This year, the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention went virtual! All week from Tuesday, December 8 through Friday, December 11, we brought you live interactive webinars and on demand educational content that you were able to enjoy from the comfort of your home, culminating with the USEA Annual Meeting & Keynote Address on Saturday, December 12 at 2:00 p.m. ET. The 2020 Year-End Awards Ceremony was also held virtually on Friday, January 8 at 6:30 p.m. ET. All of that content is now available on demand to watch on the USEA website.
The USEA Year-End Awards Ceremony is held annually during the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention in December. This year, with the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention being held virtually, the decision was made to host a special virtual Year-End Awards Ceremony as well. At 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, January 8, the eventing community gathered virtually to celebrate the accomplishments of its members in 2020. For the first time ever, the Year-End Awards Ceremony is available to view on demand!
Led by Master of Ceremonies James Wofford, we recognized the great achievements that USEA members accomplished in 2020. The awards presented during the ceremony included the USEA leaderboard of champions presented by Nunn Finer, the overall leaderboard champions, grants, and a variety of appreciation awards.
To catch up on all the coverage from the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention, click here.
The USEA would like to thank the leaderboard sponsors: Nunn Finer - sponsor of the overall leaderboards, World Equestrian Brands – sponsor of the USEA Rider of the Year, Bates Saddles – sponsor of the Lady Rider of the Year and the Mare of the Year, Standlee Premium Western Forage – sponsor of the Horse of the Year, SmartPak Equine – sponsor of the Stallion of the Year and Pony of the Year, RevitaVet – sponsor of the Young Rider of the Year, Sunsprite Warmbloods – sponsor of the Volunteer of the Year, and D.G. Stackhouse & Ellis – sponsor of the Classic Series Training Three-Day year-end Champion.
The USEA would also like to thank the USEA Corporate Partners and Annual Meeting Sponsors for making this year's virtual Annual Meeting possible: Nutrena Feeds, Standlee Hay, SmartPak Equine, Mountain Horse, Bates Saddles, Parker Equine Insurance, Adequan, and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.
It's a big week for eventing in the U.S. with the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill taking place in Elkton, Maryland, starting with the first horse inspection on Wednesday. Can't make it to the event yourself this year? Not to worry! We've outlined all the ways that you can tune in from home.
Three years ago, Bucyrus, Kansas-based professional Julie Wolfert and her two good friends Renee Senter and Sheri Gurske, went to Ireland where they tried about 40 horses before they decided to go in together on the now 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding SSH Playboy (Cit Cat x Stomeyford Black Pearl).
Cross-country in the USEF/USEA Developing Horse Championships proved the age-old statement that "this is not a dressage show," as we saw the CCI3*YH-S whittled down, while the CCI2*YH-S had some shuffling in the top-10 standings.
Day 1 is a wrap at the 2024 USEF/USEA Developing Horse Championships at Morven Park International, and we saw a familiar face rise to the top in the CCI3*YH-S Championship, while the leading CCI2*YH-S competitor is making her international debut.