This week on the USEA Podcast, USEA Classic Series Task Force member Mary Fike comes on the show to talk about the history of the USEA Classic Series and the work the Task Force has done over the last year.
Fike expressed her excitement about the partnership with Hylofit, who came on board as the title sponsor of the USEA Classic Series in 2018. Their technology is a perfect fit for the Classic Series as the Hylofit heart rate monitoring system is designed to help target fitness for equine and human athletes alike.
Next, Fike highlighted the Classic Series Guidelines that were published by the Task Force last year, designed to help competitors, organizers, and officials alike prepare for a long format Classic Series event. She also talked about the history behind the long format events and how the Classic Series came into being, ending with the benefits of competing in a Classic Series event for both horse and rider.
Marcia Kulak returns this week to follow Fike's segment with detailed information on how to prepare your horse for the physical challenges of a long format Classic Series event from your very first day of fitness work all the way up to the competition.
Ride iQ’s popular “Ask An Expert” series features professional advice and tips from all areas of the horse industry. One of the most-downloaded episodes is an expert session with Peter Gray, an accomplished dressage judge and Olympic eventer. He has recently judged at events like the five-star at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, and he served on the ground jury at the 2022 FEI World Eventing Championships in Pratoni, Italy. His background as a competitor in the Olympic Games riding for Bermuda and as a coach and selector for the Canadian eventing team adds depth to his understanding of the sport.
With a total of 382 volunteer hours in 2024, Catherine “Cathy” Hale not only topped the USEA Area III VIP Volunteer leaderboard, but she also ranked fourth out of all eventing volunteers across the country. Hale (The Villages, Florida) has worked as a travel agent for over 30 years, a career that suits her love of travel nicely. At the time of being interviewed for this article, Hale was passing the equator on a cruise to Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia.
The USEA office will close at 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, and will reopen again on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. The USEA staff will return emails and phone calls when the office re-opens on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 or at their earliest convenience.
After the success of the first annual USEA Intercollegiate & Interscholastic Eventing Championships at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, members are not going to want to miss the second edition in 2025! Barry and Cyndy Olliff, owners of Stable View, and their team are gearing up for an even bigger and better event in the coming year. If you are a current or prospective member of the Intercollegiate Eventing Program or the Interscholastic Eventing League, be sure to block off the weekend of May 3-4, 2025 to attend these exciting Championships.