At previous U.S. Hunter Jumper Association annual meetings, discussion of rule change proposals across committees took center stage, but this year, at the 20^th anniversary of the organization, new president Britt McCormick trotted out a new format for the event, held Dec. 9-12 in Tucson, Arizona. While rule changes were discussed, the meeting was dominated by conversations on designated topics, including safety, officials, education, and the role of zones and affiliates.

“The goal is for this meeting to become more of an industry meeting rather than an association meeting,” McCormick said. “For me the goal is to spend less time with you guys listening to us and more time with us listening to you.

“It’s a little bit of a brand-new day here,” he continued. “We really want you guys to drive us forward, to call us out when we’re doing it wrong, and to applaud us if we’re doing it right. If we do that, we can show the unrecognized and recognized worlds we have something to offer. I hope that over the course of the next few days we can dive deep into what makes us work, and where we want to end up five to 20 years from now.”

McCormick also updated members on what he’s done since he took over the presidency in April in his state of the association speech. The board has met 20 times since then (“Normally we would have had six meetings,” he said), and the executive committee has met 15 times. He said the USHJA has implemented several changes, including a post-event review after each USHJA-branded event, and that the association has started work on a new strategic plan to carry it through 2030. He said that the USHJA was able to present a balanced budget after several years in the red, without raising membership or horse recording fees. He said this was accomplished by raising fees for people who use USHJA products and services.

“Even though our sport is rooted in tradition, we have to start realizing that if we’re going to grow and get new people in the door, we have to be open to new ideas,” he said. “That starts with new people and new ways of thinking—all of the things that a younger generation is going to bring to the table. When we come to you guys with some new ideas, let’s give it a shot. Let’s try it.”

He also discussed creating a universal calendar for all USHJA events, so they don’t compete with each other, as well as possibly bundling USHJA events together.

“We want destinations where you can compete in multiple championships or properties the same week,” he said. “Over the next year or two, we hope between calendaring and bundling to make it where more people can compete in more places more cost-effectively, saving wear and tear on horses and people alike.”

The board also held elections for five seats, and will be holding an election for another seat as Cheryl Rubenstein changed roles from a board member to national vice president. The board also discussed increasing its size from 17 up to 22 members, where it was a few years ago, in an effort to have more diverse voices heard. Many of the seats are designated to specific roles like amateurs or athletes.

“I wasn’t on the board when it was larger,” said board member Cricket Stone, who holds the affiliates designated seat. “As one of the designated seats, I think there are more experiences out there that need to come to the board level. I would definitely support an increase.”

Improving Accessibility To Grow The Sport

Meeting attendees discussed the ever-increasing expense of the sport at all levels. With the consolidation of premier horse shows into multi-week affairs that offer everything from walk-trot to grand prix classes, many trainers with students at various levels are now able to bring their whole barn to the same show. But that also means entry level riders must pay higher premier-show fees, pricing out many who otherwise might be involved in the sport.

As Channel I premier and national shows have attracted those ready and able to compete at the top levels, while unrecognized shows have attracted those looking for a much lower price point, Channel II (i.e. “B” and “C”) shows are caught between and have been struggling in many areas of the country.

“I see a change in expectation in our competitions,” said McCormick, who hails from Texas. “Where I’m from, we used to have county facilities, show on grass, dirt, whatever. Now the expectation is a $400,000 arena that has the specialized footing or else you hear, ‘Well, you can’t show on that,’ which to me speaks to cost. We’ve become our own worst enemy. … We have to deal with accessibility. If we can’t offer a product that your normal, average, everyday rider can access, what are we doing to our sport?

“We need solutions,” he continued. “How do we get back to fundamentals of our sport, where it’s OK to show at a county facility; it’s OK to show on sand; it’s OK to show on grass. The fact of the matter is, we have priced ourselves out of the reach of the normal, average, everyday equestrian, so they’re going to other disciplines. They’re going to other sports, and we’re losing them. That’s just a fact. We can create outreach, we can create Channel II, we can create all these things, but until we can get the accessibility back to normal again—let alone horse prices—we’re toast.”

