United States Eventing Association

Today the United States Eventing Association (USEA) released the 2015 statistics on its membership and competition starters. Release of this information was deemed appropriate with the upcoming USEA Annual Meeting and Convention scheduled to occur on December 2-6 at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C.

“This information will help to inform and guide the Association members as they discuss future planning for the Association” stated USEA President Diane Pitts. “The data is particularly relevant for discussion purposes during the Eventing 2016-2026 USEA Summit and Town Hall Meeting being held on Saturday December 5th of the convention.”

USEA Membership Statistics

According to the USEA for the last two years there have been increases in the number of Association members registered, starters, and the number of recognized competitions. The number of members reached its highest total since the recession hit the United States in 2008, and 2015 ranks as one of the top 10 highest years for membership since the Association was established in 1959.

“With the economic recession the USEA saw a loss of members but we are encouraged to see that our membership numbers are approaching pre-recession levels” said USEA CEO Jo Whitehouse. “The interest in the sport is much larger than the membership numbers alone indicate. With over 60,000 North American followers of U.S. Eventing through social media channels like Facebook there is a significant amount of growth still possible for the sport.”

U.S. Competition Statistics

For the third straight year the number of starters at USEA recognized competitions increased. There have been 43,471 starters as of November 24, 2015 with one (*) competition still scheduled to occur on the final weekend of the year. This competition year will rank as the third highest in terms of starters in the history of the USEA. The previous high points were reached in 2006 (44,324) and 2007 (45,667) just before the economic recession.

*One competition scheduled for the weekend of November 28, 2015 not included.

At the same time the number of competitions also increased to 237 events, which is a rise in competitions from 228 and 233 in the previous two years respectively.

“The growth in USEA starters and competitions in 2015 is a positive sign, but we also recognize the challenges faced by competition organizers and venues in hosting Events” said USEA COO Rob Burk. “We must continue to work on solidifying the future of all of our competition venues. We know we have work to do when we see venues that have fostered the growth of our riders at all levels closing to business.”