Young Riders: 2023 was extraordinary!! 🙌

Hello all!

What a great year for our Area 1 Young Rider program. I hope you saw the 2023 wrap up I wrote in the Area 1 Newsletter that was emailed out last month. If not, scroll down to the end of this email to read it. We did a lot! But now its time to focus on the winter season and make some big plans for next year!

First, I want to give you a reminder to check your membership. Make sure your membership to the USEA is renewed for 2024, and also double check to make sure you are a Young Rider member for the 2024 year. Its easy to think that your renewal to the Young Rider program automatically occurs when you renew your USEA membership – but it doesn’t sometimes, so be sure to check. Go to the US Eventing home page and login from there. That brings you to your member dashboard where all the information about your membership is listed. We ended the year with a record 204 Area 1 Young Rider members!! Make sure you continue to be a part of it for 2024. Its going to be even better!

First thing on the 2024 calendar is the Area 1 Annual Meeting January 7th, 2024. This meeting is for all members of Area 1, but importantly, there is a Young Rider breakout session scheduled during the morning of the meeting. That’s where we all get to meet face-to-face while we are not busy with our horses! It is open to all – not just Young Rider members – so if you have a friend who is thinking about joining, bring them. During our breakout session, which is scheduled for 9:30am to 12:00pm, I will give a quick overview of what we are planning for 2024 and will give lots of opportunity for Q and A and input from YOU! We also have some special guests joining us to talk about their journey from Young Rider to equestrian professional. So far, we have Cornelia Fletcher, Lauren Mair, Anna Loschiavo, Lea Adams-Blackmore and possibly Arial Grald. Then, Bobby Costello, USEF Eventing Technical Advisor/Chef d’Equipe, will speak to us for a few minutes. How cool is that??!! Then we all move on to lunch, awards, and Bobby’s keynote address to the full meeting. Its a great way to spend a cold January day with your horse friends! Details are below:

Plan to Attend the Area 1 Annual Meeting!

Sunday January 7th, 2024

WILLITS-HALLOWELL CONFERENCE CENTER & HOTEL

50 COLLEGE ST.

SOUTH HADLEY, MA 01075

• Check-In – 9:00 AM; with coffee service
• Organizer’s Meeting, Adult Rider Program (ARP) Meeting and Young Rider Program (YRP) Meeting & Breakout Groups – 9:30 AM-12:00 PM
• Buffet Lunch, Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony – Begins at 12:00 PM; Tex-Mex luncheon
• Silent Auction – 10:30-12:30 PM through the end of lunch

Online pre-registration – $30.00; Day-of registration – $40.00 limited availability

Rooms available at the Willits-Hallowell Conference Center for overnight accommodations: https://meetatmhc.com/willits-hallowell-center/accommodations/

Check out the Annual Meeting page for a link to register. It will be posted soon.

2023 Wrap-Up

2023 Was Extraordinary!

Starting off at the Young Rider breakout session at the Area 1 Annual Meeting in January, we laid out some ambitious plans for 2023. We had been hearing from youth, parents and trainers all around Area 1 that Young Riders was an organization that still was thought to be only for a certain set of elite youth that wanted to go to Young Rider Championships. We had some work to do to make sure our programming showed that Young Riders is for ALL youth under the age of 25. The youth in Area 1 took notice. Our membership swelled to a total of 204 members this year. The highest in recent memory (maybe ever?).

Here is a list of Young Rider highlights of 2023. We think we had something for ALL Young Riders!:

Spring Startbox Symposium at UNH: In-person and virtual symposium with panelists of students from college equine programs and professionals from a variety of equine professions; afternoon hands-on workshops on grooming and veterinary care.

Emerging Athlete 21 (EA21) Program – Area 1 had 11 applicants at the Modified and up levels to be considered for the regional clinics that were held in Virginia and South Carolina. Five of our Area 1 applicants were selected to attend! Congratulations to Madison Blodgett, Ayden Schain, Kate Servais, Annabelle Sprague and Carly Stiller. And further congratulations to Annabelle Sprague who was selected to attend the EA21 National Camp in Temecula, CA in January!

