On October 6, 2026, the US Equestrian Federation (USEF) and Equestrian Canada (EC) renewed a long-standing reciprocal agreement outlining the mutual membership and participation requirements for citizens from each country. The terms of the new reciprocal agreement extend through the end of November 2029. 

Newly-added components of the agreement include the following:  

Horse Identification 

• Beginning December 1, 2026, all horses competing in USEF-licensed competitions in the United States must have a USEF Horse ID and be microchipped in accordance with USEF rules. 

• Beginning December 1, 2027, all horses competing in EC Gold and Silver competitions must be microchipped in accordance with EC rules. 

• Both EC and USEF agree to establish a joint working group on equine identification and digital interoperability to explore opportunities to: 

• Harmonize, where practical, terminology and technical standards related to equine microchips and identification; 

• Align relevant data fields and collection practices between EC and USEF and explore opportunities for appropriate data sharing, and; 

• Identify longer-term opportunities to align equine identification standards as they evolve and support digital credential verification that may facilitate cross-border movement of horses between Canada and the United States. 

Officials at USEF/EC Competitions 

• USEF and EC agree to continue to work collaboratively to explore opportunities to reduce duplication and improve cross-border mobility for licensed officials and develop abbreviated requirements for licensed officials in one National Federation to become licensed in the other. 

• USEF and EC will provide links to each other’s National Federation’s Licensed Official Search webpages on each other’s websites. 

• To contact the EC Officials department, please email [email protected]. To contact the USEF Licensed Officials department, please email [email protected]. 

As a reminder, the elements of the reciprocal agreement created in 2023 will also carry forward to 2029. This includes the terms and conditions for USEF competing members to receive an EC sport license at no cost, and for EC sport license holders to receive a USEF competing membership at no cost, as well as details on horse recording requirements and jointly-sanctioned competitions. You can find a full list of the changes made in 2023 here.