The United States Pony Club (USPC) is offering a $5,000 prize to the winning Preliminary Eventing Team at USPC Championships. This award, offered only during Festival years at the Kentucky Horse Park, offers an incentive for upper level members to come to Championships.
The Broussard Family Trust made a major contribution to secure the award for this year and years to come. Additional funds have been raised by a silent auction of several horse trials entries including Woodside Horse Trials, Fair Hill Horse Trials, Cobblestone Horse Trials, New Jersey Horse Trials and Seneca Valley Horse Trials. Supporting donations were also received from Pony Clubs and regions across the country, as well as individual donors. The USPC is extremely grateful to the Broussard Family Trust, the USEA-recognized horse trials organizers, and all regional and individual donors.
In 2011, all five members of the Preliminary Eventing Team won a $1,000 prize, including the Stable Manager, rewarding their excellence in riding, horsemanship and teamwork. You can see how they spent their money here: http://www.eventing.ponyclub.org/News.htm
We hope that sharing the knowledge about this special award will help increase the number of Preliminary Eventing teams at this year’s Championships in Kentucky. USPC celebrates its 60th Anniversay this year and runs the Pony Club Championships on the grounds of the famous Rolex Kentucky CCI****, alongside the North American Junior & Young Riders Championships, July 14 - 21, 2014.
With the start of the New Year just days away, now is the time to consider how your actions can have a positive impact on the sport of eventing in 2025. Each and every member of the eventing community has an important role to play in ensuring the sport continues to grow and thrive. From fostering educational opportunities to supporting grassroots initiatives and participating at all levels of the sport, there are so many ways to get involved.
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.