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.
Still riding high on the excitement of the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event? So are we! One of the most exciting parts about the event is getting to watch, and sometimes meet, your eventing idols up close and in person. This year, the Kentucky team put together a group of really fun "behind the barn" videos with both four- and five-star competitors to help you get to know them a little bit better.
It was a weekend to remember at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. Special stories were plentiful, with Oliver Townend taking his fourth Kentucky win in his 100th career five-star start, horses like Sharon White's Claus 63 and Liz Halliday's Cooley Nutcracker completing their first five-stars, and fan favorites like Mia Farley and Phelps and Lauren Nicholson and Vermiculus impressing.
Pierre Le Goupil, a former elite-level eventing athlete, turned decorated course designer in charge of designing the eventing course at this year’s Paris Olympics, has been appointed the new cross-country course designer for the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill presented by Brown Advisory, beginning in 2025.
The USEA is saddened to share that the Kent Horse Trials in Kent, Connecticut, will be ending its run after 44 years. This USEA Area I event has been a historical staple in the eventing community since its first event ran in 1980. This decision was not made lightly by the organizing committee, but the team behind the Kent Horse Trials cited various challenges which led to this decision.