Louisville, Ky. - US Equestrian President Tom O’Mara and CEO Bill Moroney spoke during the General Session presentation to members and staff on Jan. 12 at the US Equestrian Annual Meeting. During their presentation, they looked back at progress made by US Equestrian in 2023 and shared goals for 2024 and beyond with the theme “Our Future Is Now.” You can watch the presentation here. 

“Now is the time to seize the moment, address opportunities, set our strategic goals, and tackle the challenges that we face as a community,” said O’Mara.

PROGRESS REPORT 2023: WORKING TOGETHER FOR OUR FUTURE

O’ Mara explained that US Equestrian remained committed to growth for the future, and the strategic roadmap guides the organization:

• Keeping US Equestrian’s house in order,
• Refining our product,
• Developing new products and benefits,
• Winning to inspire,
• Telling our story and selling our brand, and
• Delivering results.

Last year was about progress, with a focus on sport, collaboration, innovation and technology, awareness and exposure, social license, and growth.

“We are focused on making an impact in these areas within our equestrian community and beyond to the broader population as we keep our eyes focused on growth,” said O’Mara.

Sport

Moroney noted that the National Breeds & Disciplines Council discussed new avenues to support sport growth, awareness, and equine and human safety and well-being. For youth members, 51 scholarships or grants were awarded in 2023. USEF Lite Guides, resources, and grants encouraged more organizers to become part of the USEF family of licensed competitions. Affiliate and USEF leadership worked collaboratively to make amendments to rules that promote participation and equine safety and welfare. Also, US Equestrian joined other nations in creating a global Saddle Seat Equitation organization and championships.

O’Mara shared how new international sport leadership brought new ideas in 2023. Longtime US Equestrian employee Hallye Griffin was promoted to Director of FEI Sport to serve as Chef de Mission at major championships and work with a skilled team of sport directors.

The U.S. teams displayed their excellence by winning to inspire the next generation. The Olympic and Paralympic disciplines are qualified for Paris 2024. The U.S. tallied three team medals and four individual medals at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, including two team gold medals and one individual gold medal. The U.S. team won team silver and individual gold at the FEI Para Driving World Championship for Singles, and the U.S. Junior Squad earned a bronze medal at the FEI Vaulting World Championship for Young Vaulters & Juniors.

Collaboration

O’Mara noted that US Equestrian collaborated with its Recognized Affiliates on several fronts. AHA, AMHA, ASHBA and USEF leadership worked together to make adjustments to the Competition Lite license rule to provide greater access and benefits for participants and organizers. AHA and USEF leadership worked with the veterinary team and committee to revise rules to support equine and athlete safety and well-being. As of the General Session, the majority of affiliate agreements are fully executed.

The Vesicular Stomatitis outbreak in California was a challenge, but US Equestrian members, organizers, and competitors reacted quickly, averting further spread through adherence to strict policies. Dr. Katie Flynn, USEF Senior Staff Veterinarian, led the response with outbreak containment, biosecurity protocols, and education efforts.

Moroney said US Equestrian continued to evaluate its competitions, and three audiences contributed to the effort: members, licensed officials, and compliance department staff. Reporting increased in 2023, with most competitions having no reported issues and 81% of member competition evaluations being positive. All feedback was reviewed by the Competitions, Compliance, and Regulation departments, and a record was maintained for each competition and any necessary action was taken based on the results.

The Compliance department coverage increased with new touchpoints added to onsite visits, including manager outreach and pre-competition outreach to stewards and technical delegates (TD). Due to many venues hosting multiple competitions, 984 competitions were reached, accounting for more than 211,000 unique entries.

Steward and TD reporting tripled for three reasons: onsite engagement by Compliance staff, a rule change clarifying duties, and more targeted questions asked in the Steward/TD report. The main issue identified across all sources was class scheduling and communication, which can be addressed to resolve any challenges.

