The U.S. Equestrian Federation has announced the appointment of former USEF eventing development coach Leslie Law to the position of chef d’equipe and high performance manager for the Defender U.S. Eventing Team. Karyn Shuter will take on the newly developed role of U.S. eventing high performance advisor. 

Both Law and Shuter will begin their respective roles immediately. Bobby Costello, previously in the eventing technical advisor and chef d’equipe role, stepped down at the conclusion of his contract Nov. 30. 

“As riders, we are very excited with the selection of Leslie Law and Karyn Shuter as the leaders for our high-performance goals,” said Tamie Smith, USEF eventing high performance athlete. “After an extensive and thoughtful evaluation process, we believe their combined expertise and passion will inspire our team to achieve new heights. We extend our gratitude to USEF for their support and for allowing us to be a part of this process. We are confident this duo will lead us toward the success and excellence we’ve all been aspiring to achieve.”

Law, an individual Olympic gold and team silver medalist, has served as the USEF development coach for more than a decade, and through that role has contributed to numerous top results for the U.S. squad and its riders on international stages at FEI Eventing Nations Cup three- and four-star competitions.

“Having supported the USEF eventing programs and teams for more than a decade, I have a clear understanding of our depth of talent and ability,” said Law. “I’m honored the athletes supported this transition and are confident in this new structure. With Karyn [Shuter] coming into the fold, alongside our program staff, we are starting this new quad heading in the right direction with the same collective goals in mind.”

“I’m pleased to join the U.S. eventing team in the new role of high performance advisor,” added Shuter. “The U.S. has a longstanding and successful history in the sport of eventing and a lot of untapped potential. I’m looking forward to the future with this program and to contributing to supporting the athletes and identifying ways we can improve performance at the international and championship levels.”

Shuter will directly liaison with athletes and stakeholders on performance plans, while supporting Law in developing a long-term strategy to produce sustained success.

“We are pleased with the athlete engagement during the identification and interview process for these positions,” said USEF CEO Bill Moroney. “Both Leslie Law and Karyn Shuter will report to managing director of eventing, Amber Braun. As they begin their work, they have our full support, and we look forward to them sharing their plans and vision with our key eventing stakeholders. Together we share the collective goal of building sustained success and a culture of excellence leading into LA 2028 Games and beyond.”

Christina Vaughn, who has worked with Law on the USEF eventing development programs for the past 10 years, will transition into the role of USEF eventing elite program director and team leader.

For more information on USEF eventing high performance programs, please visit the USEF website, and for additional questions contact Braun at abraun@usef.org.