In December 2020, Dr. Erin Contino, a practicing veterinarian and an active eventer in Area IX, gave a presentation at the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Virtual Convention on advances in safety in the sport of three-day eventing.
Her presentation, which is geared specifically towards veterinarians, begins with an overview of the sport of eventing, for those who might be unfamiliar. As veterinarians, animal welfare is of paramount importance, and so they too are concerned with trying to reduce the inherent risk of the sport. Contino shares national and international statistics on horse falls and fatalities, as provided by the USEA and FEI.
After Contino has defined the problem of safety in eventing, she moves on to share data and information on a number of initiatives that have taken place over the last 30 years to make the sport of eventing safer for horses and riders, from changes put in place to mitigate hot and humid climates, the cardiopulmonary research group, air quality index considerations, increased awareness of footing and conditioning, and rider education and awareness. She also talks about how rules affect horse safety and how the EquiRatings ERQI uses data and analytics to assess safety.
Contino then provides information about a few studies that have been done surrounding horse safety. The first study looks at risk factors associated with horse falls. The study collected data over a five-year period and recorded over two million jumping efforts. The second study looked at how a horse's dichromatic vision could be accommodated to improve jumping performance. The third study looked specifically at the efficacy of frangible devices in preventing rotational falls.
THANK YOU to everyone who has already entered the USEF/USEA Recognized CDCTA Spring Horse Trials scheduled for Sunday, April 9 in Berryville, VA. We will continue to take late entries through Friday, March 24 using USEA’s Xentry system. If you still want to come compete, please enter! The late fee has been waived through Friday, March 24.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation announces the appointment of long-term US Equestrian employee Hallye Griffin as Director of FEI Sport. Griffin will assume the duties of former Director of FEI/High-Performance Sport, Graeme Thom, who has chosen to step away from his role to attend to personal matters.
The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is thrilled to announce that Sidelines Magazine will not only be returning as a “Media Partner of U.S. Eventing,” but they will also be supporting the Association as a “Contributing Level Sponsor of the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 Program” and a “Prize Level Sponsor of the USEA American Eventing Championships.” Sidelines Magazine will give the USEA additional promotion and exposure through their printed and digital media products, while also providing prizes for participants at the AEC and EA21 clinics.
Are you following along with the action from home this weekend? Or maybe you're competing at an event and need information fast. Either way, we’ve got you covered! Check out the USEA’s Weekend Quick Links for links to information including the prize list, ride times, live scores, and more for all the events running this weekend.