United States Eventing Association

Two Months Until the 2020 USEA Educational Symposium

It’s time to start planning for the 2020 season, and one event to put on the calendar is the 2020 USEA Educational Symposium on February 17-20, 2020 at Barnstaple South in Ocala, Florida. The ultimate educational experience will start with the USEA Instructors' Certification Program (ICP) symposium on Monday, Feb. 17 and Tuesday, Feb. 18. The USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Symposium will be on Wednesday, Feb. 19 and the USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) Symposium will be on Thursday, Feb. 20.

Flying in from Europe, one of Germany’s best event riders, Andreas Dibowski, will be the featured clinician for the ICP Symposium and YEH Symposium. Dibowski won the team eventing gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games with his horse Butts Leon. He’s won Luhmuhlen twice (2011 and 2016) and Pau in 2010. In 2009, he placed second in the 6-year-old division at the Young Horse World Championships Le Lion d’Angers with the well-known eventing stallion Mighty Magic. The following year, he won the 7-year-old division with Mighty Magic at the Young Horse World Championships Le Lion d’Angers. He’s successfully completed almost every five-star event in the world and has helped secure numerous team medals for German eventing.

In addition to Dibowski, Maren Engelhardt, and Marilyn Payne will also be clinicians for the YEH symposium. The FEH Committee chairs, Susan Graham White and Robin Walker will be the clinicians for the FEH symposium.

In order to improve the young horse programs, it is now required for judges to attend a recent judge seminar. If a current judge didn’t attend the judge seminars offered during the 2019 championships, they must attend the 2020 symposium in order to maintain judging status. Marilyn Payne will be leading the YEH judge seminar on Wednesday, Feb. 19 and Susan Graham White will be leading the FEH judge seminar on Thursday, Feb. 20. Please email [email protected] for more information.

Registration is now open! Click here for the ICP Symposium registration form. Click here for the YEH/FEH Symposium registration form. Please note that the registration fees are waived for the YEH and FEH judges who are required to attend.

All four days will be using demo horses and riders. Click here for the demo rider registration for the ICP Symposium. Click here for the YEH or FEH demo horse sign up form. The YEH Symposium will be using a variety of levels at a variety of ages.

The USEA has booked a hotel block at the Courtyard by Marriott in Ocala, Florida. Click here to receive the discounted rate of $109/night or call (352) 237-8000. Make sure to book a room before Friday, January 24, 2020 to receive the special USEA discount.

Helpful Links:

• ICP Symposium Registration Form
• ICP Demo Rider Registration Form
• YEH/FEH Symposium Registration Form
• YEH/FEH Demo Horse Sign Up Form
• Courtyard Ocala website
  
  

About the USEA Instructors’ Certification Program

Instructors are essential to the training of riders and horses for safe and educated participation in the sport of eventing. The USEA Instructors’ Certification Program (ICP) was initiated in 2002 to educate all levels of eventing instructor with essential training principles upon which those instructors can continue to build throughout their teaching careers. ICP offers educational Workshops and Assessments by which both regular instructors, Level I through Level IV, Young Event Horse (YEH) instructors, and Young Event Horse professional horse trainers can become ICP certified. Additional Information about ICP’s goals, benefits, Workshops, and Assessments is available on the USEA website. Names and contact information for current ICP-certified instructors, YEH instructors, and YEH professional horse trainers are available on the USEA website as well, listed by ICP certificate level and type and by USEA Area. Click here to learn more about the Instructors’ Certification Program. The USEA would like to thank Stable Secretary, sponsor of the ICP program.

About the USEA Young Event Horse Program

The USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was first established in 2004 as an eventing talent search. Much like similar programs in Europe, the YEH program was designed to identify young horses that possess the talent and disposition to, with proper training, excel at the uppermost levels of the sport. The ultimate goal of the program is to distinguish horses with the potential to compete at the four- and five-star levels, but many fine horses that excel at the lower levels are also showcased by the program.

The YEH program provides an opportunity for breeders and owners to exhibit the potential of their young horses while encouraging the breeding and development of top event horses for the future. The program rewards horses who are educated and prepared in a correct and progressive manner. At qualifying events, youngsters complete a dressage test and a jumping/galloping/general impression phase. At Championships, young horses are also evaluated on their conformation in addition to the dressage test and jumping/galloping/general impression phase. Click here to learn more about the Young Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, C4 Belts and Etalon Diagnostics for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program.

About the USEA Future Event Horse Program

The USEA introduced the Future Event Horse Program in 2007 in response to the popularity of the already established USEA Young Event Horse Program. Where the YEH program assesses 4- and 5-year-old prospective event horses based on their performance, the FEH program evaluates yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds for their potential for the sport based on conformation and type. Yearlings, 2-year-olds, and 3-year-olds are presented in-hand while 4-year-olds are presented under saddle at the walk, trot, and canter before being stripped of their tack and evaluated on their conformation. Divisions are separated by year and gender. At the Championships, 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds are also required to demonstrate their potential over fences in an additional free-jump division. Click here to learn more about the Future Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, C4 Belts, Etalon Diagnostics and Guardian Horse Bedding for sponsoring the Future Event Horse Program.