US Equestrian has announced that changes are on the horizon for U.S. eventing as they roll out the first phase of a restructured and reinvented U.S. Eventing Pathway Program in 2019. As presented and discussed at length at the 2018 United States Eventing Association’s (USEA) Annual Meeting in December, and with U.S. Eventing Director of High Performance Erik Duvander at the helm, the program looks to create a “culture of competitiveness” and provide a more clearly defined pathway for eventing athletes in the United States. Duvander will work closely with Leslie Law, USEF Eventing Emerging Athlete and Development Potential Coach, Joanie Morris, USEF Managing Director of Eventing, and her team, along with the Selectors and Eventing team staff.
“With a more clearly defined Pathway for our athletes in place, Leslie [Law] and I can now begin to work closely together to meet the goals of the program and focus on the key drivers for its success,” says Duvander. “These key drivers include the selection of athletes onto the training list. These selected athletes must be committed, and focus everyday on the work at home, in their training programs, as well as in the team training environment, to become their best. Combinations who can deliver performances to support a team-podium finish are the goal. Through the Pathway Program, the door is always open for these athletes, and we must be prudent and target our resources where it will make the most difference. We will continuously review our progress and measure it against world-leading performances. 2019 is just the beginning of the process for us.”
Notable changes to the Eventing Pathway Program include:
“The process of reviewing the eventing programs started early in 2018, and many people have given a considerable amount of time and expertise to this project over the last several months,” said USEF Director of Sport Will Connell. “The revised structure should lead to a more nimble program that allows Erik [Duvander] and Leslie [Law] to ensure we move towards sustainable success in eventing. LA 2028 [Olympic Games] is less than 10 years away, so our development and emerging programs must focus on a podium finish at our home Olympic Games.”
In addition, collaboration and ongoing discussion with USEA for the future of the Emerging Athlete program will look to provide more opportunity for up-and-coming athletes at a regional level, supplementing the existing USEA Area Young Rider programs and creating a stepping stone to the national level. This will evolve throughout 2019 and a joint program will be implemented in 2020. Law will be largely involved in these discussions with USEA and Duvander, as he will expand his coaching roles into the Development Potential levels in the future.
In a recent letter to U.S. eventers, Duvander summed up the need for a well-though-out and purposeful pathway program. “Our purpose in High Performance is to support our elite riders in their pursuit of excellence and to develop the next generation team riders to achieve sustainable success at championships; to have a pathway in place, and run programs where riders are given the opportunity to develop, be tested, and prove themselves.” Read more of Duvander’s letter here.
Read more news about the Eventing Pathway Program from USEA and Eventing Nation. Watch Duvander’s keynote presentation at USEA’s Annual Meeting here.
Stay up to date on U.S. Eventing by following USA Eventing on Facebook and US Equestrian on Twitter and Instagram. Use #USAEventing.
The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, USOC, and USEF Sponsors and Members.
With less than 20 days remaining until the United States Eventing Association American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds at Rebecca Farm, to date over five hundred entries have been received. Entries for the event close on August 16, 2022. Those entrants in the AEC championship divisions this year are qualifying under the requirements that have been in place for the last several years. However, for those intending to compete at the 2023 AEC in Kentucky, the USEA Board of Governors have approved a strengthening to the qualification requirements.
The USEA Board of Governors (BOG) concluded a productive two days of the August BOG meeting on Wednesday, August 9th in Dulles, Virginia led by USEA President Max Corcoran. All but four BOG members were able to attend in person this year. Many key items related to eventing in the U.S. were discussed at great length including safety, membership strategies, competition procedures, visibility of the sport, and more over the course of the two-day gathering.
Are you following along with the action from home this weekend? Or maybe you're competing at an event and need information fast. Either way, we’ve got you covered! Check out the USEA’s Weekend Quick Links for links to information including the prize list, ride times, live scores, and more for all the events running this weekend.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to compete in a traditional long format Three-Day Event? Can you imagine the thrill of three additional phases leading into cross-country? In the early 2000s, eventing began to shift away from long format events and toward modern short-format competitions. Not all is lost though! The United States Eventing Association (USEA) created the USEA Classic Series to give riders a taste of the old school experience. These competitions preserve eventing’s history and allow riders at the Beginner Novice through Preliminary levels to take on the challenge of traditional long format events.