United States Eventing Association

Two Weeks Away! Everything You Need to Know About the 2020 USEA Educational Symposium

The biggest educational event of the year will start in two weeks, on February 17-20 at Barnstaple South in Ocala, Florida. The 2020 USEA Educational Symposium will have five world-renowned clinicians share information related to three USEA programs: the USEA Instructors' Certification Program (ICP), the USEA Young Event Horse Program (YEH), and the USEA Future Event Program (FEH).

With the event fast approaching, learn more about the schedule, clinicians, registration, YEH and FEH judges, demo horses, food, and the venues.

Schedule

The ICP Symposium will be on Monday and Tuesday with the teaching of dressage on Monday with one session of the teaching of show jumping in the afternoon. Tuesday will focus on the teaching of jumping with show jumping in the morning and cross-country sessions in the afternoon. The YEH Symposium will be all day Wednesday and the FEH Symposium will begin on Wednesday evening and continue all day Thursday.

The schedule is fully packed and details on the symposium schedule can be found here.

Clinicians

The five clinicians include Andreas Dibowski, a top German event rider who has won the Luhmuhlen CCI5*-L twice, Marilyn Payne, an Olympic level dressage judge, and Susan Graham White and Robin Walker, the founders of the FEH program. Click here to meet the five clinicians of the 2020 USEA Educational Symposium.

Registration

The USEA welcomes anyone and everyone to attend the symposium. For USEA members, one-day registration fees for the ICP Symposium are only $35. Two-day passes for the ICP Symposium are available for $60. Click here to register for the ICP symposium.

For USEA members, one-day registration fees for the YEH and FEH Symposia are only $30. Two-day passes for the YEH/FEH Symposia are available for $55. Registration fees are waived for YEH and FEH judges who are required to attend the judge testing seminars. Click here to register for the YEH/FEH symposium.

The USEA encourages everyone to register beforehand, but registration will also be available onsite all four days.

YEH and FEH Judges

Both YEH and FEH will have judge testing seminars during Symposium. If a current YEH or FEH 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 lead the YEH judge seminar on Wednesday. Susan Graham White will lead the FEH judge seminar on Wednesday evening and Thursday.

Registration fees are waived for the judges required to attend but, please still fill out a registration form and send to Hannah Temple at [email protected].

Demo Horses

The demo horses for the ICP Symposium, YEH Symposium, and FEH Symposium have already been selected. For more information on what type of horses will be used in the symposium, please click here.

Have any questions on ICP demo horses? Contact Lauren Gash at [email protected].

Have any questions on YEH/FEH demo horses? Contact Claire Kelley at [email protected].

Food

Lunch will be provided for symposium attendees all four days of the symposium. Barnstaple South will provide lunch Monday – Wednesday, and return sponsor EquiAppraisal will provide lunch on Thursday.

For the YEH Wednesday morning classroom session, coffee and breakfast pastries will be provided by HITS Post Time Farm. For the FEH Wednesday evening classroom session, dinner will be provided by the USEA.

Please pack water, snacks, sunscreen, and any other necessary items as the Symposium will be held almost entirely outdoors.

Venue(s)

The official host site for the 2020 USEA Educational Symposium is Barnstaple South, an event horse training facility in the heart of Ocala’s horse country, located just behind HITS Post Time Farm.

Barnstaple South
10210 NW 145th Ave.
Morriston, FL 32668

On Wednesday morning, the YEH Symposium will have a classroom session from 7:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. at HITS Post Time Farm in The Overlook VIP Club next to the Grand Prix Stadium. *Please do not use the main entrance address to HITS Ocala. At the stoplight of Hwy 27 and Rt 326, turn West at the stoplight and stay on Rt. 326. The entrance will be 0.25 mile on the right off of Rt. 326. Once you enter, drive past the blue and white tents and permanent stabling, and the parking lot should be on the right

HITS Post Time Farm
13761 County Rd 326
Ocala Fl 34482

On Wednesday evening, the FEH Symposium will have a classroom session from 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott.

Courtyard by Marriott Ocala
3712 SW 38^th Avenue
Ocala, Florida 34474

The designated hotel for Symposium attendees is the Courtyard by Marriott Ocala. Visit their website or call (352) 237-8000 to make a reservation.

Additional items

Barnstaple South will have several golf carts available for the attendees who have difficulty walking. Please email Claire Kelley at [email protected] for more information.

Please note the USEA will be sending an email next week with important information to everyone who has registered for the symposium.

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 as well as names and contact information for current ICP-certified instructors, YEH instructors, and YEH professional horse trainers are available is available on the USEA website. Click here to learn more about the Instructors’ Certification Program.

The USEA would like to thank EquiAppraisal and C4 Belts for sponsoring the Instructors’ Certification 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.