Welcome to the 2020 USEA Virtual Convention! This week, the USEA will be hosting a series of interactive live webinars on a variety of topics and release several on demand educational videos and written articles, all in the lead-up to the 2020 USEA Virtual Annual Meeting & Keynote Address on Saturday, December 12 at 2:00 p.m. EST.
The Convention Daily will be released every morning and will serve as your handy-dandy guide to that day's Convention schedule and other important information. Keep it locked on the USEA website and social media to stay in the loop!
Live Webinars
Coming to you live today at 12:00 p.m. EST is the Rules Open Forum - typically one of the most popular sessions at the USEA Convention - led by Malcolm Hook of the USEA Competitions, Calendar, and Rules Committee. The Rules Open Forum will discuss changes to the USEF Rules for Eventing for the upcoming competition season. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear which changes are coming and why they are in place.
Click here to access the Rules Open Forum Zoom Webinar. Can't watch today at 12:00 p.m.? The Rules Open Forum will be available on demand later today on the USEA website.
Closed committee meetings will also take place for the YEH Committee (3:00 p.m. EST), the ICP Committee (4:00 p.m. EST), and the Organizers Committee (7:00 p.m. EST). The full convention schedule can be viewed here.
On Demand Content
For today's on demand content, we have two videos lined up for you. The first is from the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. Dr. Lauren Schnabel, an Associate Professor of Equine Orthopedic Surgery at North Carolina State University's Comparative Medicine Institute, discusses the therapeutic use of stem cells for tendon and ligament injuries.
The second video will feature Martin Douzant of The Frame Sport Horses explaining his process of backing young horses from start to finish. The video focuses on the backing process of Daedalus WG (Doctor Wendall MF x Blumins Best) a 3-year-old Oldenburg gelding, bred by Eileen Pritchard-Bryan, owned by Will Duhring, and ridden by Meghan O’Donoghue.
Virtual Annual Meeting
The 2020 USEA Annual Meeting & Keynote Address will be held virtually this year on Saturday, December 12 at 2:00 p.m. EST. The event is free to attend, but you must be a current 2021 USEA Member. Invitations to register for the 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting will be sent out on Thursday, December 10, so please join or renew your membership by Wednesday, December 9 to receive the registration invitation. More information about registering for the Annual Meeting is available here.
Following the Annual Meeting of Members, we have an exciting keynote address featuring the 2020 World Equestrian Brands USEA Rider of the Year Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp and British five-star eventer Piggy March. Moderated by Nicole Brown of the EquiRatings Eventing Podcast and USEA Official Podcast, Halliday-Sharp and March will speak about their respective successes and what it has taken to reach them. Start preparing your questions now and learn more about our keynote speakers here.
Voting
In addition to attending the 2020 USEA Annual Meeting, members should participate by exercising their right to vote! If you are attending the Annual Meeting, voting will be done ahead of the meeting through an online ballot system and votes will be tabulated just before the Annual Meeting. Members should enter their USEA member login to access the online ballot and all ballots should be submitted by Friday, December 11. Click here to submit your online ballot.
You should only vote using the online ballot if you will be in attendance at the Annual Meeting. If you will not be attending the Annual Meeting, we encourage you to vote by proxy. Log in to Online Services and select the "Member Proxy Form" link from the Membership section and follow the instructions to submit your proxy electronically.
Zoom
You will need to have the Zoom app installed on your computer in order to participate in any of our interactive live sessions and the Annual Meeting. The app will begin downloading automatically when you click to join your first Zoom Webinar, or you can click here to download the app in advance.
Helpful Links
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The USEA Annual Meeting & Convention takes place each December and brings together a large group of dedicated USEA members and supporters to discuss, learn, and enjoy being surrounded by other eventing enthusiasts. The USEA organizes multiple seminars in addition to committee meetings, open forums, and tons of fun! Click here to learn more about the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention.
The USEA would like to thank the USEA Corporate Partners and Annual Meeting Sponsors for making this year's virtual meeting possible: Nutrena Feeds, Standlee Hay, SmartPak Equine, Mountain Horse, Bates Saddles, Parker Equine Insurance, Adequan, and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.
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.