Friday
After a late flight the night before, a trip to the lobby Starbucks had me feeling right at home. I quickly stopped by the registration table then jumped right into the first session. First up was the Volunteer Incentive Program Open Forum. Our very own Gail Mackie of Spokane Sport Horse Farm helped describe some of the recognition opportunities available for our amazing volunteers. (https://useventing.com/events-competitions/volunteers)
Gold Medal 2000 hours: Embroidered Jacket, Pin, Certificate
Silver Medal 1000 hours: Embroidered Vest, Pin, Certificate
Bronze Medal 500 hours: Polo Shirt, Pin, Certificate
Be sure to get an account with the eventingvolunteers.com because only your recorded hours at Recognized Events will count towards the Medal Program. We also discussed ways to incentivize volunteers to share their time at events. There was agreement that a lot falls on volunteer organizers to arrange shorter shifts that allow more competitors to volunteer around their riding schedule. (https://useventing.com/events-competitions/volunteers) Please help support eventing in Area VII this season by volunteering.
Next up was IEL Open Forum: How to Get Involved in IEL for the 2024 Inaugural Championship. IEL- Interscholastic Eventing League is for 5th -12 graders. The program is very simple and loads of fun. All you have to do is to get your name on a team's roster. Rally friends in your barn or pony club and register a group on your own. The fee is $75/year but if your coach is ECP Certified it’s FREE! The Championship is open to anyone on a team roster. It will be held at Stable View Farm in Aiken, South Carolina May 4-5. No qualifications are needed so come join the fun! (https://useventing.com/events-competitions/competitions/interscholastic-eventing-league)
The last morning session I attended was Classic Series Open Forum: Why Everyone Should Compete in a Classic. The overwhelming answer heard by everyone on the panel was because it is such a positive educational experience that will bring you so much more in tune with your horse. These classic series are a lot of work for event organizers to put on- they take a lot of land and course preparation, extra officials and a lot more volunteers. If you have a classic series near you- sign up to compete or volunteer, you won’t regret it!
For lunch I went out to explore St. Lois. We found Salt + Smoke, the Mac and Cheese, pulled pork and brisket were amazing. I will dream about the huge corn bread muffin and Brisket. It was exactly what I needed to get stoked for more sitting in conference rooms. It is hard for an active gal to be cooped up for days in a hotel with no riding or barn chores!
After Lunch I learned more about SHOW Connect- A Community Focused Event Management System for event organizers. I’ve had a little hands-on experience with the program but it was nice to ask some questions and hear more about the long term vision.
Next was the Intercollegiate Open Forum. The program mirrors the Interscholastic program in many ways but there are some key differences. Teams must be associated with an institution of higher education. The program will host its championships this spring alongside the IEL Championships. For more information visit: https://useventing.com/events-competitions/competitions/intercollegiate-eventing-program
Last of the day was my first Committee Meeting for Area Treasures and Council. Then off to a fantastic dinner with great company.
Saturday
Yes…Lobby Starbucks again. Then a 2 hour Area Affairs/Chairs Committee meeting on the 20th floor with very cool city views. What a fantastic group of hardworking volunteers- it was so fun to hear other successes and struggles of the other areas. We are SO lucky in Area VII- seriously terrific group of organizers, and members.
Lunch came quickly and Keynote Speaker Dr. Temple Grandin did not disappoint! She is hilarious and in her words “a shameless book pusher”. I highly recommend any of her books. The takeaways were how animals think in pictures not words. How we should live in the sensory and get away from verbal language. Sudden new things are scary, especially when they are shoved in your face. She urges training with slow, systematic exposure. When you look at your barn, farm and training areas from that perspective you can avoid a lot of trouble. Objects may look new when they are rotated. Just because you exposed the horse to it from one side doesn’t mean it will translate to seeing it from another side. Think about how scary shadows could be? Animal fears are VERY specific, and FEAR MEMORIES are very hard to get rid of. It is critical we train without stressing animals out. A calm animal is easier to control. If an animal gets stressed it takes 20-30 min for it to calm down and for cortisol levels to return to normal. .
