Coaches

Eventing coaches are essential to the training of riders and their horses for humane, safe, and skilled participation in the sport of eventing. Started in 2002, the USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP), formerly known as the USEA Coachs' Certification Program (ICP), educates all levels of eventing coaches to confirm their knowledge base, both theoretical and practical, upon which they will continue to build throughout their teaching lifetime.

To register with USEA’s Eventing Coaches Program, ask questions, and obtain further information about ECP, contact Nancy Knight at Nancy@useventing.com or (703) 669-9997. The ECP does not require a candidate coach to enter the Eventing Coaches Program at the lowest ECP level. Rather, a candidate coach determines which ECP level best matches their highest level of teaching knowledge and skill based upon a self-evaluation of their own history of riding, competing, and learning/teaching. Then the candidate coach attends the appropriate workshop(s), receives feedback on their teaching from the workshop(s) faculty member, and confirms the ECP level at which they want to be assessed at an ECP Assessment.

Mission Statement

The mission of the USEA Eventing Coaches Program is to produce and improve the craft and art in the teaching of riding and horse management for the sport of eventing through the application of the highest principles of horsemanship, which ensures the ethical and humane treatment of horses and the safety of both horses and riders and extends to all those associated with the health and well-being of the horses.

Vision Statement

The USEA Eventing Coaches Program promotes excellence in horse training, instructing, and coaching for the sport of eventing at all levels.

Core Values

Commitment to Safety: The ECP recognizes that safety is the paramount criterion in all aspects and activities for the benefit of the horse, rider, and the sport of eventing.

Continuing Education: The ECP is committed to coaches becoming model teachers and horsemen through their ongoing commitment to lifelong learning.

Commitment to Classical Principles: The ECP adheres to a foundation of classical methodology and principles for the development and training of horses and riders.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The ECP is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion and seeks to ensure a welcoming environment for all participants.

Goals and Objectives

Certification

The Eventing Coaches Program Committee shall be responsible for the development and application of the USEA Eventing Coaches Program.
The ECP sets standards, monitors results, and continually and proactively upgrades standards of educating riders, horse training, instruction, and coaching for the sport of eventing.
The ECP is responsible for certifying coaches who demonstrate excellence in education at all levels of the sport. Certification is awarded to those coaches who promote and produce the highest standard of skill, horsemanship, horse management, safety, and horse welfare.
The ECP provides relevant resources and educational opportunities to coaches in preparation for certification and provides certified coaches with the most current tools and techniques available.

Education

The ECP seeks to understand the vast variety of processes by which students and riders learn and to develop and adapt educational information such that it may be appropriately communicated according to individual and specific learning styles.
The ECP develops and improves the coaches’ ability to accurately assess both the strengths and weaknesses of horses and riders and to correctly evaluate and prescribe exercises and activities that are appropriate for their current level of skill and development.
The ECP enables participating coaches to work in a collegial and instructive environment that values and respects continual learning.
The ECP identifies and delineates the similarities and differences between teaching and coaching and the appropriate application of each.
The ECP organizes and supports educational programs for USEA members that embody the industry’s best practices and classical training methodology.

How to Become an ECP Certified Coach

Contact Nancy Knight for an ECP registration form. Complete that form and return it to Nancy. Read the ECP Standards Booklet and ECP Workbook which you will receive once you register with ECP. Also, before attending an ECP Workshop, begin your reading/reviewing of ECP required and recommended readings, which are listed in both the Standards Booklet and the Workbook.
Submit verifications of your instruction from three of the highest-competing students whom you are teaching and/or have taught.
Attend the required ECP All Levels Workshop as a candidate coach. Choose the level, I through V, in accordance with the definition of ECP levels. Find workshops on the ECP calendar page of this website. Contact a workshop host to enter a workshop.
After attending the required workshop(s) appropriate to your ECP level, contact Nancy Knight to sign up for an ECP Assessment.
Prepare, attend, and pass your assessment!
Once certified, complete the ECP Continuing Education Program requirements during each 4-year continuing education cycle for as many years as you wish to remain current with your ECP certification.
To remain current as an ECP certified coach, you must remain a USEA member at any level of USEA membership, possess current professional liability insurance, possess a current CPR/First Aid Certification, be current with Safe Sport Training, complete the CDC Concussion Protocol Training, and submit a Nationwide Criminal Background Check every two years, and be in the process of fulfilling ECP’s Continuing Education activities credits.