Lexington, KY – April 27, 2020 – For the safety of our members, competition organizers, staff, parents and all involved, the National Horse Show will, in keeping with the USEF and all major sporting organizations, suspend the sanctioning of all NHS Equitation classes (NHS/ASPCA Maclay, NHS/Hamel 3’3” Medal and NHS/THIS Adult Medal) through May 31, 2020. We ask that any competitions held during this time period not offer or hold any NHS Equitation classes. Members are advised that points will not be awarded to riders competing in any NHS Equitation class offered at horse shows during this time period.
The National Horse Show does not take this action without a great deal of thought and consideration. We understand that this decision will cause certain hardships, but in these uncertain times we feel that taking the proper measures to safeguard our member’s health is appropriate and necessary.
At this time the National Horse Show is putting together plans for amendments to our qualifying criteria for all of the NHS Equitation classes. As the startup date for horse shows becomes clear we will announce and implement the new criteria. We appreciate your patience as we work to create a plan that is best for our members. If you have questions or concerns please contact Cindy Bozan at cindy@nhs.org.
From the USEF press release of April 25, 2020:
We continue to carefully monitor the COVID-19 Pandemic situation and the position of health experts, including the CDC and other public health authorities. It appears that in several areas of the country, restrictions put in place by State Governors, such as the “stay-at-home” orders, are making a positive difference. Federal, state and local governments are discussing plans for re-opening the environment in the near future. However, this will not occur overnight and will very likely consist of a graduated easing of restrictions over several weeks, which may vary greatly state-to-state, as well as within the states themselves.
The success of these plans is predicated on a mindful and responsible approach to easing restrictions while also maintaining best practices that we have all learned and adopted in order to reduce exposure to and transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Once USEF competitions resume, we must all continue to support and maintain these best practices as part of our daily activities to help prevent further disruptions to our lives. We hope that resumption of competition comes soon.
With that in mind, the suspension of all USEF owned and named events, selection trials, training camps, clinics and activities is being extended through May 31, 2020. This suspension also includes points, scores, money won, qualifications, or rankings toward any USEF award programs, USEF owned and named events, or selection to a US team including USEF National Championships. Upon the expiration of this suspension, competitions must comply with requirements issued by USEF for operating sport horse competitions in this environment.
