United States Eventing Association

Welcome to the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention Noteworthy News! The Noteworthy News features important facts, figures, and other need-to-know information that comes out of the meetings and sessions at the USEA Convention. Check back here for important news and updates from the 2019 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention.

Saturday, December 14, 8:00 a.m. | Safety Committee Open Forum

• The Cross-Country Safety Subcommittee is working on rewriting the cross-country course design guidelines to include information on groundlines and how best to use them to help the horse properly read the fence.
• The Cross-Country Safety Subcommittee is also investigating putting a rule in place like similar rules in Europe that would prohibit a rider from going cross-country if they incur too many show jumping penalties.
• The Equine Safety and Welfare Subcommittee Cardiovascular Research Taskforce has been working on a study for which results will soon be published.
• The Equine Safety and Welfare Subcommittee is investigating a partnership with New Bolton that would study equine exercise related deaths.

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Friday, December 13, 4:00 p.m. | Course Designers/Builders Open Forum

• "Design for us is a balance between safety and test."
• Right now there are 2 main systems for frangible technology - MIMs systems and frangible pins.
• The use of frangible technology starts at the Modified level and above.
  

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Friday, December 13, 4:00 p.m. | YEH: Better Judges and Smarter Breeders

**UPDATE 2/24/20: Updated entry process is available here.

• 2020 Championship qualifications will be: On the West Coast, one score of 70% to qualify, on the East Coast, one score of 75% will qualify.
• East Coast Championships will put a cap on entries. Maximum horses: 55 (35 5-year-olds, 20 4-year-olds)
• If oversubscribed, the horses with the highest qualifying scores will be accepted, in order of ranking. None will be accepted after closing date of the event.
• Horses can still enter if not qualified. If they don’t qualify before Championships, they’ll get refunded their entry.
• In 2021, the committee is hoping to put to three full days of YEH at the East Coast Championships to accept more horses. 2020 will remain on two days with a cap of 55 horses.

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Friday, December 13, 9:00 a.m. | Volunteer Incentive Program Open Forum

• Last year had 50% recognized horse trials use eventingvolunteers.com which increased to 70% in 2019.
• We currently have 5,000 active volunteers that work an average of three shifts per volunteer.
• There were 15,000 volunteer shift sign-ups this year.
• Eventingvolunteers.com updates for 2019: private team signup page, email reply, ability to attach calendar invite to signup email.
• Eventingvolunteers.com future update for 2020: email attachments, volunteer activity tracking, basic coordinator features to the mobile app.
• Volunteer videos are available to everyone online at www.useventing.com.

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Thursday, December 12, 5:00 p.m. | Intercollegiate Open Forum

• This year the USEA membership saw 284 current collegiate members.
• There were 20 intercollegiate team challenges in 2019.
• There are 23 intercollegiate team challenges on the 2020 intercollegiate calendar.
• The Intercollegiate Committee is discussing the possibility of a 2021 West Coast Intercollegiate Championship.
• UK Eventing president Macy Clark and Jackie LeMastus presented on UK Eventing Team and how it’s grown. They currently have 60 members, 30 of them incoming freshmen. They have members riding at every level including 15 FEI riders.

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Thursday, December 12, 5:00 p.m. | Membership and Affiliate Open Forum

• The number of Affiliates remained constant from 2018 to 2019, holding steady at 23.
• USEA membership numbers are down approximately 200 from last year.
• The USEA American Eventing Championships was the largest event in North American history with nearly 1,000 starters.
• There has been steady growth in educational activities registered with the USEA - this year there were approximately 200.
• Currently, USEA Affiliate members are not required to be SafeSport certified.

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Thursday, December 12, 2:00 p.m. | Board of Governors Meeting

Click here for the full report from the first Board of Governors meeting of the weekend.

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Helpful Links

• USEA Website
• Convention Page
• USEA’s Convention Coverage
• Livestream
• Program
• Schedule
• Floor Plan
• Vendor List
• 2019 Financials
• 2018 Annual Meeting Minutes

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About the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention

The USEA Annual Meeting & Convention takes place each December and brings together a large group of dedicated USEA members and supporters to discuss, learn, and enjoy being surrounded by other eventing enthusiasts. The USEA organizes multiple seminars in addition to committee meetings, open forums, and tons of fun! The 2019 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention is taking place at the Sheraton Boston Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, December 12-15, 2019. Click here to learn more about the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention.

The USEA would like to thank Adequan, Bates, Nutrena, Charles Owen, Standlee Premium Western Forage, SmartPak, Mountain Horse, Parker Equine Insurance, Rebecca Farm, Auburn Laboratories, Stackhouse & Ellis Saddles, Nunn Finer, World Equestrian Brands, Gallops Saddlery, Revitavet, Hylofit, and Tryon International Equestrian Center for sponsoring the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention.