USEF offers grants to high school equestrian athletes

In 2012 the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will offer more than $20,000 in grant money to qualified students and high school equestrian clubs or teams across the nation through its High School Equestrian Athlete program.

To be eligible for a grant an applicant must be a current USEF High School Equestrian Athlete program participant and have successfully completed at least one year of the program. The applicant must also be a member of at least one USEF Recognized Breed/Discipline Affiliate or International Affiliate Association. (See below for a list of affiliate organizations). A subcommittee of the National Affiliate Working Group will select one applicant from each Recognized Breed/Discipline Affiliate or International Affiliate Association to receive a $1,000 grant to be used for academic or equestrian educational pursuits.

Students interested in applying for a grant will need to submit a 500 word essay that answers questions about their experiences in the USEF High School Equestrian Athlete program. Essay questions will be sent by email to all program participants in May and completed essays will be due between June 5th and 11th, 2012. All essays must be submitted through the applicant’s online USEF user account to be eligible for consideration by the selection committee. Additional information is available at USEF.org.

The USEF will also award ten $500 grants to local high school equestrian clubs and teams. These grants will be awarded to the ten clubs or teams in the USEF High School Equestrian Athlete program with the most student participation. State and national associations are not eligible to receive these grants.

Please contact highschoolequestrianathlete@usef.org with any questions about grants available through the USEF High School Equestrian Athlete program.

Enrollment in the program for the current school year is still open. For more information or to apply online, visit www.usef.org/highschool