United States Eventing Association

West Coast YEH Seminar Coming in April!

The USEA is pleased to announce that Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California will be hosting a Young Event Horse (YEH) seminar to instruct judges, competitors, owners, breeders, and anyone else involved or interested in the program in the new judging and scoring system that was introduced at the beginning of 2018.

The USEA announced several significant changes to the YEH program in 2018, and the YEH day of the Young Horse Symposium in Ocala, Florida last month was spent focusing on the new scoring and judging system that has been implemented, as well as reviewing the new dressage tests. YEH judges are required to attend an educational seminar or symposium about the new YEH scoring system in order to remain on the list of YEH judges.

The West Coast seminar will be held at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California on Wednesday and Thursday, April 11-12, 2018. Tentative times will be: Wednesday, April 11, 4:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., and Thursday, April 12, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. The main topics this seminar will cover are learning the new scoring system, judging the dressage, conformation, and jumping/gallop phases, as well as tips for organizers, competitors, and all others involved in YEH competitions. This seminar will count as credit for YEH judges to remain on the list of YEH judges by learning the new scoring and judging system.

A team of top professionals will be helping cover these topics using powerpoints, videos, practice judging, and Q&A. The presentations will be led by Gretchen Butts, Bea DiGrazia, Loris Henry, Mark Weissbecker, Karen Winn, and Daniel Zilla.

Registration for the seminar is $45 for current USEA members and $50 for USEA non-members. To register for the seminar, please click here.

The USEA would like to thank Bea DiGrazia and Wendy Wergeles for organizing this seminar! For more information, please contact one of them at [email protected] or [email protected].

About the USEA Young Event Horse Program

The Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was first established in 2004 as an eventing talent search. Much like similar programs in Europe, the YEH program was designed to identify young horses that possess the talent and disposition to, with proper training, excel at the uppermost levels of the sport. The ultimate goal of the program is to distinguish horses with the potential to compete at the three- and four-star levels, but many fine horses that excel at the lower levels are also showcased by the program.

The YEH program provides an opportunity for breeders and owners to exhibit the potential of their young horses while encouraging the breeding and development of top event horses for the future. The program rewards horses who are educated and prepared in a correct and progressive manner. At qualifying events, youngsters complete a dressage test and a jumping/galloping/general impression phase. At Championships, young horses are also evaluated on their conformation in addition to the dressage test and jumping/galloping/general impression phase. Click here to view the jumping standards and specifications.

The USEA would like to thank SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, Professional’s Choice, and Merck Animal Health for sponsoring the Young Event Horse program.