Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce that Kiss Me Blue, fondly known as “Chrissy,” is the 2025 USEF Heart Horse Award winner. Chrissy is a 2001 American Quarter Horse and is part of the herd at Maryland Therapeutic Riding (MTR) in Crownsville, Md. Chrissy was selected as the winner by the USEF membership and will be honored during the USEF Pegasus Awards Dinner at the USEF Annual Meeting in Louisville, Ky., on Jan. 15, 2026. For 17 years, Chrissy has been the...

Lexington, Ky – US Equestrian is pleased to announce updates to the Driving Athlete Pathway Program for 2026. The program has been updated for 2026 and goes into effect on December 1, 2025. Applications for the Developing Athlete Program for Combined Driving (DAP) will open November 1, 2025, and close November 30, 2025. Applications can be submitted by going to the athlete dashboard and clicking on online applications. Developing Athlete Renewal and Developing Equine applications can be...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce updates to the U.S. Dressage Pathway Programs for 2026, including updated program member lists for the USA Dressage Pre-Elite, Development, Emerging Young Horse and Youth athletes in the United States. These program lists are established based on competition results within the past 12 months and are supported by Christine Traurig, USEF Dressage Technical Advisor & Chef d’Equipe and Development and Young Horse Coach, Assistant...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian encourages competition organizers, licensed officials, and athletes in the vaulting community to review the updated grant criteria for the 2026 competition year. The USEF Vaulting Sport Committee recently reviewed the discipline grant programs and made changes to more strategically allocate funding. An overview of the grant applications is outlined below. General Athlete Grants Athletes interested in being considered for a grant for travel associated with...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian encourages prospective competitors and trainers for the 2026 USEF Pony Finals presented by Marshall + Sterling to review the updates to the Green Pony Hunter qualifying specifications. Click here to download the full specifications document. Some notable changes that were approved by the USEF Executive Committee on Sept. 29, 2025, are outlined below. Beginning with the 2025 competition year, ponies have two years of green eligibility instead of one. Because...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce updated specifications for the 2026 Adequan ® /USEF Junior Hunter National Championships (JHNC), which were approved by the Executive Committee on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. The full updated 2026 USEF Junior Hunter National Championship Specifications document can be found here . Some of the noteworthy changes are outlined below. Updated Qualification Period Beginning with the 2026 championships, the 12-month qualifying period has...

Harrisburg, Pa. - Athletes from across the country have arrived in Pennsylvania and are set to compete in the Turnham Green/USEF Junior Jumper National Championship and Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final hosted this week at the Pennsylvania Horse Show from October 9-12, 2025. ©Avery Wallace/US Equestrian The Turnham Green/USEF Junior Jumper National Championships gather qualified junior athletes from across the country to represent their zones in a championship format competition,...

On September 21, 2025, the United States Department of Agriculture announced the confirmation of a New World Screwworm (NWS) case in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, less than 70 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. This new case is located near a major highway from Monterrey, Mexico to Laredo, Texas, one of the most heavily trafficked commercial thoroughfares in the world. Screwworm was once eradicated from the United States and potential incursion threatens the equine industry. Why is Protecting the United...

Lexington, Ky. - US Equestrian is pleased to announce significant updates and enhancements to the EventPass by EquiTrace platform designed to streamline the horse health documentation process at USEF-licensed competitions that subscribe to the EventPass system. Competitors are encouraged to use EventPass to ensure their health documents meet competition requirements prior to their arrival at the venues utilizing EventPass. By eliminating the need for paper-based verification, the software helps...

The Board of US Equestrian approved amendments to two rules at its Aug. 26 board meeting dealing with blood on horses, hunter Channel II points, and mileage. Those changes are viewable here . GR 844: Blood Rule After additional adjustments and discussion following the mid-year board meeting, a change to GR 843 regarding blood on horses in competition has been passed. The rule is intended to protect horse welfare while acknowledging that a variety of situations may result in the presence of...