EAP Regional Clinics
NEW for 2012!: Hundreds of hopeful riders submit their applications to the Emerging Athletes Program each year. In 2012, the EAP will be conducting 10 Regional Clinics throughout the country. Riders who wish to participate in the Regional Clinics must submit an EAP application and three EAP recommendations and complete the Level One USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge with a passing grade of 80% or higher to be considered for the program. The USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge is now available. You may complete the quiz after submitting your application. The EAP Committee carefully reviews the applications and chooses a total of 24 riders to participate in each Regional Clinic. Important Regional Clinic Information 2012 Regional Clinic Daily Schedule 2012 Stable Management Curriculum Current Events Study Guide Auditing Information

Riders provide their own horses for the clinic and are expected to provide all necessary care themselves. Horses should be comfortable jumping a course at 1.10m. Some of the country’s top clinicians guide riders through four days of training. Riders participating in the clinics focus on flatwork, gymnastics, related distance exercises and course work designed to create balance and better communication between horse and rider.

Throughout the four-day clinics, riders are observed and evaluated, not only on their riding skills, but on their stable-management and horsemanship skills, as well. Upon arrival, EAP clinicians monitor the activities in the stable area, as participants are responsible for the full care of their horses, from mucking stalls and grooming to feeding and watering. Participants are kept busy; while one group of eight riders practices flatwork, gymnastics or related distances, another group is attending a hands-on stable-management clinic, working in the barn with a knowledgeable stable manager or learning the proper care and grooming of their horses. At the same time, a third group is assisting the clinician in the ring, adjusting jumps as needed, as well as observing the unique situations that arise and are addressed throughout the day. At the conclusion of the third training session each day, all riders help change the course for the following day, learning all the while the reasoning behind the jump placement and the core exercises.

On the first day, once the horses are put away and the course is set, riders and their guests get a chance to sit back, relax and get to know one another over pizza and an informal yet informative discussion with the clinician and stable manager. Each Regional Clinic continues with three more days of riding and stable-management sessions where participants have the chance to expand on the foundation built the day before. A written test is required of all participants during the lunch break of day two, the results of which will factor into the final invitations to the EAP National Training Session.

As the third day draws to a close and riders put their equine partners to bed for the night, they themselves must be preparing for another early start. Building on the foundation and preparation from the first three days, each rider individually navigates a course, complete with jump off, after having the opportunity to both walk and discuss the course with a clinician. Following the morning’s riding challenge, participants again enjoy the camaraderie of their new friends while discussing the results of the written test and the culmination of the lessons learned throughout their four-day experience. As they pack up for the trip home, these riders should be very proud of their accomplishments that have brought them this far into the EAP journey.

Regional Clinics