United States Eventing Association

Youth Mentorship Program Debuts at 2025 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship

The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is excited to announce the addition of the USEA Youth Mentorship Program to the 2025 USEA Intercollegiate & Interscholastic Eventing Championships on Friday, May 2 through Sunday, May 4. Originally established at the USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships, the Youth Mentorship Program will be offered for the first time for our collegiate members and gives participants the opportunity to shadow eventing officials and learn more about the behind-the-scenes professions that make our sport possible.

The mentorship program strives to achieve the goal of giving participants an intensive and personal experience to understand the demands of officiating at a championship level event and encourage future involvement in the sport. Selected participants will be invited to Stable View to shadow an official or a group of officials for the entirety of the championships. Participants will join the officials in their briefings, experience their decision-making processes, learn the methods of scoring, and receive one-on-one instruction from some of the best officials in the country as they learn how a championship competition is conducted under USEF and USEA rules. While the education is intense, it is also fun, and the officials are welcoming and encouraging with all participants It can be a life-changing experience for many!

The application process for the Young Rider Mentorship Program at the 2025 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship at Stable View will be as follows:

1. Must 18 to 25 years of age, and a member of a current Intercollegiate Eventing Program Team or their Area Young Rider Program.
2. Contact your Designated Collegiate Representative or Area Young Rider (YR) Coordinator to express interest in participating.
3. Complete the Intercollegiate Eventing Championship Mentorship Program Application, which will be provided as a link from your Collegiate Representative or YR Coordinator.
4. Intercollegiate Eventing Championship Mentorship Program Applications will be due to the USEA Mentorship Coordinators no later than Tuesday, April 1.
5. The USEA Mentorship Coordinators will select the top candidates from the applications provided, and an announcement will be made by closing date Tuesday, April 15 regarding the selected participants.

Team presidents and faculty members have been informed about the newly established plans for this year’s championship and will assist in the application process. Once selected, the USEA Mentorship Coordinators, Vicki Fine and Holly Covey, will work with the participants before, during, and after the championships with program requirements. Participants will be a part of their own collegiate teams during the championships and are encouraged to participate in team activities when they are not busy with their duties, but they are not allowed to compete in the event. Due to the time commitment required for the program, participants will not be able to dedicate the time to competing in the Championship as well.

Following the successful completion of the program, participants will be required to write a brief reflection on their experience for publication and may be asked to participate in other post-event promotions through the USEA. The program is free for qualified applicants between the ages of 18 and 25, but travel, accommodations, and meals will be at the applicant’s expense.

For more information or to ask questions about the Youth Mentorship Program being offered at the 2025 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship, please contact the USEA Mentorship Coordinators, Vicki Fine at [email protected], or Holly Covey, at [email protected]. For any questions regarding the USEA Intercollegiate & Interscholastic Eventing Championship, please contact Kaleigh Collett at [email protected].

If your college or university has not submitted their application or renewal yet, please be sure to encourage the executive board and/or faculty to do so as soon as possible. Only USEA Members listed on an active collegiate team roster will be eligible to participate in the mentorship program or compete in the championship. For any questions regarding membership status, please contact Jennifer Hardwick at [email protected].

The USEA looks forward to receiving applications for this exciting new offer for collegiate members. Best of luck to all those that apply, and mark your calendars for May 2-4 for the USEA Intercollegiate & Interscholastic Eventing Championships at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina!

About the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program

The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program was established in 2014 to provide a framework within which eventing teams and individual competitors could flourish at universities and colleges across the country. Many events across the country offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges where collegiate eventers can compete individually or in teams with their fellow students. In Intercollegiate Team Challenges, each rider’s score is multiplied by a coefficient appropriate for their level to account for differences in level difficulty, and then the individual scores are added together to determine the team score. The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship is a capstone event for the program, which is held annually in the spring. The 2025 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship will be held at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, on May 2-4. Click here to learn more about the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Horse & Country, Kerrits, Nunn Finer, Sidelines, U.S. Equestrian, WeRideTogether, World Equestrian Brands and Young Rider for sponsoring the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program.