United States Eventing Association

This week’s USEA Podcast episode is all about the Charles Owen Technical Merit Award. Founded in 2009 by the Professional Horseman’s Council and Charles Owen, the Charles Owen Technical Merit Award is presented to one junior and one adult amateur at the Training level who displays safe and effective cross-country riding technique.

The Charles Owen Technical Merit (COTM) Award aims to reward juniors and adult amateurs that demonstrate safe and appropriate cross-country riding technique and educate riders and trainers as to what constitutes safe cross-country riding.

Lifelong dreams were in work at Pine Top Advanced Horse Trials, February 22 – 25, the first event of 2018 to host the Charles Owen Technical Merit Award. With over fifty Training level rides, Chantil Ruud and Madison Chisholm both rose to the occasion to earn this award for demonstrating safe and appropriate riding on cross-country.

Texas Rose Horse Park in Tyler, Texas hosted the final leg of the 2017 Charles Owen Technical Merit Series at their Fall Horse Trials, November 11-12, 2017. A total of 55 riders competed at the Training level at Texas Rose, but it was Katherine Hindy and Nick Staples who ultimately walked away with the final Adult Amateur and Junior Charles Owen Technical Merit Awards of the year.

Charles Owen, the official riding helmet of the USEA, announced today a new safety campaign for 2017. “Safety365” will share the many ways Charles Owen makes safety a priority every day of the year

We caught up with Roy Burek of Charles Owen and Phillip Dutton to talk about the benefits of Charles Owen helmets that are specifically designed for cross-country after hearing all about helmet safety and concussion from Roy this morning

Highlights of the Helmet Safety and Minimizing Concussion seminar given by Roy Burek of Charles Owen.

As a sportsman, we can test ourselves at home, but it is only when we test ourselves at local, national or even international shows or events that we can really know how good we are. It is the same with helmets; the best can be tested anywhere in the world and pass with flying colours.

Helmets have come a long way from when they were being made out of cloth and shellac. Many of those advances are due to the plethora of modern materials. Selecting the right materials to be used in a Charles Owen helmet is an art in itself and is essential in creating the safest helmet possible.

Before a helmet can even begin to head to the first step of production, Charles Owen has to decide what kind of helmet needs to be made. Charles Owen offers a wide variety of helmets that suits the needs of every equestrian. The designers pay close attention to trends in both equestrian and mainline fashion as well as safety and technological innovations before coming up with hundreds of designs, which are then whittled down to a few products that are worthy of the Charles Owen brand. Each helmet released is a direct result of what riders need and want.