United States Eventing Association

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is the organization responsible for organizing, promoting and adjudicating equestrian eventing in the United States. Formerly known as the United States Combined Training Association, the USEA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

The association has approximately 13,000 members and organizes around 250 competitions annually, which garner almost 44,000 entries.[1] The USEA works in association with the United States Equestrian Team Foundation and United States Equestrian Federation.

History

The USEA was founded as the United States Combined Training Association in 1959, as the governing body for the sport of combined training, more commonly known as eventing, in the United States of America. In 2001 the organization's name was changed to the United States Eventing Association.[1] It was formed to promote the sport of eventing throughout the country, from the novice to the advanced level. It set rules to protect the safety of the competitors, both human and equine, and those requiring the humane treatment of the horses. The USEA is also responsible for organizing clinics and educational opportunities, registering events that met their qualifications, and assisting in training opportunities for the best competitors in the country.

Criticism

The USEA has been criticized for a lack of transparency following the deaths in 2019 and 2020 of several riders that were either competing at recognized events or cross country schooling horses for competitions.[2] In other countries, formal inquiries into the deaths of eventing riders have been released to the general public, as in the case of Australian young riders Olivia Inglis and Caitlyn Fischer.[3][4] In contrast, no formal investigative document pertaining to the deaths of Katharine Morel, or Jeffie Chapin, or Philippa Humphreys has been released on the USEA website as of January 2021.

The USEA, the FEI, and other governing bodies maintain databases of fall related data, but these databases are not released to the membership or general public. The USEA has its database analyzed by the EquiRatings Company.[5] The statistics related to individual horses are unavailable to prospective buyers of a horse wishing to access the horse's safety record as are the ratings of professional riders whom amateurs may hire for instruction: "At this time, only USEA Online Services accounts associated with a horse can view the ERQI. You will need to add yourself as a rider or owner to the horse’s record to make this available to you."


The USEA website as of 2021 includes a link to the FEI Eventing Risk Management Report covering 2008-2019,[6] but does not include yearly reports of the US data alone. In contrast, in the UK, the British Eventing governing body[7] has maintained a safety database since 2001: "In 2001, British Eventing began a database of fall data. The database system was created and is analyzed annually by Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) at Wokingham. TRL has been around for over 70 years and is known for its expertise in motor vehicle safety in which similar database approaches are useful. TRL works on projects ranging from helmets for race car drivers to seat belts for passenger vehicles. The British database holds data including fence, fall, and medical/injury details. Annually, TRL releases a report of the data before the next eventing season begins."[8]


Criticisms of the dangers of the sport in 2020 and 2019 echo concerns from the previous decade over 10 riders were killed competing worldwide between 2007 and 2008.[9]


References
  1. "About the USEA". United States Eventing Association. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  2. Deatrick, Maggie (2 March 2020). "A Plea For Transparency". EventingNation.com. Eventing Nation. Retrieved 6 March 2021. USEF, USEA, can you hear us? Are you investigating? Are you looking into these deaths behind closed doors? Is our sport learning anything from these deaths? And if we are, will you please let us also learn?
  3. "Inquest into the death of Olivia INGLIS" (PDF). https://coroners.nsw.gov.au/. Coroners Court New South Wales. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2021. External link in |website= (help)
  4. "Inquest into the death of Caitlyn FISCHER" (PDF). https://coroners.nsw.gov.au/. Coroners Court New South Wales. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2021. External link in |website= (help)
  5. "EquiRatings Quality Index FAQ". https://useventing.com. USEA. Retrieved 6 March 2021. Every USEA registered horse who has competed in the last five years will be assigned an ERQI based on the analysis of performance results from the last 10 years. ERQIs are generated using the results supplied by USEA to EquiRatings. EquiRatings’ algorithms assign values to every outcome in the cross-country phase. The ERQI value also takes into account the level at which a horse is competing, and the level of performance displayed by all of those who competed in the same class. External link in |website= (help)
  6. "FEI Eventing Risk Management Report 2008-2019". https://useventing.com. FEI. Retrieved 6 March 2021. External link in |website= (help)
  7. "British Eventing Rules and Safety". BritishEventing.com. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  8. Kahmann, Katherine M. (2010). ENGINEERING SPOR ENGINEERING SPORT SAFETY: A STUD Y: A STUDY OF EQUESTRI Y OF EQUESTRIAN CROSS AN CROSS COUNTRY EVENTING (Thesis). University of KEntucy. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  9. van Gilder Cooke, Sonia (28 July 2012). "Equestrian Eventing: The Olympics' Most Dangerous Sport?". TIME USA, LLC. The sport has claimed a spot in Olympic competition since 1912, yet its risks have been a point of ongoing controversy. Unusually deadly periods of rider deaths worldwide, including 12 in a year-and-a-half between 2007 and 2008, caused even those at the heart of the sport to voice ambivalence about its hazards.
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