Members from across the country chimed in with their experiences struggling in the middle of the hunter/jumper industry, including problems like rising costs, loss of facilities in their regions and the demise of Channel II shows in their areas.

Trainer Louise Serio, who serves as chair of the WCHR Task Force and vice chair of the National Hunter Derby Task Force, said there’s a thriving local circuit near her hometown of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

“Some of you remember when [a change was made so that] divisions had to go over two days, and that changed our industry and still continues to contribute to the cost of everything,” she said.

“I do think if there’s a way to limit the [number] of days that people have to be at a horse show,” that would help, she continued. “That’s why they stay at Chester County. They are wealthy people too, but they don’t give up their family life and don’t want to spend weekends away.”

McCormick pointed out that this is where the Channel II shows come in, which are often just two days long. But it’s been a challenge to get people who show exclusively in the unrecognized world to come on board with higher fees required of recognized Channel II shows.

One solution has been the USHJA outreach program, which offers two types of competition: USHJA-branded outreach classes offered at unlicensed competitions, and USHJA classes offered at USEF-licensed shows. Outreach is intended, in part, as a carrot to entice non-members to get a taste of what the USHJA can offer, including year-end awards for outreach members in hunters, jumpers and equitation. 

More Research Needed To Answer Safety Questions

Air vests were the first topic discussed in a safety meeting led by Michele Hollis, chair of the USHJA Safety Committee. One 2024 study co-authored by Hollis indicates they may actually cause harm, but she and the lead author on the study, Dr. Sara Gould, who was at the meeting and also serves on the Safety Committee, pointed out that much more research and data is needed.

Hollis, who is an emergency room physician, weighed in via email that because of a lack of research, said there are no easy answers to the efficacy and safety of air vests:

“There are a lot of emotional feelings involved on both sides of the equation,” she wrote. “We need to give them an answer that is based on science. I believe that the correct response is this: If you want to wear a chest protector, there are a number of [body protectors] from which to choose. The [U.S. Eventing Association] requires them, in fact. For our purposes, the choice of whether to wear one is dependent on your perceived risk. If you would like to add an air vest over the [body protector], that is also a reasonable choice.”

USEF Chief of Sport, Fédération Equestre Internationale board and executive board member, and Olympic individual eventing gold medalist David O’Connor spoke about the status of the FEI’s work on vests. The FEI hopes to develop a standard for equestrian air vests as there’s no satisfactory international—or national, for that matter—testing standard, he said. The FEI has convened a group led by FEI Medical Committee Chairman Dr. Mark Hart with representatives from five countries, all of whom have committed funding to the effort, working toward creating a safety standard for air vests.

“I fully agree that [progress] was very slow for the past couple years, but now we’re off and running” O’Connor said.

When it came to the topic of data supporting safety studies, O’Connor had some numbers for tracking falls for the 2024, the first year the USEF began comprehensively tracking all jumping sport. Across all USEF jumping disciplines, there were 7,200 falls for the year, O’Connor reported, with 1,300 occurring in hunters and 4,000 in jumpers. O’Connor didn’t immediately have information about how many falls resulted in injury.

“The largest group that has the most falls is at the 1-meter level,” he said. “The top four are all between 1-, 1.10-, 0.90- and 0.70- meters.”

Equitation For Dollars?

McCormick shared that several competition managers approached him with the idea of big-money equitation classes. As it stands today, the USEF rulebook prohibits prize money from being directly awarded to junior riders; money won in junior hunter classes, for example, is awarded to the horse rather than the rider.

“What do we think about prize money in the equitation?” he asked. “What does that do to the integrity of the discipline and the sport? Is it a place that we want to go? Is it something that we want to stay away from?”

Colleen McQuay, trainer and grandmother of former equitation star Carlee McCutcheon, said that equitation can be very expensive, and any opportunity to offset the costs would be welcomed.

Hunter Working Group Chairwoman and Equitation Task Force Vice Chairwoman Robin Rost Brown pointed out that managers are already circumventing the rule prohibiting prize money for juniors by giving away big prizes to juniors and prize money to the winning riders’ trainers, pointing to the WEC Premier Equitation Cup Championship (Florida), where the winning junior gets a car and the winning trainer gets the lion’s share of a $100,000 trainer bonus.

