Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the launch of a re-envisioned USEF Horsemastership Training Series and will host the first session of the year at Equestrian Village, the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival grounds, in Wellington, Fla from January 14-17. The USEF Horsemastership Training Series will take on an enhanced format structure in 2021, offering both in-person and online instruction with selected participants throughout the duration of the year. The USEF Horsemastership Training Series is designed to identify and assist in the development of the next generation of top U.S. Jumping team athletes through comprehensive educational opportunities and experiences.
Participants will learn from top industry experts and athletes on horsemanship, barn management and care, and receive instruction on riding skill and ability through both mounted and unmounted sessions over four days. Anne Kursinski, Assistant Chef d’Equipe and Development Technical Advisor will lead the flat session and four-time Olympian Beezie Madden will instruct the gymnastics portion of mounted instruction. The final day of the session will see participants test their knowledge and skill over a 1.30m course set by three-time Olympian and FEI World Equestrian Games™ gold medalist McLain Ward. Colleen Reed will oversee the barn management and care education. The Training Session will include several additional educational segments throughout the year. Additional in-person sessions will be announced at a later date.
“I’m really excited to bring this new concept model to life for the training session. We’ve been thinking about it for quite a long time now and we can finally put it into action. With the introduction of several more training sessions, and having the ability to work with these athletes throughout the year with follow-ups and further education, it is going to be very helpful for their continued development,” said Anne Kursinski, Assistant Chef d’Equipe and Development Technical Advisor. “After talking to several riders who have graduated beyond this series and are winning at the international level, they’ve all said that the training session was really a major turning point in their riding careers and helped push them into that next step forward.”
Kursinski added that the focus on horsemanship, management, and care is an essential component of overall training session format. “What I love about this is it’s not just about the riding. There is the riding and teaching aspect, which will be fantastic, but diving into the hands-on care and management of the horses in the barn is what is so important. The top athletes in this country are complete horsemen and women, and to me, that is the whole package; when you have a deep understanding of the management and care that happens behind-the-scenes. Those are the components that help build you into being a successful professional in this industry.”
Participants will be selected for the 2021 USEF Horsemastership Training Session through an invitation system based on results as part of the Pathway programs or via wild card applications. A total of 12 participants will be selected to participate and individuals interested in submitting a wild card application can access the online application via their Athlete Dashboard on the US Equestrian website. In principle, the program is open to U.S. citizens, ages 16 to 21, who are currently successful in competition at 1.30m or above. All applications are due by December 23, 2020.
Due to COVID-19 protocols and restrictions, there will be no in-person auditing availability for this year’s session. The 2021 USEF Horsemastership Training Session will be live streamed on USEF Network with more details to follow.
For more information, please contact Erin Keating, Director of Jumping Development Programs, at [email protected].
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