The U.S. Eventing Association has announced a partnership with equestrian data science company, EquiRatings, to implement the EquiRatings Quality Index at national-level events in the United States.
The partnership follows months of engagement between the parties, which began immediately after the USEA Annual Meeting and Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last December. EquiRatings will work with the USEA on developing data analysis and implementing their predictive analysis tool to measure and manage risk—the ERQI.
The ERQI is a numeric value which helps assess the risk of horse falls in the cross-country phase at various levels and has proved an accurate indicator at national and international level in other countries. Last month, EquiRatings and the FEI announced a long-term deal to embark on a similar project at international level around the world in both eventing and endurance. The ERQI was described by FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez as “a powerful tool for understanding and predicting risk in eventing.”
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“Within a few years, we expect the ERQI to be a globally recognized rating within our sport,” said EquiRatings director Diarmuid Byrne. “This year we expect to process about 200,000 eventing results, creating about 30 million individual data points. The partnership with USEA is one we have been working towards for some time—the U.S. is the home of sports data, and people here use and understand data in sport better than anywhere else in the world. I am delighted that at last U.S. equestrians will now have access to the same levels of data and data analysis that other mainstream U.S. sports have.”
“The USEA is committed to safety and this partnership with EquiRatings will allow for another piece of the safety puzzle to be put in place.” said USEA Chief Executive Officer Rob Burk. “We are excited to be bringing this service to our members and think it will add valuable information for riders and horse owners in making responsible decisions related to their preparedness to compete. Thank you to Diarmuid, Sam Watson and the entire EquiRatings team for working to develop this relationship with the USEA.”
More details on EquiRatings and USEA partnership will be made available over the coming weeks and months. The first steps involve EquiRatings developing individually tailored U.S. ERQIs based on the past performance of horses at national and international level. Every horse has a data footprint, which provides an indicator of future performance. Beginning in late summer, ERQIs will be integrated with all USEA horse profiles on the USEA Online Services site.