“Our equitation sport is strong and headed in the right direction,” Brown said. “The numbers really show it. I think the prestige of winning these events [is enough incentive and has] stood the test of time, and we should continue in that direction. It seems like managers are trying to buy exhibitors to come.”

McQuay responded by saying that managers will find a way to create money-driven equitation classes anyway, if they want to, perhaps by giving the money to the trainers. By allowing money in the division, she suggested, perhaps the USHJA could have a say in how it’s done.

Three-time Olympian Anne Kursinski said her “gut feeling” was that the sport would be “cleaner” with no prize money. Megan MacCallum, an ‘R’ judge from Freeville, New York, expressed concern for horse welfare if the stakes in the equitation were raised higher, saying “People will think, ‘We could win some money if the horse were a little more [quiet.]’ ”

Prohibited Substances List Doesn’t Pass

The USHJA board of directors voted on a variety of rule change proposals, which will now go forward to USEF’s board of directors, which will have the final say on whether they are approved.

• The much-discussed rule change proposal that would prohibit the possession of an eyebrow-raising list of medications, including pentobarbital and formaldehyde, failed to pass. Board members were quick to point out that they supported the intent of the rule, but they wanted to rework language that requires bottles be labeled with the medication and the horse’s name. Several people pointed out that Banamine, for example, may be legitimately used as an emergency medication for any horse in the barn, not just one horse it’s prescribed to.

• The board voted to take no action on a rule that would eliminate competitors for the discovery of blood on a horse, with the comment that the board approves of the intent of the rule, but it needs more tweaking.

• A rule change requiring equitation horses to trot a circle at the end of their round to demonstrate soundness passed.

• A rule change clarifying how draw reins may be used passed. The rule says that when schooling over fences draw reins must be used in a “safe manner.” If they attach to the girth, they must run through a yoke or neck strap, and if they attach to the side they must be attached to the saddle or billets. 

• A rule change requiring handlers and horses, whenever they are out of their stalls, to wear a number passed.

• Two related rule changes outlining the conditions under which exhibitors may meet with a judge passed.

• A rule change specifying that all individuals who have fallen from a horse are required to be examined from qualified medical personnel prior to remounting did not pass.

• A rule change defining young jumper sections by fence height instead of age passed. This will allow, for example, a 6-year-old who loses confidence in the 1.20-meter section or has a rough round to drop down a height section and still compete in the division, which is specially tailored to meet the needs of young horses and often has reduced fees.

• A rule allowing hunters to wear nose nets passed, provided they don’t inhibit a horse from opening his mouth.

• A rule change prohibiting riders competing at a CSI5* from competing in junior or amateur classes at the same competition passed.

• A rule change proposal updating language regarding removing a helmet for prizegiving ceremonies and equipment with an upward-pointing hook, such as peacock safety stirrups, failed to pass. While there is concern about peacock stirrups causing injury if they catch a rider when he or she is dismounting, several pointed out that they have helped many more riders than they’ve hurt.

•A rule change proposal that addressed Channel II competition formats, including having Channel II points count toward Channel I, failed to pass.

• A rule change proposal that would have lowered the number of refusals incurring elimination in hunter classes to two failed to pass.

• A rule change proposal that would have required veterinarians practicing on show grounds to register with USEF failed to pass. The board supported the intent of the rule but thought the wording was unclear.

• A series of rule changes defining permissible spurs failed to pass. The board supported the intent of the rule but wanted to tweak the language.

• A rule change updating the list of prohibited practices and equipment, including obscuring the visibility of horses stabled on competition grounds, excessive use of draw reins, and augmented nosebands failed to pass. The board supported the intent of the rule but wanted to further clarify the noseband piece.

• Two rule change proposals defining excessive use of the whip failed to pass. While board members supported the intent of the rule, they said they want to work on the language.

• A rule change proposal adjusting language regarding unethical treatment of the equitation horses failed to pass, but the board supported the intent of the rule and agreed with an unofficial second draft.