Eric Smiley speaks at the last Sport Summit in 2007. Photo via USEA Archives.
The USEA has announced that it will hold a Sport Summit meeting called Eventing 2016-2026 Summit on the morning of Dec. 5 at this year’s Annual Meeting and Convention at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. The summit will seek to address the critical questions that have emerged as eventing has evolved and undergone major changes in the last 10 to 15 years, Jo Whitehouse explains in this press release.
Here’s a look at some of the questions the Sport Summit will examine:
- Who is to provide prize money for events: organizers, sponsors, USEA and/or USEF, outside contractors?
- Where are the future officials, volunteers and organizers going to come from?
- Is there a better business model for organizers?
- Can events continue to offer classes for the lower level riders at the same time they offer FEI classes?
- Is the sport able to sustain a level of professionalism, providing a livelihood for many riders, organizers, event secretaries and even some officials?
- Where do the vast number of our members who are amateurs and who event for the thrill and excitement and sheer love of the sport fit into this equation?
- How do we make sure that amateur enjoyment and participation in the sport continues and that they always feel they are a much appreciated part of our eventing family?
- How do we help our professionals earn a decent living in this sport?
- Can prize money be attracted to the sport without doing so at the expense of the amateur riders?
- Are there ways to make the sport more marketable?
- In some areas some events are not filling and can barely break even. How can we help them?
- If the sport is to continue to grow and improve, how do we accommodate new organizers and venues that will provide variety and a fresh outlook on the sport while making sure those organizers who have worked so hard to create the sport we are all now enjoying do not lose out?
The USEA is asking that members attend the Sport Summit to give their input on these topics and many more. If you are unable to attend this year’s Convention, the USEA still wants to hear from you. Please send your questions and comments to [email protected]. The USEA Board of Governors will read all questions and comments and incorporate them into the Summit.
What questions and comments do you plan to submit to the USEA? Let us know in the comments below. As always, EN will attend and report from all key sessions of the USEA Convention, including the Eventing 2016-2026 Summit.
For more information or to register for the USEA Annual Meeting and Convention, click here.
[EVENTING 2016-2026: USEA to Hold Sport Summit at the Annual Meeting and Convention]
