United States Eventing Association

Thank You To All Who Made EA21 National Camp A Success!

The second annual USEA Emerging Athletes U21 program (EA21) national camp wrapped up on Saturday after a wonderful week of education, hard work, and fun. EA21 Director of Coaching David O’Connor led the camp with 18 selected athletes for the EA21 national program this year, which took place at KingsWay Farm in Temecula, California.

This year’s USEA EA21 program would not have been possible without the help of many people, and the USEA would like to thank everyone involved. Extraordinary thanks goes to Tamie Smith and her entire team at KingsWay Farm for hosting this year’s national camp.

KingsWay Farm is owned by Linda and Terry Paine, and team members Savannah Gwin, Kaylawna Smith- Cook and Alyssa Dobrotin helped keep the week running smoothly. The team was able to stable all the horses on-site, and the Paine family kindly opened their home to the athletes and staff for the morning educational lectures and lunch breaks. Additionally, Robert Kellerhouse and his team at Galway Downs offered their facility at gratis if needed as an inclement weather option, and their team were extremely generous.

O’Connor offered incredible expertise and put significant effort into the success of this year’s program. Rebecca Brown, a founding member for the EA21 program, also receives special mention for helping with logistical planning for the entire program and national camp and serving as a head coordinator on-site all week.

Brown serves as one of the regional clinic coaches, as does Bec Braitling, who was also a significant help in lining up catch-ride horses and offering her support to the national camp. Teresa Harcourt, who serves as the USEA Board of Governor representative for the Young Rider program, helped source a horse for catch-riding and helped with camp coordination.

Fourteen catch-ride horses were provided to riders who flew to the West Coast for the national camp, and those horses were provided in thanks by: Smith, Smith-Cook, Chloe Smyth, Harcourt, Braitling and Arnell Sporthorses/Lauren Burnell. This provided an exceptional experience for the selected athletes, and the USEA cannot thank the catch-ride horse loaners enough for their generosity.

Kerrits served as the “Official Merchandise Kit Provider of the USEA EA21 National Camp” and provided embroidered polos, long sleeve shirts, hats, and jackets to all the national camp athletes for their daily uniforms.

The USEA would like to thank all the special guest speakers that appeared throughout the week, including Dobrotin for grooming and horsemanship sessions and Patrick Kroenke for guiding the athletes through a shoeing technique seminar.

Additionally, two strong EA21 supporters, Melissa Beauchamp and Leonie Padgett, stepped up in a large way to help with on-site logistics and keep the athletes fed and hydrated each day.

The USEA would like to thank the entire USEA EA21 Task Force for introducing the program in its second year, and those members include: Max Corcoran, Braitling, John Bourgoin, Brown, Jonathan Elliott, Mia Farley, Sara Kozumplik, Shannon Lilley, Lauren Nicholson, O’Connor, Diane Pitts, Diane Snow, and newly-added Padgett. The EA21 regional coaches put in a significant amount of additional time and effort for the program, including Braitling, Lilley, Brown, and Emily Beshear.

Lastly, the USEA would like to thank the USEA Foundation and all those who helped fundraise and donate to pull off this program in its first two years. The USEA would like to thank the Southern California Equestrian Sports Group (SCES) and all the other private donors for their incredible generosity. The USEA looks forward to continuing this educational development program moving forward.

About the USEA Emerging Athlete U21 Program (EA21)

The purpose of the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 Program (EA21) is to identify and provide consistent quality instruction to the next generation of elite event riders. The aim is to create a pipeline for potential team riders by identifying and developing young talent, improving horsemanship and riding skills, and training and improving skills and consistency.

The USEA Emerging Athletes U21 Program was launched in 2022 with a model of five summertime regional clinics taught by selected USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) instructors, leading to a winter national camp consisting of selected Young Riders from the regional clinics. Athletes who are 21 years or younger, are current members of their USEA Young Rider Area program, and are established at the Training Level or higher, are eligible to apply for the EA21 program. Click here to learn more about the USEA EA21 Program.

The USEA would like to thank Kerrits, Ride iQ, Sidelines Magazine and WeRideTogether for sponsoring the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 Program.