The required SafeSport Training is located within the USEF website and is free for USEF members. Anyone under 18 years of age must have parental consent to take the training. Instructions on how to register for the training can be found here. The training will take approximately 90 minutes to complete. The training does not have to be completed in one sitting; you can break it up to accommodate your schedule.

All USEF Competing Members 18-years-old and older (based on your actual birthday) must complete the training within 30 days of joining or renewing your membership. USEF will provide members who renew or join on or after December 1, 2018 a 30-day grace period to complete the SafeSport Training. Members joining prior to December 1, 2018 will have until January 1, 2019 to complete the training.

After you have completed the training, USEF receives notification within 24 hours and it will reflect in your member dashboard as “SafeSport Training Completed.”

Any USEF Competing Member who is 18-years-old and older (based on your actual birthday) is required to take the SafeSport training, including amateurs, professionals, juniors who are 18-years-old and older, and owners who have an annual, three-year, or lifetime membership. Others required to take the SafeSport training include USEF licensed officials, Chefs d’Equipe, Staff, Board Members, Competition Management, Coaches, Human Physios, Farriers, Trainers, Veterinarians, and Selectors hired or contracted by USEF. The SafeSport training requirement does not apply to USEF Fan Members or USEF Competing Members under the age of 18 (based on your actual birthday).

If you have already completed the SafeSport Training on or after January 1, 2018 for another National Governing Body you are involved with, please reach out to our SafeSport Program Coordinator, Sarah Gilbert at [email protected] to ensure that completion is recorded in our system.

On February 14, 2018 the U.S. Senate signed into Federal Law, S 534, the Protecting Young Victim’s from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 which became effective immediately. The bill imposes general requirements on youth-serving amateur athletic organizations including child abuse prevention training for adult members who have regular contact with minor athletes. This requirement extends beyond USEF to all amateur sports organizations participating in interstate or international athletic competition and whose membership includes any adult who is in regular contact with minor athletes. In equestrian sports, there are no horse shows that exclude children. Therefore, it was approved by the USEF Board of Directors on August 28, 2018 to require all USEF Competing Members 18-years-old and older to complete the SafeSport Training.

If you have a technical issue logging into the system, please call or email the U.S. Equestrian Member Services Department at 859-258-2472 or [email protected].

The required SafeSport Training needs to be completed annually. The courses are assigned on a four-year schedule, starting with the full Safe Sport Training (approximately 90 minutes), followed by three years of Safe Sport Refresher Trainings (approximately 30 minutes). 

Example:

• Year 1: Safe Sport Training (approximately 90 minutes) 
• Year 2: Refresher 1 (approximately 30 minutes)
• Year 3: Refresher 2 (approximately 30 minutes)
• Year 4: Refresher 3 (approximately 30 minutes)
• Year 5: Safe Sport Training (approximately 90 minutes) 

USEF provides Competing Members, who are 18-years-old and older, a 30-day grace period to complete the SafeSport Training if they join or renew on or after December 1, 2018.

If you are a victim or a survivor of abuse and believe this training could be an emotional trigger, please contact Sarah Gilbert at [email protected], or Sonja Keating at [email protected], before accessing the SafeSport Training course.

Those who do not complete the required SafeSport Training will be ineligible to participate in USEF activities, including competitions, and will be placed on the SafeSport Ineligibility List.

The SafeSport Training can be completed on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. If none of these are available, there are a lot of public options to access computers and the internet, such as a public library, internet café, or a myriad of businesses that provide free Wi-Fi.

If you join or renew at a horse show, you have 30 days from the day you join or renew to complete the required SafeSport Training. Points accrued at said horse show will count and are good. If you do not complete the required SafeSport Training after the 30-day grace period, you will be ineligible to compete and will not continue to accrue points until the required SafeSport Training is completed.

It can take up to 24 hours for USEF to receive notification, and for your USEF member dashboard to reflect that the SafeSport Training has been completed. At the end of completing the training, you can print a certificate that says “SafeSport Trained” for verification purposes. There is a certificate of completion after each module.

Competition management and secretaries will have access to a combined Suspension and Ineligibility List in the same manner as the current Suspension List to identify those who are ineligible to compete. USEF SafeSport Training records from the U.S. Center for SafeSport automatically update to the USEF system every 24 to 48 hours. If a person appears on the SafeSport Training Ineligibility List, but has completed their training before the system updates, they can print and take a copy of the SafeSport Trained certificate to the show office to prove they are eligible to compete. Anyone who has passed the 30-day grace period without taking the training will show up as ineligible to compete.

USEF’s SafeSport Policy and the rules that govern it have been created to protect all athletes from misconduct. Recognizing the signs and behaviors associated with abuse will help all of us to prevent it. In addition, the training covers information on reporting, and under Federal Law, we all have a mandate to report any reasonable suspicion of sexual misconduct with a minor.

No. A parent signing an entry blank is not required to be a USEF Member. However, if you are a parent who is a USEF Competing Member 18-years-old and older you must complete the training.

No. Currently that option is not available.

Yes, the horse is ineligible to compete unless the horse is listed as owned by a farm. If the owner of the horse has an active USEF Competing Membership and is also 18-years-old and older, they are required to take the SafeSport Training. A horse with an owner who does not have an active USEF Competing Membership will not be eligible to accrue USEF points. A horse entered under an owner who is on the SafeSport Ineligibility List is ineligible to compete at USEF-sanctioned competitions.

No. Farm entities are not required to take SafeSport Training. If the owner of the farm has an active USEF Competing Membership and is 18-years-old and older, they must complete the SafeSport Training.

No. Only USEF Competing Members 18-years-old and older are required to take the SafeSport Training.

No. Only USEF Competing Members 18-years-old and older are required to take the SafeSport Training.

No. If you are a USEF Competing Member and are 18-years-old and older, you must complete the SafeSport Training.

No. For the horse's points to count, the owner, as well as the exhibiting rider and/or trainer must all be compliant with the SafeSport Training requirement. 

If the ineligible owner, rider, and/or trainer completes the SafeSport Training on the first day of the competition and presents the 'SafeSport Trained' certificate to the show secretary, then they can compete and their points will count. If the SafeSport Training is completed after the first day of the competition and the 'SafeSport Trained' certificate is presented to the show secretary, they can compete, but their points will not be good. 

No, if a trainer is suspended/ineligible for any reason, a horse's points will not count.