The Ocala Jockey Club (OJC) is pleased to announce that, as part of the Ocala Jockey Club International Three-Day Event taking place November 15-18, one of the special events will be a Celebration of Women in Peak Performance Equestrian Sports Luncheon, held Friday, November 16 at the OJC Clubhouse. The featured speakers will be Gemma Tattersall, member of the British Eventing Team that won team gold at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG), and Lynn Symansky, the second-highest placed U.S. rider at the WEG, competing on off-the-track Thoroughbred Donner. The luncheon will be moderated by Jen Roytz, Executive Director of the Retired Racehorse Project. Admission is included in VIP packages and for riders and officials at the event. Separate admission for the luncheon only may be purchased for $45/ticket.
Equestrian sports are the only Olympic sport where men and women compete equally. Women comprise a disproportionate percentage of amateur riders and a large percentage of riders in lower level competitive divisions. However, it still requires a special level of commitment and support for women equestrians to get to the top levels of their chosen sport and stay there. As Nina Gardner, an owner and supporter of top rider Jennie Brannigan and some of her competition horses, says, “Challenges don’t seem to be related to lack of interest or lack of talent, but at least partially due to challenges in financial and other support for women riders”. The luncheon will be a celebration of those women who have made the journey to the top successfully, as well as a discussion of the current process and support system for women riders to succeed at the highest levels. Come to get inspired and to discuss ideas to do even better!
The Ocala Jockey Club International Three-Day Event includes four FEI level divisions of competition: CCI3*, CIC3*, CCI*, and CCI2*, each also including a Thoroughbred Eventing Champion division. The Event will start on Thursday, November 15 with dressage and continue into the weekend with show jumping and cross-country events. There will also be a Family Fall Festival with many activities for the whole family to enjoy, such as demonstrations, petting zoo, bounce house, kid jumping course by Jump 4 Joy USA, and other games. Event information and tickets are on the event website at www.OJC3de.com.
The venue, the Ocala Jockey Club, is a crown jewel in Ocala, the winter and year-round horse destination for many disciplines. Ocala Jockey Club features a 924-acre Thoroughbred and eventing training and conditioning paradise. Venue information is at www.OcalaJC.com.
The MARS Bromont Rising U25 scholarship program, administered by the USEA Foundation, is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s grant funding for riders aiming to compete in the MARS Bromont CCI (Quebec, Canada) taking place June 5-8.
Were you one of the competitors at this year's USEA Intercollegiate & Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) Eventing Championships? Or do you dream of the day that you can participate yourself? Are you just a huge eventing superfan and love seeing young riders of all ages enjoying the sport? No matter where you fall, you will love this week's episode of the USEA Podcast where we chat with a member of the USEA IEL champion team and the president of this year's Intercollegiate Spirit Award winners, the University of Georgia. Get a behind-the-scenes look at what it feels like to participate in one of these championships from Olive Dumais and Katlyn Parker.
In this excerpt, trainer and educator Anne Buchannan explains bit contact connection and why it matters for true collection and healthy movement.
Familiarizing yourself with the key players at each horse trial is an important step to your success at your next competition. One of those important figures is the show secretary. Think of the show secretary as the mastermind behind most of the organizational efforts related to each horse trial. They manage entries, the show schedule, ride times, stabling, and so much more. Without the hard work of the show secretary and their office staff, a horse trial simply would not be able to operate.