In the wake of several serious accidents to riders and horses in eventing over the last few months, United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) President David O'Connor and United States Eventing Association (USEA) President Kevin Baumgardner remind concerned equestrians that on June 7-8, at the Radisson Hotel in Lexington, Ky., a Safety Summit will be held to discuss the sport’s future.
The goal of the summit is to bring together all those concerned about the sport -- riders, coaches, veterinarians, course designers and fans -- to better understand what might be contributing to accidents, and to identify and agree on steps that can be taken to better protect horses and riders.
The summit will be organized around four special discussion topics:
* Qualifications -- includes horse and rider qualifications, professional/amateur qualifications, FEI/national qualifications, proposals regarding loss or downgrading of qualifications, data collection and tracking, et cetera.
* Course Design -- includes frangible/deformable jump design, prevention of rotational falls, optimal speeds, distances, format, data collection, et cetera.
* Education -- includes rider and instructor responsibility, officials' responsibility, prevention, identifying and handling of dangerous riding, et cetera.
* Veterinary/Medical -- includes short/long format, pulmonary hemorrhage, conditioning of horses, prevention of horse and rider injury, rider fitness, concussion management, data collection, et cetera.
The summit is open to everyone. All attendees are encouraged to submit ideas for improving safety.
Tentative Safety Summit Schedule:
Saturday June 7
8:30-9:30 Opening Assembly
9:45-12:00 Morning Group Discussions
12:15-1:00 Lunch
1:00-5:00 Afternoon Group Discussions
Sunday June 8
9:30-12:00 Closing Assembly
To register for the Summit, visit https://www.usef.org/_AUAIFrames/SafetySummit/Default.aspx.
Visit www.useventing.com or www.usef.org for more information.