For breeders she warned not to over-select for any singular trait. She urged us all to not be a part of “normalizing bad”, referencing bulldog and pug conformation and recent issues with meat cattle hearts failing. It is our duty to prevent suffering and ensure the animals in our lives have a life worth living.
Such a tough act to follow but next up was pretty great too…FREE MONEY! Well kind of. Tips on Applying for USEA Foundation Grants was next. A fantastic panel of ladies gave tips on finding grants that were a good fit for you and pointers on how to get chosen. There are so many opportunities for support made possible by passionate people that care about and are invested in eventing. I think the slogan says it all…Advancing Eventings Future and Helping Dreams Come True. If you have not visited the USEA Foundation Website you are missing out. https://useafoundation.org/
Last but in now way least was Horse Syndication: Best Practices for Starting & Operating Your Multi-Member Partnership. Yvonne Ocrant is the lady to call about Horse Syndication. Such a wealth of knowledge- she is the go to gal everyone is using. The very general idea is that riders start an LLC. That LLC buys or takes over ownership of that horse. Then people generally buy into the LLC (initial investment) as owners then pay an annual maintenance fee each year after. Remember the LLC owns the horse, the people buying-in own part of the LLC. Syndication is win win. It matches the right horses with the right owners and distributes the expenses over many people. This opens doors for many that would otherwise remain shut if riders had to go it alone footing all the expenses themselves. Yvonne offers a fair flat rate for her syndication services and reminds riders it’s an expense your LLC should reimburse you for.
https://www.hinshawlaw.com/professionals-yvonne-ocrant.html
We had a short break to get fancy for the Awards dinner. Area VII was up on stage a lot! Congratulations to the 2023 Awards and Grant Winners!
Overall Leaderboards Congratulations on making the World Equestrian Brands Rider of the Year Leaderboard celebrating the top 50 riders in the US
Marc Grandia (Top 50)
and
Revitavet USEA Young Rider of the Year
Congratulations to Harper Padgett 5th and Hanni Sreenan 8th
National Leader Board- Preliminary
Harper Padgett 1st Junior Preliminary
Lizzie Hoff 3rd Junior Preliminary
Hanni Sreenan 8th Junior Preliminary
Maeson Messmer 3rd Intercollegiate Preliminary
Audrey Sanborn 5th Intercollegiate Preliminary
Stephanie Goodman 8th Master Rider Preliminary
Audrey Sanborn 6th Adult Amateur Rider Preliminary
Allison Sparks 8th Adult Amateur Rider Preliminary
Evenholtz / Amy Hougen 2nd Preliminary Horse
Captivate / Leonie Padgett 6th Preliminary Horse
National Leader Board- Modified
Audrey Sanborn 9th Intercollegiate Modified
National Leader Board- Training
McLaine Mangum 7th Junior Training
Reese Blinks 5th Young Adult Rider Training
Shruti Bona 6th Young Adult Rider Training
Natalie Barlow 10th Young Adult Rider Training
Alexa Marandas 5th Intercollegiate Training
Hayden Brown 7th Intercollegiate Training
Mindy Groth-Hussey 7th Master Rider Training
Bianca Linder 10th Master Rider Training
Levino & Full Gallop Syndicate, LLC 4th Training Horse
Global Halcyon& AFG Syndicate 9th Training Horse
USEA Classic Series Awards
Marc Grandia- Training Three Day
Elizabeth Hoffman- Beginner Novice Three Day
Volunteer of the Year
Jim Moyer- 700 hours in 2023
Going Forward Grant Winners-
Sarah Sullivan for Eventing Officials “r” Training Program
Eventing Riders Association of North American Awards
Scott Weide- Above and Beyond Award
Christel & Cyra Carlson- Above and Beyond Award
Madison Packard- Above and Beyond Award
USEA Appreciation Awards
Stephanie Goodman- Cornerstone Instructor’s Award
