United States Eventing Association

The USEA Youth Mentorship Program gives a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run and officiate an international event, helps Young Riders and Intercollegiate athletes experience competition from the inside as a part of the officiating and management teams, encourages furthering sport education, and helps youth athletes seek and identify career paths and job opportunities, network, communicate, and seek new experiences within the eventing.

In June, four young riders participated in the program at the Maryland International. Each participant wrote about their experience in the program, and we are sharing them in two parts. To learn more about the USEA Youth Mentorship Program, click here.

Caroline Abbe (Plymouth, New Hampshire)

This June, I had the opportunity to participate in the USEA Young Rider Mentorship Program at The Maryland International and Young Rider Championships hosted at Loch Moy Farm. This opportunity truly changed the way I look at competing and my understanding of the sport. For the entire weekend, I was able to follow around FEI officials and get a behind-the-scenes look at an international event.

Although the program did not begin until Thursday, my journey began on Wednesday with a very early morning and a long drive down to Maryland. After getting a lay of the land on Wednesday, we met Holly Covey, the wonderful organizer of this program, on Thursday morning. Our morning consisted of talking to the FEI vets and learning about the FEI check-in process. We learned all about FEI passports and how the vets identify horses through markings and microchips. We also learned what the vets are looking for physically as horses arrive, including signs of illness and lameness, and whether the horse is fit to compete.

After a brief lunch break, we met with Muffin Pantaze, the Technical Delegate, who taught us how cross-country courses are measured to ensure they are appropriate for the level. Muffin also highlighted the various combinations and progression of difficulty throughout the levels. We ended our day walking the course with the ground jury. This experience was so interesting as the ground jury had to take into account details as small as the placement of a flower at a jump. These details can affect how the horses jump the fence and affect horse and rider safety. It is the job of the ground jury to ensure the course is safe and the best it could possibly be for Saturday. These course walks were so educational and reinforced how important it is to take into account every aspect of every jump when I am walking my own courses.

Friday we were up early in order to watch dressage. I had the honor of sitting in the judges' booth all day with Debbie Adams, getting to listen to her judge both the four-star and one-star. Getting to watch and hear the feedback for such high-level competition was amazing. It was also fascinating to see the difference in what the judge was looking for between the four-star and one-star and compare that to the progression of levels I had seen on the cross-country course.

At the end of the day, we got to watch some of the FEI show jumping before heading out to the cross-country course with course designer Andrew Heffernan. Andrew explained how the type of jump, terrain, and location ask unique questions. Hearing from the course designer about how he used terrain, especially in combinations, was really interesting. I hope to use what I learned from his course walk when I walk my own courses at future competitions, really paying attention to how the terrain will affect my horse.

Saturday is probably everyone's favorite day, but it was definitely a highlight of the program for me. I spent the day with Muffin out on the cross-country course, learning about the role of the Technical Delegate. We watched competitors throughout the day, monitoring how the course rode and discussing why certain parts of the course may be giving many riders trouble. Her role also included making sure all competitors stayed safe and serving as an extra set of eyes for any potential faults on course.

We ended the day walking the shpw jumping course with course designer Chris Barnard. Chris shared how he used the color, number of rails, addition of planks, and size of jumps to challenge horse and rider combinations. One of the most interesting things was how he used the liverpool in different spots underneath the jump to create a progression through the levels. It was fascinating to see the progression of levels across all three phases throughout the weekend.

Despite the rain, we ended the program with a bang. Sunday, I had the amazing opportunity to sit in the judges' box during the three-star Young Rider Championship show jumping. I got to watch as results were being recorded live and see the teamwork between the judges, announcer, and other officials. After each division, the judges went down to the ring and presented awards. It was really fun to see the award ceremonies for the Young Rider Championship divisions and the camaraderie among teammates.

Overall, this program was a wonderful way to learn the ins and outs of an FEI event and gain exposure to a bigger show atmosphere without the pressure of showing. As an aspiring FEI eventer, this was an amazing way to get involved and learn. Everyone was so friendly, passionate, and excited about sharing their expertise. I built connections with officials and learned so much throughout the weekend. This was such an amazing opportunity, and I’m so grateful to everyone involved and especially to Holly for organizing it. If you are a dedicated Young Rider and interested in becoming a more well-rounded eventer, I highly recommend you apply to this program.

Charlotte Thompson (Castleton, Vermont)

I am truly so grateful for this experience. I was able to experience my first international event without the stress of competing. I spent dressage day shadowing Valerie Pride. I sat in the judges' booth with her, and I got to learn about all the “why's." Why that centerline scores a 6 instead of a 7 and how she assesses each movement efficiently as the test moves along. She explained what is expected at each level and at the international levels, how things change. Then after we finished judging dressage, we moved over to four-star show jumping, part of the US Equestrian Open series, to watch the riders whom we just judged on their dressage. It was so interesting how what we saw in the dressage ring translated to the show jumping ring. Getting to hear all of Valerie’s thoughts was very educational.

Saturday was cross-country day, and I spent the day in the control center. I observed all the levels go by the booth, front and center! I got to talk quite a bit with the veterinary delegate, Dr. Chuck Arensberg, on how important the vet box is, and a variety of other things. I got to watch videos come in from the cross-country videographers, and how the ground jury made decisions regarding flags. It was such an incredible weekend, and I am so thankful for everyone who helped make it happen.