Applications Open for the 2018 Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program 

Dates and Clinicians Announced for Regional Training Sessions 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lexington, Ky.  – Jan. 26, 2018 – Applications are now open for the 2018 Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program online at www.ushja.org/EAP. Ten EAP Regional Training Sessions open to riders ages 25 and under will be held across the country in 2018, and a group of renowned clinicians and stable managers have been selected to lead mounted and stable management instruction.

"The EAP is an incredible learning experience for young athletes who are passionate and dedicated to the sport and want to advance their riding skills and horsemanship knowledge, and we're especially excited to expand the EAP experience to riders ages 25 and under for this year" said Emerging Athletes Program Committee Chair Sally Ike. "We are also thrilled to have such a strong line-up of clinicians for this year's Regional Training Sessions, and I hope the athletes will absorb all of the knowledge these clinicians have to give."

Riders ages 25 and under who are interested in participating in a session can apply online at www.ushja.org/EAP. The deadline for applications for the first six sessions is April 16, and the deadline for applications for the remaining sessions is May 14. 

Sessions with an application deadline of April 16:

Sessions with an application deadline of May 14:

"The committee would also like to thank our Regional Training Session hosts for opening up their world-class facilities to our program," continued Ike. "Because of their support, we are able to provide our athletes with the best possible learning environments."

The USHJA Emerging Athletes Program was created for young riders to gain riding and horsemanship knowledge in their pursuit to become informed and experienced horsemen and women within the hunter/jumper community. Since the program's inception in 2009, EAP athletes have gone on to accomplish numerous championships in the Hunter, Jumper and Equitation show rings including the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search East and West, the FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships, US Hunter Seat Medal Finals as well as the ASPCA Maclay Finals. 

Riders accepted into the EAP begin by participating in an EAP Regional Training Session. During the extensive five-day Regional Training Sessions, riders have the opportunity to work with top riding clinicians and some of the country's leading stable managers, where instruction focuses on flatwork, gymnastics, related distances and course work, as well as an intensive stable-management curriculum that incorporates proper care and grooming, horsemanship skills, and barn management. Riders provide their own horses for the Regional Training Session and are expected to provide all necessary care themselves. Horses and riders must be proficient in completing a jumper-style course set between 1.10m and 1.35m and include a liverpool to be eligible.

Once the Regional Training Sessions conclude, 16 riders and a select number of stable managers will be invited to attend the National Training Session. Selection of the riders and stable managers for the National Training Session is based on their riding and stable-management skills, written test results and potential shown during their Regional Training Session.

USHJA Zones, in collaboration with the USHJA Foundation, have funding available for members to help offset the cost of attending an EAP Regional Training Session or the National Training Session. For more information and to apply for an EAP Grant visitwww.ushja.org/zones, click on your home zone and then click on "Grants and Scholarships." EAP Grant applications must be completed by May 1.

The 2018 Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program is supported in part by a generous grant from US Equestrian, as well as individual donors through the  USHJA Foundation. For more information on program specifications and application requirements, visit  www.ushja.org/EAP.