As a precursor to the upcoming United States Eventing Association (USEA) Annual Meeting and Convention, USEA has released the 2015 statistics on its membership and competition starters.
The statistics show that things are looking up for eventing in the USA and that there is a general recovery from the 2008 economic recession which resulted in a downturn in membership figures. Membership has now reached its highest number since the recession and 2015 ranks as one of the top 10 highest years for membership since the Association was established in 1959.
There has also been an increase in the number of competition starters and the number of recognized competitions.
“With the economic recession the USEA saw a loss of members but we are encouraged to see that our membership numbers are approaching pre-recession levels” said USEA CEO Jo Whitehouse.
“The interest in the sport is much larger than the membership numbers alone indicate. With over 60,000 North American followers of U.S. Eventing through social media channels like Facebook there is a significant amount of growth still possible for the sport.”
U.S. Competition Statistics
- For the third straight year the number of starters at USEA recognized competitions increased
- 43,471 starters as of November 24, 2015 with one competition still scheduled to occur on the final weekend of the year
- This competition year will rank as the third highest in terms of starters in the history of the USEA
- The previous high points were reached in 2006 (44,324) and 2007 (45,667) just before the economic recession
- At the same time the number of competitions also increased to 237 events, a rise in competitions from 228 and 233 in the previous two years respectively
“The growth in USEA starters and competitions in 2015 is a positive sign, but we also recognize the challenges faced by competition organizers and venues in hosting Events” said USEA COO Rob Burk
“We must continue to work on solidifying the future of all of our competition venues. We know we have work to do when we see venues that have fostered the growth of our riders at all levels closing to business.”
2015 British Eventing statistics
