PrintOur columnist is excited about the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s plans to develop an interdisciplinary young horse championship.
Everywhere you look, people are talking about the necessity of developing young horses for all disciplines and breeds.
From the Olympic disciplines of eventing, dressage and show jumping to the national disciplines and breeds such as hunter, Connemara, Saddlebred and Morgan, everyone needs programs that promote the training and development of young horses while also acknowledging the commitment of the breeders, owners, trainers and riders. Several Chronicle columnists, including Linda Allen, Denny Emerson and Scott Hassler, have written wonderful articles on the need to develop programs and acknowledge young horse enthusiasts.
For me it all goes one step further. As a member of the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Budget and Finance Committee, I see allocations within some of the discipline budgets supporting developing horse programs. Outside of the Federation, we have leaders of affiliate and non-affiliate organizations who are also working to support this type of effort. From feedback from different members of the equestrian community, it seems that the splintered efforts of all these various groups are getting things done, but not at the level the people involved would like.
I believe there is no better way to establish a sustainable developing horse program than to build a partnership between these groups and the USEF for the purpose of creating a young horse championship. Further, this championship should encompass all these disciplines and breeds together in one place at one time.
An Opportunity For All Disciplines
This exact initiative is currently underway in the USEF. I don’t think the idea of a young horse championship is the brainchild of any one of us in particular, but rather it’s the commitment of several interested people who have come together to develop a major event that has the ability to be sustainable and would offer an opportunity for interested disciplines and breeds to participate.
We started this journey with an informal meeting during the USEF Annual Convention last January. We wanted feedback on whether there was interest in the breeding community for such an event. Even with short notice, several enthusiastic people showed up, and we had a very promising discussion. After the meeting, we re-grouped and held a series of staff meetings to determine our approach based on the positive reception.
Since that first meeting, we’ve contacted the various discipline and breed committees and affiliates to invite them to participate in the planning of the championship by naming two individuals to the Steering Committee.
As with any new endeavor, the first concern is whether the USEF will tread on existing programs or try to put them out of business. This couldn’t be farther from the reality. Our first Steering Committee meeting went quite well, and we made every effort to answer the representatives’ questions and to make ourselves available for continued support and assistance.
Knowing the sensitivity of launching this project, we determined early on that we needed the discipline and breed groups to bring the USEF an outline of how they envision their component of the championship. Each discipline and breed has the flexibility to design what best suits their specific needs, including format, specifications, eligibility, etc.
