United States Eventing Association

The 2018 Educational Symposium as previously announced is just two weeks away, and the United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to announce the tentative schedule for all four days. The Instructors’ Certification Program (ICP), the Young Event Horse (YEH) Program, and the Future Event Horse (FEH) Program are once again joining forces to bring riders, instructors, judges, horse owners, breeders and friends together for a full week of fun and education. The symposia will focus on young horses, and will take place February 19-22 in Ocala, Florida.

Learn about the clinicians for the 2018 Educational Symposium here.

Tentative ICP Schedule (Monday, February 19)

Location: Dressage Arena at Longwood Farm

9:00 AM – Introductory lecture: Flatwork training for 4- and 5-year-olds

9:30 AM – Leslie Law teaching dressage work to individual riders on 4- and 5-year-olds

12:30 PM – Lunch Break; food available for purchase from on-site food truck all day

1:30 PM – Introductory lecture: Developing collection in 6- and 7-year-olds

2:00 PM – Kai-Steffen Meier teaching dressage work to pairs of riders on 6- and 7-year-olds

5:00 PM – Wrap-up

Tentative ICP Schedule (Tuesday, February 20)

Morning location: In the grass show jumping field next to dressage arena at Longwood Farm

9:00 AM – Introductory lecture: Developing the young event horse’s jumping canter, jumping knowledge and jumping skills

9:30 AM – Preparing for jumping, and jumping the young event horse; 3 groups of 4 horses each, divided by age

1:15 PM – Lunch Break; food available for purchase from on-site food truck all day

Afternoon location: Front XC field with water pond, next to Longwood Farm paved driveway

2:00 PM – Cross-country galloping and jumping; 2 groups of 4 horses each, divided by age

5:00 PM – Wrap-up and Q&A

Tentative YEH Schedule (Wednesday, February 21)

Morning location: The Clubhouse at the Ocala Jockey Club

7:30 AM – Registration

8:00 AM – Introductions

8:15 AM – Kai-Steffen Meier will lead a discussion about how changes in format for eventing may affect breeding

8:30 AM – Discussing the changes to the YEH program in 2018

9:00 AM – Marilyn Payne discusses the methodology of judging the new YEH scoring system

9:30 AM – Practice judging with videos of YEH horses from the 2017 Championships

10:00 AM – Replaying videos with comments from Kai-Steffen Meier, and comments/scores from judges

11:15 AM – Sponsored lunch by EquiAppraisal, LLC; then travel to Longwood Farm South

Afternoon locations: The dressage arena at Longwood Farm South, then moving to the front XC field

12:30 PM – Judging the new YEH dressage tests with one 4-year-old and one 5-year-old (dressage arena)

1:30 PM – Judging, scoring and discussing six YEH jumping rounds with Leslie Law and Kai-Steffen Meier (front XC field)

4:30 PM – Wrap-up and Q&A

Tentative FEH Schedule (Thursday, February 22)

Morning location: The Clubhouse at the Ocala Jockey Club

7:30 AM – Registration at the Clubhouse at the Ocala Jockey Club

8:00 AM – Chris Ryan will lead a discussion on breeding, focusing on the importance of broodmares

8:45 AM – BREAK

9:00 AM – Shauna Spurlock will lead a discussion on the conformation concerns for an event horse

9:45 AM – BREAK

10:00 AM – Susan Graham White and Robin Walker will lead a conformation review, and discuss scoring for type

NOON – Sponsored lunch by EquiAppraisal, LLC; then travel to Longwood Farm South

Afternoon location: The covered arena at Longwood Farm South

1:15-2:30 PM – Judging live horses; yearlings, two-year-olds and three-year-olds

2:30 PM – Judging and analyzing recent FEH Championship winners; a yearling, two-year-old and three-year-old

3:30 PM – Evaluating and judging the 4-year-old FEH class

Register for the Symposium

The USEA is still accepting registrations, and attendees must register for the ICP Symposium and the FEH/YEH Symposium separately.

To register for the FEH/YEH Symposium, click here. Competitors, judges, organizers, breeders, owners, or anyone interested in the development of young horses may attend the symposium. The fee, whether you choose to attend for one or both days, is $45 for USEA members and $50 for non-USEA members.

To register for the ICP Symposium, click here. The Symposium is open for auditing to the general public for $90 for both days or $50 for one day. ICP Certified Instructors, FEH/YEH Symposium Participants, and USEF Licensed Officials will be able to pay a reduced fee of $60 for both days or just $35 for one day. There is also a reduced price for children.

For more information on the ICP Symposium taking place Monday and Tuesday, February 19-20, 2018, contact Nancy Knight at [email protected] or (703) 669-9997. Contact Kate Lokey for more information about the FEH and YEH symposium at [email protected] or (703) 779-9897.

A hotel room block has been set up for Symposium attendees at the Marriott Courtyard Ocala for February 18-23, 2018. Please email [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.

The USEA would like to thank ICP, FEH, and YEH Sponsors, who make these programs possible: EquiAppraisal, LLC, Standlee Hay, Merck Animal Health, SmartPak, and Professional’s Choice.