Lynn Symansky and SpectraVET Cohiba, winner of the 2015 USEA YEH Overall 5-Year-Old Championship. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Even the best-bred youngster is only as good as the training that horse receives. In acknowledgement of the importance of early equine education, the USEA’s Instructor Certification Program (ICP) and Young Event Horse Program (YEH) will begin offering two new certificates in 2017:
- ICP Young Event Horse Instructor, for individuals who teach students aboard young horses
- ICP Young Event Horse Professional Trainer, for individuals who develop the under-saddle abilities and performance of young event horses by riding them as a paid occupation
The USEA explains the aim of these additional certificates:
Equally as important as sound breeding is utilization of safe, humane, experienced, and insightful on-the-ground and under-saddle training. Who, specifically, can offer positive, productive assistance to owners and amateur riders as they develop their young event horses?
FEH’s, YEH’s, and ICP’s answer: instructors and professional trainers whose experience and skills have been confirmed in the eyes of other experienced horsemen and horsewomen who are themselves knowledgeable and experienced in the development of skilled and willing young event horses.
Just as FEH and YEH are able to assist American breeders with the equine parent selection process and the early development of young event horses, so ICP-certified YEH instructors and ICP-certified Young Event Horse professional trainers will be able to assist American young horse owners, riders, and anyone else interested with high quality under-saddle development of their 4- and 5-year-olds, whether those horses are purebreds, crossbreds, or, more specifically, American Thoroughbreds.
Certification is available via a three-day ICP YEH Workshop, to include teaching or riding depending on which certificate is being sought. After attending an ICP YEH Workshop, YEH instructors and YEH professional trainers may attend an ICP Assessment to be evaluated for ICP certification. Those individuals seeking the YEH Professional Trainer certificate will ride young horses at an ICP Assessment.
More information on these certificates will be available following the USEA Annual Meeting and Convention; email Email Sue Hershey at [email protected] with any immediate questions.
Don’t miss the ICP Open Meeting, to take place on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 5-6 p.m., and be sure to mark your calendar for Feb. 20-22, when the ICP, YEH and FEH programs will be joining forces for a three-day educational experience in Ocala.
[USEA Instructors’ Certification Program Introduces Two New Young Event Horse Certificates]
