Mill Spring, N.C. – U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage presented by Deloitte athlete Rebecca Hart made history at the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) Tryon 2018 on Wednesday. She and El Corona Texel earned the first ever WEG para-equestrian dressage medal for the U.S. Competing in the FEI Grade III Individual Test, they earned the bronze medal with a score of 72.235%. What is more, their bronze-medal achievement derived from a personal best score in a FEI Grade III Individual Test, breaking...

Mill Spring, N.C. – The U.S. Endurance Team will use the home atmosphere and familiar terrain to their advantage when they mount up in quest for a team finish at the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) Tryon 2018. Led by Chef d’Equipe Mark Dial, the team of Gwen Hall, Cameron Holzer, Kelsey Russell, and Cheryl Van Deusen will set out on the five-loop, 100-mile test on Wednesday, September 12, at 6:30 a.m. EDT. The course will start and finish on the Tryon International Equestrian...

Lexington, Ky. – The saddle seat world is abuzz with excitement in anticipation of the 2018 Saddle Seat World Cup. Hosted at the Kentucky Horse Park from July 4-6, four teams from North America and Africa have arrived in Lexington, Ky. to represent their countries at this international saddle seat competition. The 2018 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team is set to compete on home turf against the Canadian, Namibian, and South African teams. Jaco Jonker (South Africa), Lewis McKim (Canada),...

Representatives from the United States Equestrian Federation’s 29 breed and discipline affiliates convened Friday at the Annual Meeting in Lexington, Ky., for a vibrant Affiliate Roundtable discussion on a broad range of topics. The Roundtable agenda was based on feedback from the affiliates, who submitted topics of interest they’d like to discuss. The meeting covered such subjects as opportunities for collaboration, growing membership, and sponsorship ways to improve communications...

Many Fortune 500 companies, sports leagues, professional athletes, and celebrities have faced media crises. Some arise from the incident with little harm, while others experience negative impact to their image, brand, and bottom lines. In the age of social media and a 24-hour news cycle, it is important that every organization have a media plan with guidance to effectively handle a media crisis. Sarah Hamilton (Photo: Taylor Pence) During US Equestrian’s (USEF) Annual Meeting on...

As part of the Annual Meeting’s new moderated forums, US Equestrian’s Director of Sport Programs, Will Connell, made a proposal that the organization should develop a registration process for coaches. And, Connell posited, such a registry—with requirements as well as benefits for participating coaches—would not only improve equestrianism and make it safer for equestrians, but also enhance the nation’s international competitiveness. “If we want to get more...

As reports of abuse roil other sports, US Equestrian invited the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s chief operating officer, Malia Arrington to discuss the SafeSport initiative and how its policies and training are fighting emotional, physical, and sexual misconduct—including bullying, cyberbullying, hazing, harassment, and abuse—in equestrian sports and in the other Olympic and Paralympic disciplines. The SafeSport intiative provides information, resources, and a protocol that helps...

Fulton, Mo. – After impressive showings at the U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team Trials, 12 riders were chosen to represent the United States at the 2018 Saddle Seat World Cup. Thirty-two aspiring athletes from 18 states tried out at William Woods University on Saturday. Twenty riders competed in the three-gaited section and 12 riders competed in the five-gaited. Each phase consisted of one rail ride and one pattern ride on an unfamiliar horse. After the Trials, six riders from each section...

Good pasture management can also help reduce intestinal parasites. (physyk/Adobe Stock) Here’s the bad news: worms are becoming resistant to our efforts to kill them, thanks in part to traditional deworming protocols that called for dosing horses every two months. That was the thinking when the first broad-spectrum dewormers (also called anthelmintics) hit the market back in the 1960s, but over the decades that protocol helped the worms become less sensitive to the medicine. “And...

Lexington, Ky. – The FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 (WEG), which take place Sept. 11-23, 2018, at the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) in Mill Spring, N.C., US Equestrian, in conjunction with the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) and TIEC, are beginning to prepare spectators and athletes alike for the phenomenon that is the WEG. Since 1990, the WEG has been held every four years, halfway between the Summer Olympic Games cycle, and brings...