Dressage-News

April 25, 2020

The United States Equestrian Federation announced Saturday it is extending to May 31 suspension of activities that was first implemented in mid-March to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Extension of the suspension means all USEF owned and named events, selection trials, training camps, clinics and activities will not be held through the end of May that would be 11 weeks since first being imposed Mar. 16.

“This suspension also includes points, scores, money won, qualifications, or rankings toward any USEF award programs, USEF owned and named events, or selection to a US team including USEF national championships,” said federation chief executive officer William J. Moroney.

“Upon the expiration of this suspension, competitions must comply with requirements issued by USEF for operating sport horse competitions in this environment.”

The three Olympic sports of dressage, eventing and jumping are included in the 11 breeds, 18 disciplines and 20 affiliates under the USEF umbrella.

As of the end of 2019, the USEF had 187,000 members and 100,000 so-called “fan” members. About 81,000 horses competed in more than 2,300 events in the U.S. last year.

The USEF said it was carefully monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic situation and the position of health experts, including the Centers for Disease Control and other public health authorities.

“It appears that in several areas of the country, restrictions put in place by state governors, such as the ‘stay-at-home’ orders, are making a positive difference,” it said.

“Federal, state and local governments are discussing plans for re-opening the environment in the near future. However, this will not occur overnight and will very likely consist of a graduated easing of restrictions over several weeks, which may vary greatly state-to-state, as well as within the states themselves.

“The success of these plans is predicated on a mindful and responsible approach to easing restrictions while also maintaining best practices that we have all learned and adopted in order to reduce exposure to and transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

“Once USEF competitions resume, we must all continue to support and maintain these best practices as part of our daily activities to help prevent further disruptions to our lives.

“Upon the expiration of this suspension, competitions must comply with requirements issued by USEF for operating sport horse competitions in this environment.”

While the federation cannot prevent organizers from staging competitions the significance of any events would be reduced by suspension of points, scores, money won, qualifications or rankings toward any USEF award programs/

The federation said it has been working on amendments to qualification and selection processes for numerous USEF owned and named events as well as how USEF Horse of the Year awards and ranking lists are calculated aimed at making the process as fair as possible.

The federation said it is collaborating with competition organizers, affiliate leaders and other industry experts to develop protocols for safely operating competitions and mitigating the risks associated with COVID-19.