United States Eventing Association

The USEA Board of Governors convened this morning to discuss committee news and report back from their sessions throughout the week. President Diane Pitts introduced new board members and encouraged each of them to get involved with committees. Pitts also welcomed new USEA CEO Rob Burk. The Board then went into discussions that were tabled from their meeting on Friday. Because of continued unresolved discussion, the Board has decided to withdraw the proposed rule changes for helmets and safety vests. They have agreed to revisit this idea at a later date.

Katherine Cooper then explained the suggestions of her task force, which was assigned to address the issues caused by Area boundaries being adjusted last year after bylaw changes. She relayed that the task force believes the USEA area system is a necessary institution and provides local representation and program governance. The task force has suggested that USEA members be allowed to select which area they would like to belong to, in regards to programs such as Adult Riders. She discussed this in the Membership Committee Open Forum earlier this week as well. The Board supported this idea, but it will not go into effect until a later date.

Phyllis Dawson then reported the Education Committee’s continued attempts to smooth the way for more officials to become licensed. One effort of this includes a restructuring of the education system to move more traditional classroom opportunities to an online setting. Dawson also commented that the Instructor Certification Program (ICP) had a strong year with ten workshops which served 48 candidates across eight states. Two assessments also took place where eight instructors became certified in 2015.

Peter Gray, VP of the Competitions Committee believed the Sports Summit, which took place on Saturday, was extremely valuable to his committee. He says results from the Summit will be discussed in the coming weeks. The biggest piece of news from this committee is that they approved the proposal for a Modified Level, and it will now be passed along to the USEF Annual Meeting for further discussion.

The report of the Organizers Committee was shared by new board member Jonathan Elliot. His goals going forward include increased communications between organizers, the Organizer’s Committee and Area Chairs. He also would like to committee to educate organizers on the opportunity for them to use Test Events to attract new riders to their Events and help their bottom line.

Leslie Law spoke to the rest of the Board on behalf of the Active Athletes and Developing Rider Program. He reported that the Developing Rider Program had three training sessions this year both on the East and West Coasts. Law believes that the program has taken off and is something many young riders are striving for. In 2016, the Under 25 riders who have completed a CCI3* will be eligible to apply for the Karen Stives Grant to go to Europe. Riders will spend a few weeks training in England before competing in the Under 25 CCI3* at the Bramham International Horse Trials. On the discussion of Young Riders, Diane Pitts commented that the CH-2* typically held at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships has been proposed to the FEI to be held as a Nations Cup, which makes the division a CICO2* and opens it to all countries.

Wayne Quarles, Chairman of the USEF Eventing Technical Committee, explained to the Board that this year was primarily a year of maintenance for the committee. They did review the new FEI rules to ensure that they coincided with national standards. Following Quarles, Harold “Tink” Eichell touched on the newly formed USEA Foundation, formally the USEA Endowment Trust.

One popular topic of this year’s Annual Meeting was volunteer incentives. The USEA Board of Governors approved a new Volunteer Program today, which is to be headed by Carol Kozlowski. During breakout sessions this week, Holly Covey and Bonnie Kibbie described suggestions for increased volunteer involvement. They have been asked to compile a complete proposal to be reviewed by the Board. They would like to see the USEA adopt a Volunteer Program that would emulate the existing program used by British Eventing. This would include a volunteer database, tracking of volunteer hours and recognition of those who dedicate the most hours.

Diane Pitts also reflected on the Sports Summit held as an open forum the day before. In the coming months, Pitts will travel to East and West Coasts to hold similar forums to continue the discussions. CEO Rob Burk commented that the USEA will produce a summary document that will soon be posted online. He also reports that this will be a living and breathing document, and the USEA will strive to be as transparent as possible as we continue to better our sport. The Board made note of their appreciation of speakers who expertly explored the concerns with the sport.

USEA Director of Membership Jennifer Hardwick finished the meeting with a recap of the entire Annual Meeting and Convention. The Year-End Awards Luncheon and Hall of Fame Ceremony were highlights of the weekend attracting hundreds of members. The final count of attendants was 408 for the weekend. Hardwick reminded the Board that the 2016 Annual Meeting and Convention will be held in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. at the Diplomat Resort & Spa Hollywood. It will take place December 7-11, 2016.

The USEA Board of Governors would like to thank all who attended this year’s Annual Meeting and Convention!