January Zone 8 Update
Thank you for being a Zone 8 member! Save the date for Zone Championships, see who attended Gold Star Clinics, enroll your horse for USHJA programs and more.
Zone 8 Members Participate in USHJA Gold Star Clinic!
Congratulations to our Zone 8 members who participated in the USHJA Gold Star Clinic West Coast in Thermal, California, this month:

  • Betsy Checchia, Tucson, Ariz. 
  • Grace Gallager, Scottsdale, Ariz.
  • Lily Hackbarth, Scottsdale, Ariz.
  • Kiley McCullough, San Tan Valley, Ariz.
  • Carly Sweeny, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Read more about the Gold Star Clinics. Subscribe to EQ SportsNet and watch on demand coverage of the clinics here.
Mark Your Calendar for Zone 8 Championships
Dates and locations for Zone HOTY Championships and other special classes have been announced.

  • Stirrup Cup Championship, Sept. 25-27, New Mexico Hunter Jumper Association Fall Festival, Santa Fe, N.M.
  • Horse of the Year Hunter and Jumper Championship, Nov. 18-22, Arizona Season Finale II, Scottsdale, Ariz. 
Applications Open for USHJA Platinum and Zone Jumper Team Championships
Applications are open for the USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships, open to juniors and amateurs at the 1.10/1.15m, 1.20/1.25m and 1.30/1.35m levels, and the USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships, open to juniors, amateurs and professionals at the 1.40/1.45m level.

Both Zone Jumper Team Championships and Platinum Jumper Championships are part of the USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Program. 

The Championships for USHJA Zones 7 & 8 at Hipico Santa Fe Summer Series - Sonrisa Week in Santa Fe, N.M., July 22-26, 2020 (Qualifying Period: August 27, 2019 - June 7, 2020).
It's Time to Enroll Your Green Hunter or Derby Horse
It's time to enroll for two great USHJA programs; the Green Hunter Incentive Program and the International Hunter Derby Program.

Enrollment for both programs is $350 until February 1 then the price jumps to $550.
Grant and Scholarship Opportunities from USHJA Foundation
Applications are now open for the USHJA Foundation $25,000 Hamel Family Scholarship for Further Education and the Gochman Grant, which helps riders attend USEF Pony Finals each year.
Know Before You Show 2020
The USHJA is helping members Know Before You Show with a simple guide of rule changes taking effect for the new competition year. Click here to read more.

Click here for a comprehensive list of rule changes that were approved in 2019 for the 2020 competition year.

View the entire 2020 USEF Rulebook here.
USHJA Affiliate Member Organization News
Renew Your Membership!

Don't forget to renew your Affiliate Membership! Affiliate Member Organization memberships cost $100 and are valid through November 30 of the current competition year (December 1-November 30).

Added benefits for 2020: 50 percent off USHJA Associate Memberships for your members, USHJA Affiliate Logo and Banner, return of the USHJA Affiliate Council and Regional Groups and Affiliate Year-End High Point Award!

Find an Affiliate

Check out local USHJA Affiliates near you here. Can't find your affiliate? Encourage them to join here.
Tell Us What You Think
If you have participated in the Children's and Adult Amateur Hunter Championships in the past, or would consider participating in the future, please consider taking our short survey about the program! 
Sport History: Fun Facts from the USHJA Wheeler Museum
It’s All about the Basics

The Gold Star Clinics this month focus on the foundations of hunter/jumper riding: the rider’s position, flatwork, and gymnastics to build the skills you and your horse need for riding courses. 

USET Show Jumping Coach Bertalan de Némethy was a strong proponent of gymnastics, including cavalletti work, in the USET training sessions at Gladstone. USET Captain and Olympian Bill Steinkraus stresses the value of cavalletti (or simple poles on the ground) in his 1987 book Reflections on Riding and Jumping: Trotting a single rail, adding a second, then a third, then a double space to a rail (where later you can build a small fence) “enables you to practice the same move over and over until you groove it, and to work on pure technique. It also enables you to work on particular problems, and can be adapted to isolate almost any weakness.”
 
Caption: Bill Steinkraus practicing over a basic cavalletti grid. Photo by Alix Coleman.
Know Your Zone 8 Committee Members
  • Laurie Grayson, Chair
  • Jenny Paisley, Treasurer
  • Betty Beran
  • Betsy Checchia
  • Chris Collman
  • Michael Dennehy
  • Lisa Hooper
  • Marion Maybank
  • Beth Nielsen
  • Jill Pelzel
  • Danine Summers
  • Allison Wicks
Special thanks to these members who serve our zone! For more information about the committee and contact information, click here.
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Photos by: Terisé Cole, Tricia Booker, Tori Bilas, Kaitlyn Karssen, Jump Media, Rachel Sowinski and Louise Taylor.
United States Hunter Jumper Association | (859) 225-6700 | ushja.org