On Monday night Nina Ligon was awarded the HSBC Rising Star Award at the FEI Awards ceremony in Rio De Janiero. This award is given each year to a person aged 14 to 21 who demonstrates outstanding sporting talent and commitment. Based in Virginia, dual national Nina rides for the Kingdom of Thailand. At the age of 15, Nina rode on the USA junior team at the FEI North American Juniors and Young Riders Championships. Her successes prompted the Thai National Team to invite her to compete with them at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Pattaya. As the Thai Eventing team’s youngest and first female rider, she won Individual Gold and contributed to Thailand’s Team Gold win. Nina’s fourth place at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou led the Thai team to a Silver medal. She has become an inspiration for young riders in Thailand and her success and hard work are significantly contributing to the Thai Equestrian Federation’s leadership efforts to develop Eventing, nationally and throughout Asia. Leslie Threlkeld Photo
Young professional Tommy Greengard and That’s Me Z added this year’s Galway Downs Preliminary Challenge title to their two years of ongoing successes in the sport. Launched in 2009, the Challenge is a West Coast fixture on the spring eventing circuit, giving horses and riders a step-up opportunity with slightly more difficult dressage and show jumping demands.
A total of 19 USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) program graduates started the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, held April 24-28 in Lexington, Kentucky, in both the highly competitive CCI4*-S and five-star divisions.
Are you following along with the action from home this weekend? Or maybe you're competing at an event and need information fast. Either way, we’ve got you covered! Check out the USEA’s Weekend Quick Links for links to information including the prize list, ride times, live scores, and more for all the events running this weekend.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation is pleased to announce the host location of the 2024 USEF/USEA Developing Horse National Championships, which will take place at Morven Park International & Fall Horse Trials in Leesburg, Virginia from Oct. 10-13. This national championship will feature two divisions—the first for 6-year-old horses competing at the CCI2*-S level, and the second for 7-year-old horses competing at the CCI3*-S level.