Letter to the Membership: Working Together for Change

Lexington, Ky.—Nov. 12, 2020

Dear Fellow USHJA Members,

Without question we are living in tumultuous times.

I know that many of you have questions and concerns regarding the statements that were recently issued by the United States Equestrian Federation and the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida.

The issues that have been raised have been many years in the making. You may be aware that national governing bodies are required to have a sport calendaring system under the Ted Stevens Act. Currently, this requirement is served through the application of the mileage rule by the United States Equestrian Federation. The USHJA plays a dual role. As a USEF Affiliate, we provide recommendations on mileage exemption requests. As such, we are bound by the current mileage rule. As a membership organization, we advocate for our members, and change to our sport’s calendaring system is one of our areas of sport advocacy.

From a leadership perspective, USHJA remains passionately committed to examining our sport’s problems which include costs, show standards and competitive opportunities for our members. Recently, the USHJA Planning Committee created an Ad Hoc Committee to examine the sport’s calendar and the application of competition standards to the issuance of competition licenses. USHJA volunteers and staff have been diligently working towards finding solutions.

I find that working together is one of the things that makes our sport strong. I welcome your feedback as we search for collaborative solutions that will make our sport inclusive and sustainable at all levels for years to come.

Thank you for your membership,

Mary Babick
USHJA President