USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Stable Challenge Now Open

Complete the USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Practice Quiz Between June 15 and July 15

Lexington, Ky.—June 15, 2020—The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association invites equestrians of all ages to put their horsemanship knowledge to the ultimate test in the 2020 USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Stable Challenge. The 30-day online quiz challenge is open to juniors and amateurs and brings barns together as teams to test their horsemanship knowledge for a chance to win great prizes.

"The Stable Challenge offers a friendly, community-driven competition that allows equestrians of all ages and skill levels to take their knowledge to the next level, said Mary Babick, president of the USHJA. "We're excited to see how trainers and stable communities come together this year to encourage horsemanship and learn more about the sport."

2019 Zone 8 winner Kristin Jacob and her students at Blue Hill Farm, LLC (photo provided).

Created to engage a trainer's entire barn as a team and encourage horsemanship for riders of all ages, the Stable Challenge requires at least three students per trainer to complete the online USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Practice Quiz at ushja.org/HQC between June 15 and July 15 for their barn to be eligible to win.

In last year's Challenge, Zone 8's Kristin Jacob used the Stable Challenge as a foundation for an educational horsemanship summer camp at Blue Hill Farm, LLC, in Longmont, Colorado. "It's one thing to read something in a book and remember the answer, but I wanted to take it further and create a hands-on experience for our barn," Jacob said. "I took each section of the [HQC] Study Guide and either had guest presenters or hands-on exercises to help the camp participants learn."

Lisa Munro, an amateur rider rider who helped Jacob organize the summer camp, said, "I love how the Stable Challenge brought the whole barn together—from juniors to amateurs to industry professionals. The Challenge is so much more than taking a test; it's about bonding with teammates and our four-legged best friends."

At the end of the 30-day challenge, the three top scores under each trainer will be averaged to provide an overall score. In the event of a tie, the fourth highest score for that trainer's barn will be added to the average. Participants do not need to be USHJA members to take the HQC Practice Quiz, and they can take the HQC Practice Quiz as many times as they like during the 30-day window to improve their Stable Challenge scores.

In addition, the USHJA has opened the Horsemanship Quiz Challenge to adults, so members of all ages can earn bonus points for their team when they take the official Horsemanship Quiz Challenge. Participants who take the Level One and Level Two HQC quizzes will receive 10 bonus points for each level they complete. Those points are then added to their individual score. In the event of a tie, a fourth score will be added to the average. Participants who have already taken the Level One and Level Two quizzes will automatically receive those bonus points when they take the Practice Quiz and list their trainer's name. 

The highest scoring trainer per USHJA zone wins a unique trainer-inspired award package designed to benefit the entire barn, which includes a show shirt from Essex Classics, grooming supplies from Shapley's, a $100 FITS Breeches gift certificate and a USHJA Swag Bag.

The trainer, coach or riding instructor of a participating barn must be a current USHJA member and be declared professional with US Equestrian in order to be eligible to win the barn prize pack. For each score to count toward a trainer's average, the trainer's name must be listed in the HQC Practice Quiz field.

For more information about the Stable Challenge, visit ushja.org/stablechallenge. For more information about the USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge, visit ushja.org/HQC