USHJA On Course

Last month, more than 300 of the country's top Hunter horses and riders took to the Kentucky Horse Park’s Rolex Stadium for five days of competition with over $600,000 in prize money on the line. Tune in to hear from the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive and International Hunter Derby Champions as we recap all the action.

2024 marks 20 years of USHJA. As we reflect on two decades of helping to shape the equestrian landscape, we invite you to join us on our journey through our past, into our present and on to the future.

Today's guest comes to us straight from the 2023 Marshall & Sterling Insurance/USHJA National Championships! We caught up with Allyn Marie Creel, a Junior rider who is a veteran at the Championships with a touching story, during a quiet moment in Vegas. Hear from her on how the week went and why the Championships are so special.

Britt McCormick is a judge, course designer, trainer and the newly elected President of USHJA. With years of sport governance experience and a degree in organizational leadership, Britt has served on the USHJA Board of Directors and Executive Committee as well as a variety of USHJA and USEF committees and task forces. After a 15-month transition period, Britt will take office at the conclusion of the 2024 USHJA Annual Meeting. Tune in as we chat about his passion for the sport and his vision for the future of USHJA.

Archie Cox is a rider, trainer and judge based out of his own Brookway Stables in California. In the judges box, he holds his "R" Hunter and Equitation cards, notably judging the 2021 ASPCA Maclay Finals. As a trainer, he has guided numerous riders to top placings in the country's most popular equitation finals, including the USHJA Gladstone Cup Equitation Classic, presented by Emory and Henry College; ASPCA Maclay Finals; USEF Show Jumping Talent Search and USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final. Tune in as we hear from him about what he looks for when judging equitation classes, his favorite test to ask and how he likes to prepare a rider for Finals season.

We just wrapped up a week of top Hunter competition at the Kentucky Horse Park, where over $500,000 in prize money was awarded throughout our annual Platinum Performance/USHJA Hunter Championship Week. In this episode, instead of being joined by a guest, we are recapping the week's best moments and hearing from all of our newly crowned champions just moments after they were awarded their titles.

This month we are getting excited for a week of top Hunter competition during the 2023 Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships and Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship by chatting with a Hunter Week veteran, Nick Haness. The country's best Hunters will take to the Kentucky Horse Park on August 15-19 to compete for thousands of dollars in prize money and the championship titles. Catch all the action in person or stream both Championships from anywhere for FREE on ClipMyHorse.TV.

Nick Haness's name has been gracing the top Hunter ring leaderboards for years. The California-based rider recently won his second consecutive USHJA WCHR West Coast Hunter Spectacular after topping the 2022 USHJA WCHR Professional Finals. In 2019, he finished second in Section A of the Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship and was Champion in Section B as a Tier II rider. Among those wins, he has brought numerous Green Hunters to the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships and has earned an array of tricolors across the country. Listen in as we discuss what he looks for in a Hunter prospect, how he finesses the Handy, and which Derby horse in his string is one to watch.

As groom to U.S. Olympian Laura Kraut, Margo Thomas spends her days taking care of horses competing at the top of Show Jumping. Throughout her 10 years as a professional groom, she has had her hand in the Tokyo Olympics Team Silver and has cared for a string of top horses at competitions around the world. Join us as we chat about what it takes to be a head groom, her best tricks of the trade, why Confu is one of her favorite horses to care for and just HOW she keeps him so clean.

A longtime Hunter rider, Maya Schneider recently made the switch to the Jumper ring where she and her horse, Noble, were members of the winning 1.10/1.15m Adult Amateur Jumper team at the 2022 Markel/USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships in Saugerties. She's also an active participant in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as a member of USHJA's DEI committee and a manager of the @blackequestrians Instagram account. Tune in as we chat all about her transition to Jumpers and her passion for inclusion in our sport.

If Kylie Cohen doesn't hold the record for the most trips to USHJA's Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Nationals, she must be close! Kylie has put her equestrian knowledge to the test for years, attending Nationals seven times. When she isn't studying equine anatomy or first aid, she competes as an adult amateur in all three rings. Tune in today as we chat about her experience in the Horsemanship Quiz Challenge and why she finds horsemanship so important.

The USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge and Adult Horsemanship Quiz Challenge are open for you to test *your* knowledge. Visit ushja.org/HQC to prepare with the practice quiz and free study guide, then take two online quizzes to try for a spot at Nationals.