2026 USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge and Adult Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Registration Opens

Lexington, Ky.—Feb. 4, 2026—The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association is pleased to open registration for the 2026 USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge and Adult Horsemanship Quiz Challenge. With the aim of encouraging education and recognizing equestrians who have exceptional horsemanship knowledge, both Challenges allow equestrians of all ages to put their horsemanship expertise to the test. 

The USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge is open to USHJA members above the Outreach level who are younger than 21 on December 1 of the current competition year, while the Adult Horsemanship Quiz Challenge is open to amateurs who are 21 years of age or older.

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All participants, regardless of age, must register online for the Challenge and advance through two levels of online horsemanship quizzes by September 1. Participants must score an 80 percent or higher on the Level One Quiz to take the Level Two Quiz, on which they then must score a 90 percent or higher to be eligible for selection to the USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Nationals and Adult Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Nationals.

“This was my first time attending, and the weekend went by so quickly," said 2025 USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Nationals winner Ella Hallman-Luhn. "It was intense but so much fun. I didn’t really know what to expect, so I’m proud of how it turned out.”

Program participants may use the online resources available through the program—the Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Study Guide and Practice Quiz—to prepare. These resources are also available on the USHJA website to anyone interested in improving their horsemanship knowledge.

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Twenty-four individuals, comprised of the top individual scorers on the Level Two Quiz from each of the 12 USHJA Zones and the next 12 highest-ranked Level Two finishers nationally, will be invited to participate in each Nationals event. The USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Nationals will be held November 20-22 at Midway University in Midway, Kentucky. Dates for the virtual Adult Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Nationals will be announced at a later date.

"Speaking from the working Adult Amateur perspective, many of us are former barn rats who have seen our marathon barn days as Juniors evolve into weeks where we struggle to get to the barn regularly," remarked Sarah Jarosinski-Holy, 2025 USHJA Adult Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Nationals winner. "Not only is maintaining good horsemanship knowledge important to make us the best horsemen and horsewomen we can be, but it's also a welcome mental escape. I hope to remain a lifelong student of the sport, stay hungry to learn more, and advocate for the animals I'm so passionate about."

In 2025, East-West Equine Sports Medicine was welcomed as a supporting sponsor of the USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge, including four $250 grants to support Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Nationals participants by helping offset travel and related expenses for those who qualify to compete. Applications for the grant open on September 1 and close on October 15.

For more information about the USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge and Adult and Horsemanship Quiz Challenge, visit ushja.org/HQC and ushja.org/AdultHQC.

Photos: Rachel Milewski/USHJA