Podcast.

A historic lineup of powerful female riders - this year’s keynote presentation will be unforgettable! Click here for more information on attending the 2020 USEA Virtual Annual Meeting.

If you will be attending the Annual Meeting, please remember to vote via online ballot before Friday, December 11. If you are unable to attend the Annual Meeting, please log in to Online Services and vote by proxy.

In the week leading up to the Virtual Annual Meeting, the USEA will be offering educational content and interactive webinars via Zoom. Check out the schedule of live webinars here.

The USEA would like to thank the USEA Corporate Partners and Annual Meeting Sponsors for making this year's virtual meeting possible: Nutrena Feeds, Standlee Hay, SmartPak Equine, Mountain Horse, Bates Saddles, Parker Equine Insurance, Adequan, and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

About the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention

The USEA Annual Meeting & Convention takes place each December and brings together a large group of dedicated USEA members and supporters to discuss, learn, and enjoy being surrounded by other eventing enthusiasts. The USEA organizes multiple seminars in addition to committee meetings, open forums, and tons of fun! Click here to learn more about the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention.