Symposium Planned For Yearlings, Two- and Three-Year-Olds, April 9-10 at The Fork Farm

The USEA is introducing a pilot program this year intended to help breeders and owners of future event horses promote and market their youngstock from yearlings to three-year-olds.

A second, and critical, feature of this program is the creation of a database of records, results, and pedigree information that will stay with the horse for its entire life. It is intended that the USEA’s database will eventually feed into a centralized national sport horse database administered by the USEF and become a valuable resource for all equestrians as they will be able to track a horse’s competition record in all breed and disciplines classes along with pedigree data from a yearling onward.

The Symposium

Thanks to the generosity of Jim Cogdell, owner of The Fork Farm, the USEA will begin the roll-out of this program with a symposium and mock show on April 9-10 following The Fork Horse Trials. This symposium will focus on the judging of conformation and movement of young horses, and the correct way to handle and present these youngsters to their full advantage. This symposium will begin the educational process for judges, exhibitors, and organizers, and is aimed at establishing the series as a permanent feature on the USEA calendar. Judges who attend will get credit for the conformation section toward being included on the USEA’s Young Event Horse Recommended Judges list.

The Faculty

Sport horse breeder Denny Emerson will speak to the group on the need for a comprehensive sport horse database, the benefits of a vibrant U.S. breeding program for sport horses, and how this USEA program can contribute to that effort. A complete bio for Denny follows.

The USEA has retained the services of Kristi Wysocki of Colorado, a USEF “r” judge, USDF silver medallist, USDF Certified Instructor, and Dressage Sport Horse Breeding Judge. Kristi has judged the in-hand classes at Dressage at Devon and has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share.

Bruce Griffin of Gretna, Virginia, is an internationally known professional sport horse handler and trainer and will be lecturing and demonstrating on the proper way to present a young horse in-hand. Bruce has handled many different breeds of horses from Friesians to Trakehners, and in 2005 he won Dressage at Devon’s first annual Sportsmanship Award. To see more of Griffin’s accomplishments go to www.griffinsporthorses.com/home.html.

Denny Emerson, international event rider (team gold medalist at the 1974 Eventing World Championships), endurance rider, well-known sport horse breeder, and trainer will be giving a lecture on the philosophy of the event horse in-hand program and its benefits to breeders and owners. One of the most influential horsemen of the twentieth century, Emerson owns Tamarack Hill Farm in Strafford, Vermont and in Southern Pines, North Carolina, where he’s been an active part of the horse community for nearly a half-century. With more riding accomplishments under his belt than can be named, Denny was recently inducted into the USEA’s Eventing Hall of Fame, He has also been awarded the USEA’s Wofford Cup for lifetime service to eventing and the American Riding Instructor Certification Program (ARICP) Lifetime Achievement Award. Emerson has been an active member in organizations spanning the USEA (twice president), the USET (vice-president of Eventing for seven years), the USEF (on the Executive Committee), and Chairman of the Breeder’s Committee of the AHSA. To learn more about Denny Emerson go to his website http://www.tamarackhill.com/index.htm.