Calendaring oversight in Florida and California resulted in a more diverse and balanced hunter jumper competition schedule. The process stabilized the calendar in Florida for the first trimester and increased competitive opportunities for participants. California’s entire 2023 calendar was restructured to ensure the viability and sustainability of competitions in the state and varied levels of competition are available for participants.

Innovation & Technology

O’Mara said advances in innovation and technology provided new benefits for US Equestrian members, stakeholders, and staff. Customer service and the sustainability of the business were priorities for USEF. Better accessibility to staff and opportunities for automation lead to a better user experience for the members and stakeholders, informed decision-making, and cost savings.

US Equestrian concentrated in three areas: organization, horse & athletes services, and competitions. A few examples include data and financials are now accessible to leadership through a platform that facilitates more informed and nimble decision-making. All horse applications moved online with a focus on an enhanced user experience, and horse transfer transactions are now processed in real-time by the Horse & Athlete Services department. Additionally, some examples for competitions are enhanced features for competition organizers on competition dashboards and improved access to online requests and reporting, the process has become much more streamlined.

Awareness & Exposure

Moroney shared that increasing awareness and exposure of equestrian sport is vital to the foundation of our ability to deliver on our strategic plan. The USEF Network powered by ClipMyHorse.TV increased awareness of equestrian sport, with more events, variety, viewers, and time viewing as well as providing a better user experience. In 2023, the USEF Network streamed 87 live events featuring 16 breeds and disciplines watched by 246,000 unique users with 1.3 million unique video views and 1.7 million hours watched live and on demand across 195 countries. In addition to the Network, a new ESPN relationship created exposure to mainstream sport audiences with ESPN3 and ESPNews.

“We are meeting people where they live out in the environment,” Moroney said of the 37% of Network video views that took place on the mobile app.

Leading into the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, a special collaboration with NBC and Megan Thee Stallion resulted in breakout visibility. The commercial featured U.S. dressage athletes and was broadcast on NBC during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, National Dog Show, and an NFL football game. Mainstream media, such as Variety and Rolling Stone, covered the commercial as it gained national attention. The reach was further amplified through social media with millions of views on both Megan’s and NBC’s social channels.

“We are getting more traction with these kinds of opportunities than ever before,” said Moroney.

US Equestrian’s social media channels continued to expand reach with a range of engaging and unique video content leading the way. Nineteen accounts with 1.44 million followers, 107 million impressions, 10.8 million engagements, and 22.4 million video views demonstrated that the public is interested in equestrian sport content. New content approaches drew interest and showed off the potential of our new athlete-focused storytelling strategy. Also, sponsors saw value in unique original content creation with US Equestrian.

O’Mara explained that the inaugural Opportunity Week reinforced the transformative power of horses for diverse communities. USEF Community Outreach Program awareness and fundraising campaign highlighted 28 Community Outreach Organizations across 13 states. Site visits, original video content, and photo galleries generated 118,000 impressions on social media. To date, 208 donations raised $228,673 and $190,600 in grants that were awarded to 20 organizations, reaching 10,179 participants.

“There are organizers who have invited the participants from these groups to their shows,” said O’Mara. “It is a really great opportunity for collaboration with USEF organizers and members along with our community outreach organizations.”

Social License

Moroney noted that US Equestrian launched the first phase of our social license workshops at the 2023 US Equestrian Annual Meeting. Questions were posed at last year’s annual meeting, and many of the answers have been incorporated into this weekend’s workshops. In addition, the “Good Life for Horses” series of Learning Center videos with David O’Connor, US Equestrian Chief of Sport, was launched in 2023.

In terms of equine welfare, US Equestrian expanded reporting through the addition of Text 2USEF, which allows members to anonymously text equine safety concerns. Additionally, USEF recently passed a rule change to expand the scope of the cruelty and abuse of horse rule.

