Youth

Wayne, Ill. – The final day of the 2026 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions got off to a wet start with rain in Wayne, Ill. but the competition at the HITS Lamplight Equestrian Center could not be dampened. Four new national champions were crowned across both arenas, including the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Final 14-18, the Markel/USEF 6- and 7-Year-Old Dressage National Championships, as well as the Aspen Leaf Farm/USEF Children Dressage National Championship. USEF Dressage Seat Medal...

Some horses are purchased, but some are priceless. Pedro was rescued for $900 out of a neglect situation, and more than a decade later, he's carried two generations of the same family to national competition, most recently finishing sixth in the Aspen Leaf Farm/USEF Pony Rider Dressage National Championship with 15-year-old Zoe Lewis of Elgin, Texas, in the irons. Pedro and Zoe Lewis with her mother, Marsha (left) and older sister, Ruby (right). (©US Equestrian) Pedro, a 2003 Appaloosa...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the athletes selected to represent U.S. Jumping at the 2026 FEI FEI Youth Jumping Nations Cup™ Final hosted from September 9-13, at Peelbergen Equestrian Centre, in Kronenberg, the Netherlands. U.S. Jumping will field both a Junior Team and a Young Rider Team. Both teams will be led by Chef d’Equipe Anne Kursinski and Team Leader Erin Keating. The following athletes have been selected to represent the U.S. Jumping Young...

For Sophia Goetz, a 17-year-old from Windsor, Colo., the path to being in the saddle began at age six and took shape with her first lesson horse at nine. It was a green start which quickly turned into an all-consuming passion. Sophia and Mickie (Photo courtesy of the Goetz family) "They keep you honest," Goetz said of horses. "You can't fake your way through a run, and you can't force that kind of raw power." Goetz's early years in the sport were shaped by a small, just-starting-out...

Traverse City, Mich. – Youth athletes from across North America are set to compete in Traverse City, Mich., for the 2026 edition of the FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC), the continent's only FEI youth championship for jumping and dressage. ©US Equestrian This year's competition once again features the FEI North American Youth Dressage Championship presented by USDF and the Gotham North/FEI North American Youth Jumping Championship presented by USHJA. Hosted at...

When she visited a livestock auction in December 2019, Kristen Spendlove’s plan was to sell tack that was no longer used at the therapeutic riding center where she worked as an instructor. However, fate intervened in the form of an Appaloosa with kind, soft eyes sticking his head out of a stall waiting to be auctioned. Hamilton stood out at the auction; photo courtesy of Kristen Spendlove “He was so friendly and so inquisitive. He was not bothered at all by being at an auction...

Lexington, Ky. – Graduating high school seniors with plans to continue their equestrian journey in college have just weeks left to apply for the Higher Education Equestrian Scholarship . US Equestrian will award two $2,500 scholarships to students preparing to enter a college or university this fall, with all applications due to the USEF office no later than July 31, 2026 . The scholarship supports students interested in furthering their equestrian knowledge and skills throughout their...

Adamstown, Md. - Competition at the 2026 USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships concluded with three individual and three team champions crowned across the CCIJ1*, CCIYJ2*-S, and CCI3U25*-S levels. The Championships were hosted by The Maryland International & Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm, from June 25-28, with cross-country courses designed by Andrew Heffernan (NED) and show jumping courses designed by Chris Barnard (USA). Competitors and grooms participated in various educational...

Before he became a teacher for a driven young rider, Figaro des Premices was an Olympic-experienced horse with a resume most eventers spend a lifetime chasing. He had seen the biggest stages the sport has to offer. Then, he found his way to Reese Dellangelo, a rider who got her first pony in 2020 and did her first event not long after, and the two of them got to work building something new. Dell'Angelo and Monte at the 2026 USEF Eventing Young Riders Championships (©US Equestrian)...

Anna Rose Erickson wasn't looking for a five-star horse. She was looking for something she could afford, a horse that would help her earn her Pony Club A, and maybe, if things went well, take her a little further than she'd been before. What she got was Unmarked Bills: a bay Thoroughbred with a five-star resume, an enormous ego, and absolutely no interest in being anyone's backup plan. Talley and Unmarked Bills at the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event (©Shannon Brinkman)...

When twin athletes, Shannon and Ashley Zupan, representing Area II, arrived at Loch Moy Farm on Thursday morning, it wasn’t with their saddles in hand or their competition gear neatly packed. Instead, they stepped into a different but equally significant role, cheering on their teammates, lending a hand wherever needed, and soaking in every moment of the experience. The Zupan sisters are returning to the USEF Eventing Young Rider National Championships for a second consecutive year to...

For Katelyn Smith, the road to the 2026 USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships began not in the competition arena, but at a small lesson barn down the road from her Marietta, Georgia, home. She was inspired by a group of school friends who convinced her to start taking lessons with them and give riding a try. What started as a once-a-week lesson gradually grew into a passion that has shaped her life ever since. HSH Henry (Photo courtesy of Katelyn Smith) Smith spent time in the hunter/jumper...