Spring Tune-Up Clinic with Booli Selmayr and Emma Lomangino in Amenia, NY – This one-day clinic was open to ALL levels and included a private flat lesson and a group jumping lesson with a great lunchtime chat with the clinicians.

Mentorships – We took the mentorship format from the North American Young Rider Championships and brought it to Area 1. This gave our YRs a chance to learn from USEA officials. One of our riders had the opportunity to spend the day with Noll Smith at Apple Knoll Farm learning about cross-country course design. We hope many more will take advantage next year as we develop this further.

Newly formed Young Rider Committee – In May, we formed a committee made up of 8 Young Rider members (and 2 adult advisors). The committee members have elected 2 co-chairs and a secretary and have been doing amazing work throughout the summer. The purpose of the committee is to help provide a youth perspective for programming, to communicate with members and provide feedback, and to take leadership roles and take action in developing the Young Rider program. Committee co-chairs are Myles McLaughlin and Ava Applebaum, secretary is AJ Korka and other members are Ally Krohg, Lea Adams-Blackmore, Tory McCallum, Rory Cashman, Annabelle Sprague. These members have been a wealth of ideas and feedback, they put together a stall stripping fundraiser, and are active in carrying out plans for new programs. As examples, look for their educational video series coming soon, and see below how they have created a Young Rider Podcast.

Area 1 Young Riders Podcast – Yes, we have a podcast! It is published on YouTube – search for Area 1 Young Riders. YR member, Rory Cashman, has come up with the idea and followed through on it. The first 2 episodes have been published and many more are planned. Rory, being new to Area 1 eventing, is curious about all things Area 1, and wants to share her journey of finding answers to her questions. Check it out!

Team Challenges at June GMHA, Millbrook Horse Trials and September GMHA – Our Young Riders at every level competed at fun team competitions held at 3 events this summer. Nine teams competed at June GMHA, 14 teams made up of Young Riders combined with a pro competed at Millbrook and 10 Young Rider teams competed at September GMHA. At the June GMHA, Young Rider teams were treated to a pizza meet and greet, and at GMHA in September they had a Breakfast meet and greet. Prizes and ribbons were given to the top teams.

Stall Stripping Fundraiser at Huntington Farm Horse Trials – $450 was raised. After Huntington Farm flooded the next day, the Young Rider Committee opted to donate their earnings back to Huntington Farm to help defray the cost of the flood damage.

GMHA Camp – 36 Young Riders and their horses enjoyed 3 1/2 days of the best Young Rider instruction at our famous annual overnight camp at GMHA. Six Young Riders received Young Rider Vouchers to help make camp financially possible. Somehow GMHA managed to clean up from the early July flood in time for our camp – for which we are extremely grateful!! (only to be flooded again the very next day after we left.)

Youth Team Challenge at Plantation Field International – We had 5 YR members who joined teams with other Areas and Canada for a fun competition at Plantation Field International CCI1*-CCI4* in September. (in a hurricane!!)

USEF Young Rider Championship Presented by USEA – Sadly, we did not send any Area 1 Young Riders to the Championships this year. They were in Temecula, California, November 1-4. Such a long distance to travel and during a difficult time of year for any Young Riders in school. The USEF is working on plans to have the Championships during a more accessible time of year for our Young Riders. Stay tuned for future plans!

And next year??? We have so much in the works! This is an invitation to EVERY rider under the age of 25. When you renew your USEA membership this year, add Area 1 Young Rider membership (its under Area Programs on the renewal form)

How can you become involved if you are over 25? Volunteer!! We need adults to: coordinate our mentorship program, serve on a scholarship/fund raising committee, organize clinics, and so much more! It takes a village!

Speaking of a village – while I am the only one listed as Young Rider Coordinator, you can bet I can’t do this alone. Thanks so much to Jay Olcott, Lauren Mair and Chelsea Sprague who have put countless hours of work and mountains of expertise into this program. And of course, special thanks to the many trainers in Area 1 who are doing the work of teaching all of these Young Riders in your programs. You are nurturing the future of eventing.

Here’s to keeping it going in 2024!!

Sincerely,

Melanie Loschiavo

Area 1 Young Rider Coordinator