United States Eventing Association

Topic of the Week: How To Get Started in Eventing . . . Without a Horse?

Horses are expensive…period. That shouldn’t surprise any of us eventers who operate on a shoestring budget. And for those of us who’ve been involved in the sport for many years, how did we overcome that obstacle while still getting the important solid foundations we needed to safely and successfully enjoy the sport of eventing? Did you get your start in Pony Club – where perhaps you owned your own pony and participated in eventing rallies? Did you start taking lessons at a local hunter/jumper barn and decided eventing was more your cup of tea? Perhaps you got your start in the dressage world, then took a few lessons with an eventer, and got hooked. What about those riders who took up eventing as an adult – perhaps their child was an avid eventer, and they decided to see what all the fun was about (after years of serving as groom/volunteer/Pony Club DC/jump crew/chauffeur)? Which came first the chicken or the egg….(or rather, eventing or horse ownership!)?

The question remains – how do we get more people involved in our sport, by still making it affordable and still making sure they get the vital educational building blocks they need. Does your eventing coach have lesson horses? Do they take on very basic beginners (who may not own their own horse), or do they only teach people who have their own horse? How many “eventing riding schools” have you ever seen? Leasing is a popular option for many people – did you ever lease an eventer? How would you encourage a horse-less friend (with eventing aspirations) to get started in eventing? What if there were “Riderless Horses, and Horseless Rider” programs to help riders get partnered with horses?

Of course, since eventing’s humble beginnings until present day, there’s always been a huge need for a wide variety of participants – those interested in officiating, building the jumps, maintaining the land and courses, and so many other thankless jobs that we take for granted. Those people are invaluable to the sport, but I’m curious to see what our members have to say about “greenies” getting their feet wet… did they have their own horse when they first became members, or they became members and decided to try eventing because they had their own horse and the basic skills. How did one become an eventer in the first place?

Discuss!