Become a Member

USEF Insider Articles

Here you can find stories from the USEF Insider, a twice-monthly email newsletter packed with features about USEF people and programs, including our drugs and medications program, regulations, and competitions departments.

The newsletter is free to USEF members and fans. Make sure you’re receiving it by checking your email preferences in your My USEF Dashboard. Click the red Subscribe to Newsletter button below to make sure you’re getting this twice-monthly monthly newsletter.

Subscribe to newsletters and become a US Equestrian fan for FREE!

Subscribe to Newsletter

A Place to Start: US Equestrian Releases Data on Hunter/Jumper Competition Frequency and Overuse

by Natalie Voss | July 13, 2026

If you’ve ever been at a horse show and recognized a horse in the ring as a frequent flyer in class after class, show after show, you may have wondered about whether that horse is OK. Are they competing too often, placing their physical or mental well-being at risk? For some time now, US Equestrian has heard concerns from members about whether horses and ponies are competing too frequently, particularly from hunter and jumper members. ©Devyn Trethewey/US Equestrian Although licensed

Interested in Becoming a Licensed Official? Here’s How to Get Started

by Kimberly Loushin | July 13, 2026

If you’ve ever attended a horse show thought, “Maybe I could do that,” after watching a judge, steward, technical delegate, or course designer perform their duties, but didn’t know where to start, this is for you. During a July webinar titled “ Becoming an Official: Steps to Success ,” Alina Brazzil, US Equestrian Director of Licensed Officials, outlined the steps involved in becoming licensed. The application process can be broken into five basic steps.

How It Works: Warning Cards and Yellow Cards

by Natalie Voss | July 13, 2026

If you’ve ever flagged down an official at a horse show to draw their attention to something that seemed off – a conversation between a horse and human that wasn’t going well, a loose dog, an equipment issue, or unsportsmanlike conduct – you may have wondered what that person could do with the information you provided. In April 2025, the US Equestrian board approved changes to the Warning Card System to give Judges, Stewards, and Technical Delegates more tools and

Taking a Closer Look at: SGLT2 Inhibitors

by Kimberly Loushin | July 2, 2026

Over the past three years, veterinarians have increased prescriptions of the SGLT2 inhibitors as they have been proven to be effective drugs for treating acute laminitis, a life-threatening condition in horses. These medications are used in horses who are actively experiencing or are at risk for developing laminitis due to insulin dysregulation or equine metabolic syndrome. As these medications are used more frequently, we are seeing positives show up more often during drug tests. In humans,

Operant Conditioning: Get to Know the Science Behind What You’re Doing in the Field

by Natalie Voss | July 2, 2026

You know by now that when you gently squeeze your horse’s side with your leg, they will move away, or that you may be able to entice a horse to walk towards a suspicious trailer ramp with the aid of a treat – but did you know that when you use these tools to change your horse’s behavior, you are using operant conditioning? You’ve likely heard of classical conditioning, which is a learning process made famous by Ivan Pavlov and his dog. Classical conditioning pairs a

Cooling the Threat: How Grayson-Funded Research Is Changing the Fight Against Laminitis

by Grayson Jockey Club | July 1, 2026

Few diagnoses strike fear into a horse owner's heart like laminitis. This painful and often devastating disease damages the sensitive tissues that connect the hoof wall to the underlying coffin bone. Laminitis not only threatens a horse's athletic career but remains one of the leading causes of premature death in horses, second only to colic. Laminitis can affect horses of all breeds and disciplines and generally falls into three categories: Endocrine-related laminitis , associated with

Through Military Moves, Taylor Kamataris Leaned on Horses to Ground Her

by Kimberly Loushin | June 29, 2026

Growing up with both parents in the Air Force, Taylor Kamataris had to learn to adapt to change at an early age. But through all the moves, each time she started over at a new school, and long deployments, Taylor found it was horses, and the friends she made at the barn, who remained constant and provided comfort. “It was really nice to be able to have something to ground me, look forward to, and to have something constant,” she said. Taylor Kamataris and her mom meet her dad

It All Starts With Kids And Horses: Hilary Wilcox Finds New Ways To Bring Grassroots Riders To Her Farm

by Kimberly Loushin | June 8, 2026

As a third-generation horsewoman, Hilary Wilcox was privileged to grow up with easy access to horses, but she knows that getting involved can be daunting for anyone new. As one of the trainers at her family’s Redwing Farm in Waterloo, Ill., one of her missions is to reduce the barrier to entry for those looking to start riding. “Right now, we teach 150 lessons a week — out of that number, some number of kids are going to buy horses and go into the industry more fully, but a

'The Organizations Have To Be Proactive': David O'Connor Brings Perspective On USEF Initiatives In Worldwide Panel On Horse Welfare

by Kimberly Loushin | June 8, 2026

On June 3, USEF Chief of Sport David O’Connor participated in a panel titled Public Acceptance of the Involvement of Horses in Sport: What Does Good Training Look Like , hosted by the World Horse Welfare in London. The panel discussed the current public perception of horses in sport and steps the horse world can take to improve horse welfare and, in turn, public perception. As part of the discussion, O’Connor shared some of the welfare-based initiatives that US Equestrian has put

Alert: Screwworm Confirmed in the United States

by US Equestrian Communications Department | June 4, 2026

On June 3, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed New World Screwworm in the umbilical area of a calf in Zavala County, Texas. This expansion into the United States is alarming and US Equestrian wants to make sure you know about the potential risks of this parasitic fly to horses. What is the risk of screwworm to horses? Screwworm myiasis (infestation) is caused by fly larvae (maggots) that feed on living tissue of any warmblooded animal. Horses, cattle, wildlife, pets, and

Why Equine Pregnancies Fail—and How Research Is Changing the Answer

by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation | May 18, 2026

Pregnancy loss in mares is not one condition—it is most often the result of either early embryonic loss or placental disease. Each requires a different understanding, and increasingly, research is providing those answers. Early pregnancy loss is often a problem of the embryo. Placentitis is a disease of the placenta—and timing determines whether we can save the pregnancy. Early pregnancy loss and placentitis represent two of the most significant—and very

Meet Our Board Members: Lisa Gorretta Is Ready to Pitch in for the Sport She Loves

by Natalie Voss | May 18, 2026

Lisa Gorretta often quips that she’s always had a difficult time with the word ‘no.’ Instead, when she’s been asked to step into new roles in equestrian sport through the years, she tends to utter a different two-letter word: ‘Ok.’ “I was raised with the concept that if you were unhappy with something that’s important to you, then you should work to improve it from the inside instead of complain about it from the outside,” she said. That