Dear Young Rider,

The Young Riders program is an educational training program open to all USEA members 21 years of age and younger. There is no minimum age, but we do recommend members be at the Beginner Novice level prior to joining the Young Riders.
As a member of the Young Riders, you have the opportunity to attend clinics with Advanced and Olympic level trainers, receive Young Rider awards at area horse trials and earn a participation award. In addition, the North American Young Riders Championship (NAYRC) is open to our Preliminary and Intermediate level members.
Most importantly, you have the opportunity to make friends throughout California and Hawaii that share your interest and enthusiasm for Eventing!

Becoming a Member
It’s simple. First you must be a member of the United States Eventing Association (USEA). To join fill out an application found at the USEA website (www.eventingusa.com) you will also find Young Rider information and an application for the Young Rider program. There is a Young Rider application and a USEA member application attached at the end of this newsletter. You must send the USEA application and dues to the USEA in Virginia. You must fill out and return the Young Rider application and dues to the Membership Coordinator listed at the end of this letter. Our yearly dues are based on the level you are competing.
Beginner Novice/Novice $50.00
Training $75.00
Preliminary $100.00
Intermediate/Advanced $150.00

Activities
Clinics. We will sponsor two or more clinics each year for Young Riders. Usually, the clinics are 2-days and offer one group lesson each day with groups limited to 3-5 riders. Frequently, we will have unmounted instructions covering an aspect of grooming, safety or riding. Everyone is encouraged to audit the other groups when they are not riding. The clinics are available at a discounted rate to Young Rider members and members also have an opportunity to sign up before non-members. The clinics offers the opportunity to train with some of the top talent in Eventing without the concern of being grouped with adults or more experienced riders while our upper level riders enjoy the opportunity to advance their skills even further.
Young Rider Advancement Program. The YRAP is focused on our members at the Novice and Training Levels. Participation at the Area VI Annual Team Challenge competition held at Ram Tap and activities such as clinics and a summer training camp are part of YRAP.
Area VI Annual Team Challenge. The team challenge is held at an Area VI horse trials in October of each year. Members are eligible to participate on the Area VI Young Rider teams and be coached by an Area VI trainer. Teams are chosen at random from the list of entrants who have completed a “Letter of Intent to Compete” form. (found at the end of this newsletter) You must pay your entry fees and stabling to the event. Participation in the Challenge is free. Members may use the Young Riders team equipment such as stall guards, saddle pads, and helmet covers. All team members stable together in a designated area. Each member receives a free shirt and prizes are awarded for top placings in the three divisions.

NAYRC
The North American Young Riders Championships (NAYRC) is recognized as a Junior Olympic Event. Participation at NAYRC is by invitation through the Young Riders program. The championship is a CCI** 3-day event (Intermediate level) for qualified riders 16-21 years of age. A CCI* event (Preliminary level) is held in conjunction with the championships. The CCI* is open to qualified riders 14-18 years of age. For the CCI** each Area can enter a four-person team plus two individual riders. Entries for the CCI* area limited to a team of four. Depending on the success of our fund-raising, the Young Riders cover some of the expenses such as entry and coaching fees.
Our candidate nomination and selection process begins in November of each year. Team members, alternates and grooms are announced in mid-June. All riders, horses and grooms attend a training session prior to departing for the NAYRC. Our teams are coached by Bea and Derek di Grazia. Area VI has had great success fielding strong, competitive teams. In 2004, the Area VI CCI** team (Athena Arnot-Copenhaver, Loreen Kay, Cayla Kitayama and Adrienne Hillas) came home with the gold team medal. Cayla came home with the CCI** Bronze individual medal. The CCI* team (Veronica Castro,Tiana Coudray, John Michael Durr and Tory Smith) finished 4th and Tiana came home with the CCI* individual silver medal. We are looking forward to NAYRC 2005 which is scheduled to be held at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Virginia.

Program Participation Goal
To receive a Participation Award, our members complete the following:
Pay Dues
Write 3 Thank You Letters to Sponsors
Volunteer 8 hours at Young Rider Activities
Obtain a Donation for Award Program
Meet Fund Raising Goal ($100.00 for Beginner Novice; $150.00 for Novice/Training; $300 for Preliminary/Intermediate and Advanced levels)
Meet specified Fund Raising Goals if you Participate in NAYRC as a Rider or Groom.
Thank You Letters. Each member must write three thank you letters to our sponsors. Writing additional thank you letters can be substituted for your volunteer hours (20 letters equals 4 hours).
Volunteer Support. Volunteer hours can earned in many ways, by rider or parent, such as manning our tent at events, helping with clinics, or participating in other service activities where the Young Riders have been asked to help such as fence judging at events. There are many opportunities to help – just ask. Ellen Coudray is our volunteer coordinator. Her information is at the end of this newsletter.
Item Donation. We ask our members to visit their local tack or feed store for an item donation ($30-50 value, or two or more of lesser value). Some members have received a monetary donation from a trainer, stable or other supporter and then purchased an item to donate. We will send the donator an acknowledgement for their tax records; include their name in our announcements at the event and recognize the contribution in the Area newsletters.
Fund Raising. An annual raffle is our major fund-raising effort. Raffle tickets are sent to each member in the spring and the drawing is held at the annual meeting usually held in January. Selling your allotted raffle tickets meets the fund raising Participation Goal.

Sponsorships
Sponsorships are another way to meet fund raising goals and to offset our costs. We ask all members to help by identifying potential sponsors. For donations over $100.00, we add the donator’s name to the small signs that accompany our tent to area events. Sponsor’s that provide donations or services totaling $500.00 or more are advertised on our large banner and included on t-shirts and signs as NAYRC sponsors. Your efforts CAN and DO make a difference! As a part of USEA, the Young Riders program is recognized as a 501-C3 non-profit educational program. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

If you are already a member. I hope you will continue to enjoy the Young Rider program. If you are considering a new membership, contact any Young Rider member for more information about the program or any of the wonderful volunteers listed on the following page. Welcome and have fun!

Sincerely,

Louise Hales
Area VI Young rider Coordinator