Growth

O’Mara shared that member and fan numbers grew significantly in 2023, reaching 480,000. New membership programs, such as the Kids Club, spring sweepstakes, and a partnership with the Kentucky Horse Park, helped grow the sport’s numbers. The number of horses participating in competitions reached a new level with 83,689 horses and 367,000 horse competition entries.

Sponsorship grew by 9% to $4.1 million with 63 partners and sponsors. Digital creative, social media, and original content, along with the increase in the fan base, have been key drivers of revenue growth. Increased revenue creates sustainability and better positions USEF to make greater investments in sport and operations that provide services and benefits to members.

The growth experienced last year resulted in a strong financial position allowing us to reinvest in the sport for further growth. We have a strong financial team with staff, committees, and the USET Foundation, as well as a rigorous budgeting process. US Equestrian saw the biggest financial year in its history in 2023, and 2024 is planned to be even bigger. 

2024: OUR FUTURE IS NOW

Winning to Inspire

O’Mara said that winning to inspire is a main focus of US Equestrian in 2024. The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be an opportunity to showcase equestrian sport. Additionally, the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be an unparalleled opportunity for equestrian sport in the U.S.

As a National Breeds and Disciplines initiative, US Equestrian is launching a new concept, “Battle of the Breeds,” a multi-breed hunter championship in 2025. Also, a Youth Advisory Group will provide leadership on future growth strategies.

BIG Initiatives

Moroney said the BIG (Business Innovation Group) project development will take place in phases while focusing on media/licensing, technology/data, and education. In terms of media/licensing, US Equestrian is launching a new tiered media partnership program in 2024 for USEF organizers with premium, major, and highlight events. The goals are to target mainstream audiences, maximize promotion, and provide long-term strategic alignment (three to five years).

Expanding the number of USEF Network events, ESPN schedule, and unscripted storytelling is another focus for the new year. USEF Network events are expanding from 87 to 122 with more events still being added, and the ESPN Schedule increased from five to 10 events on ESPN 3, ESPNews, and ESPN2 for 2024.

Multi-discipline USEF branded series with finals will launch in 2025. The goals of these series are to increase awareness of the sport, establish media relevance and value to a mainstream audience, and ensure long-term growth and viability. The strategies for the branded series are to create a unified sport brand across the three Olympic disciplines, establish easy-to-follow qualifying/invite lists for the finals, create next-level broadcasts of the events, and deliver year-round content for the general public. The Board of Directors approved a major investment for the creation of USEF Branded Series and Events, and the final FEI approval decision for the Eventing and Dressage Series will be made in June at the FEI Mid-Year Meeting.

The BIG data initiative is focused on three strategic pillars to improve efficiency, safety, and functionality: expansion of data collection, leveraging partnerships, and maximizing user experience. Data collection will focus on paperless transactions, live results, and comprehensive safety data. Partnerships with EquiRatings will assist with performance metrics and safety analysis, while EquiTrace provides digital availability of Coggins, health certificates, and temperature logs. User experience will be improved with a USEF entry system, simplified member and competition interfaces, one-stop shop member app, and links to competition management software.

The BIG data outcomes will result in safety improvements; efficiencies for competition staff, organizers, and members; faster and more accurate USEF processing; enhanced performance reports for athletes and horses; and increased fan engagement.

Athlete Safety

O’Mara reiterated that participant safety is mission critical and takes engagement from our entire community. “Questions You Should Ask” campaign will launch January 2024 to engage parents and juniors with public service announcements and a microsite. New anti-bullying resources are being developed and safety vest research standards will be focused on with an independent entity.

O’Mara concluded the General Session by emphasizing that the time is right to take these steps together to sustain, strengthen, and grow our sport. He noted that the industry needs to protect and develop our horse and human athletes; deliver excellence on the field of play; grow participation, member, and fan engagement; create visibility and value through media partnerships and products; maximize data insights, efficiencies, and impact; and proactively address social license and sport sustainability.

“It is really impressive what we collectively have done,” O’Mara said after taking a look back at 2023 and looking forward to 2024.