April Zone 8 Update

Thank you for being a Zone 8 member! Stay up to date with COVID-19 news, let your voice be heard by commenting on 2021 Zone Specifications, participate in the Horsemanship Quiz Challenge and more.

Important Information about COVID-19 and our Sport As COVID-19 continues to impact the world, leaders in our sport are continuing to adjust plans and work toward solutions that will best serve horses and riders as we move forward. Last week, USEF announced the extension of the suspension of all USEF owned and named events through May 31. As such, USHJA is continuing suspension of all USHJA programs and events through May 31. The USHJA Board of Directors also made the decision to cancel the USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships and USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships for 2020. The Board felt it was unlikely that horses would be fit and ready to compete and qualify by the time of the Championships. They will return in 2021. Additional resources and information about COVID-19: View the USHJA COVID-19 Resource Page Watch USHJA President Mary Babick's Virtual Town Hall discussing COVID-19 (April 15) Read the USHJA Championships Qualifying Update (April 8) Read US Equestrian Qualifying Update (April 24) View US Equestrian's Coronavirus Resource Page

We Need Your Feedback

Member comments can be sent to zones@ushja.org. Read more about the member comment period.

Test Your Knowledge with the HQC Quick Quiz

True or false? A blemish is synonymous with unsoundness. True Select False Select

Learn more and register!

Did you know adult amateurs can participate in HQC this year? Click here to learn more.

Check Out the USHJA Best Practices Page!

The USHJA Best Practices page is a collection of educational resources, downloads and videos for members. The Owners Awareness Checklist, to help owners become more engaged and promote horse welfare, is new to the page! You can also find educational articles like " Tips for the New or Longtime Horse Owner," " Indicators of Horse Health," and " Employer Resources." Have an educational topic you'd like to see? Email us your idea.

Educational videos like this one, "Longeing-Basic Technique," are also on the best practices page.

USHJA Webinar and Virtual Town Hall Coming Up

Farrier Tools of the Trade Webinar May 6, 4 p.m. ET Join us for a webinar with Travis Burns, Associate Professor of Practice and Chief of Farrier Services at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, to learn about different types of shoes and farrier tools most commonly used in shoeing horses.  Click here for more information. Click here to join. Virtual Town Hall with USHJA President Mary Babick May 6, 6 p.m. ET Register to participate in a virtual town hall with USHJA President Mary Babick. Click here for more information and to register.

Application Deadline Extended for Hamel Family Scholarship for Further Education

The deadline for the 2020 Hamel Family Scholarship for Further Education has been extended to June 15. The scholarship, made possible through a generous donation from the Kristen and James Hamel Family Foundation, awards up to $25,000 to one USHJA member to be used for college, graduate, trade or professional school. Hear from Kristen Hamel about the scholarship. Click here to apply

Sport History: Fun Facts from the USHJA Wheeler Museum

Betty Oare and Navy Commander Chances are you’ve heard of Betty Oare as a consistent winner in the amateur-owner Hunters for decades and the winner of awards including the 2019 USHJA Mrs. A.C. Randolph Owners Legacy Award, the 2013 USHJA Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2005 USEF Pegasus Medal of Honor. Did you know that Oare and her famous thoroughbred partner Navy Commander, with whom she won multiple Hunter championships and induction in the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame, also competed in the 1965 Cleveland Grand Prix, the first of its kind in North America? Their style was as impeccable on a Jumper course as it was in the Hunter ring. Photo: Betty Oare and Navy Commander in the Inaugural Cleveland Grand Prix  Photo credit: Marshall Hawkins

More Recent News USHJA Young Jumper Championships to Debut in 2021 USHJA Opens Host Applications for 2021 National Programs, Zone Programs and Educational Clinics USHJA J.T. Tallon Memorial Equitation Grant Applications Now Open

Know Your Zone 8 Committee Members

Laurie Grayson, Chair Betsy Checchia, Vice Chair Jenny Paisley, Treasurer Betty Beran 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.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines

May May 1: Membership nominations close for USHJA President May 6: USHJA Webinar, Farrier Tools of the Trade May 6: USHJA Virtual Town Hall with USHJA President Mary Babick May 15: Nomination period opens for National Vice Presidential/Director At-Large Election May 17: Member Comment Period for 2021 Zone Specifications ends June June 15: Deadline to apply for the Hamel Family Scholarship for Further Education

USHJA Official Sponsors

USHJA Sponsors & Partners

Photos by: Tricia Booker, Jump Media, Rachel Sowinski

United States Hunter Jumper Association | (859) 225-6700 | ushja.org

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