The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to announce the athletes selected for the 2023 USEA Emerging Athlete U21 Program (EA21). This year's program received nearly 200 applications, proving to be a very competitive program in 2023.USEA Young Rider program members aged 21 and under are eligible for the program. The purpose of the EA21 program is to identify and provide consistent quality instruction to the next generation of elite event riders. The aim is to create a pipeline for potential team riders by identifying and developing young talent. The intention is to provide young athletes with access to an added level of horsemanship and riding skills to further their training and skill development with greater consistency.
Participants in the USEA Emerging Athlete U21 Program will have the opportunity to work with USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) coaches that have been selected for each regional clinic by the EA21 Task Force, and the EA21 Director of Coaching, David O’Connor. O’Connor will coach the national camp in the winter, which will be comprised of Young Riders selected from the regional clinic athletes.
Once again, O’Connor will mentor the ECP coaches selected for the regional clinics, and will develop a curriculum that leads to the national camp in January of 2024. The 2023 EA21 regional clinic venues, dates, and coaches are listed below, along with the athletes selected for each clinic:
*Athletes are listed in alphabetical order per clinic, and the wait lists appear in the order the athletes will be accepted should openings occur at each clinic.
Central Clinic | Holly Hill Farm (Benton, LA) | Saturday-Sunday, June 10-11, 2023:
Coached by Bec Braitling
WAITLIST 1. Sylvia Byars
WAITLIST 2. AnniePearl Stroud
WAITLIST 3: Addison Craig
East Coast I Clinic | Morven Park International Equestrian Center (Leesburg, VA) | Tuesday-Wednesday, June 27-28, 2023:
Coached by Shannon Lilley
WAITLIST 1. Jordan Crabo
WAITLIST 2. Noah Stanlaske
WAITLIST 3. Carlin Keefe
East Coast II Clinic | Stable View Farm (Aiken, S.C.) | Tuesday-Wednesday, July 25-26, 2023:
Coached by Emily Beshear
WAITLIST 1. Carly Stiller
WAITLIST 2. Annabelle Friend
WAITLIST 3. Crockett Miller
West Coast I Clinic | Twin Rivers Ranch (Paso Robles, CA) | Tuesday-Wednesday, June 27-28, 2023:
Coached by Rebecca Brown
WAITLIST 1. Mackenzie Davison
WAITLIST 2. Lizzie Lynch
WAITLIST 3. Adelaide Rudkin
West Coast || Clinic | Aspen Farms (Yelm, WA) | Tuesday-Wednesday, July 11-12, 2023:
Coached by Rebecca Brown
WAITLIST 1. Caterina Ritson
WAITLIST 2. Olivia Keye
WAITLIST 3: Simone Clark
The USEA will cover the regional clinic cost and stabling fees for all accepted applicants. Applicants will be responsible for their own travel and lodging costs. Athletes will be contacted by the USEA and on-site Young Rider Coordinators with more information and scheduling.
The USEA would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of the USEA EA21 program: Kerrits, Ride iQ, Sidelines Magazine, WeRideTogether
If you are wanting to get a good parking spot at the Kentucky Horse Park this morning, you better be on your way as early as possible! Cross-country day at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event is easily the busiest day the Kentucky Horse Park sees each year, so it's time to grab your coffee and go ensure you get the viewing spot you want for both the CCI4*-S and CCI5*-L divisions today.
Riders in both the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L are sharing similar sentiments about this year's cross-country courses: course designer Derek di Grazia didn't play around this year. Here is what some of the riders across both divisions had to say about the tracks they will aim to conquer on Saturday.
Off The Record decided not to let Michael Jung be the only record-breaking entry at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event this week and delivered a career-best score in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S on Friday morning. He and Will Coleman delivered a test that received a score of 21.8, not only marking a personal best for the horse but also securing their position at the top of the leaderboard going into cross-country tomorrow.
Boyd Martin and the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 were the last pair to go in the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L field on Friday afternoon and were warmly greeted to the bluegrass with an impressive downpour that outshined anything the other horse and rider pairs had to combat throughout the day. But that didn’t stop this pair from putting their best foot forward and impressing the judges enough to earn them a score of 26.0, just 0.2 points ahead of second-place pair Tom McEwen (GBR) and Brookfield Quality.