At the 2021 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention, the Adult Riders committee led an open forum featuring guest speakers Asia Vedder and Dr. Kevin Keane, both busy and active eventers. Throughout the forum, Vedder and Keane answer several questions on juggling work, life, and eventing to help fellow adult riders find creative ways to make all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
Keane, a high-level veterinarian based in Area II who has previously acted as a Team Veterinarian for three countries and has competed up to the five-star level, put together the acronym DRAFTS for key points of consideration for adult riders which stands for:
Discipline
Riding Program
Ability
Funding
Time Management
Suitability
Vedder, who has a lifelong history in horses from competing in showjumping to working with racehorses and steeplechase horses, now works for her family ranch and competes at the three-star level of eventing. She offered some different perspectives as a California resident: "I am not in a barn or a program, I am doing this on my own most of the time. So all of Kevin's points are amazing and I wish I was in a program where are of those points were dictated for me, but I have to create all of that myself. I go for a lesson probably once a week, if I can do two I will but I have to choose between taking a dressage lesson or a jump lesson so I often am jumping on my own with my father, usually setting for me."
Check out the entire Open Forum replay here and see what practices Keane and Vedder suggest that you can implement into your own program.
What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.
Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.
As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.