The USET Foundation welcomes the inaugural roster of Gold Medal Club: Farms & Stables participants to the leadership of this annual giving program. Their commitment highlights the importance of recognizing the individuals who instill the fundamentals of riding, horse management, and horse and athlete development in up-and-coming talent. The first stable to join the program was renowned hunter, jumper, and equitation trainer and judge Archibald (“Archie”) Cox III’s Brookway Stables, based in Lake View Terrace, California, where he trains students and clients across ages and levels. “This new initiative allowing barns to show their support for the USET Foundation is outstanding, and I was excited to get involved right away,” stated Cox, who joined the program as a gold-level member. “I’m fortunate enough to have trained an Olympic medalist in Lucy Davis, so the USET Foundation’s mission of helping provide resources for competitive excellence is near and dear to my heart. The USET Foundation’s support helps facilitate the proven USEF High Performance Pathway for riders [from developing athlete to elite international competitor], and we are now able to help reinforce that.
“The Farms & Stables initiative brings awareness to every single member of the team at the stable and to people attending shows in California. It underscores that it takes a whole team to accomplish national and international success,” he continued. “Highlighting our sport at a national level gives every horse enthusiast something to stand behind and cheer for. Right now, we have some exceptionally exciting U.S. icons, like Kent Farrington and Greya, who can rally the equestrian community behind a shared goal. Brookway Stables’s participation in the new Gold Medal Club: Farms & Stables chapter underscores our commitment to that goal.
“I’m delighted to be a founding member of an initiative that rightfully recognizes the community element of our sport,” concluded Cox. “I do it with great pride, recognizing every individual who helps create a successful barn environment or show, because it really does take many hands and many hours.” Early participation in the USET Foundation’s Gold Medal Club: Farms & Stables program spans the U.S., with inaugural members including the current world No. 1 jumping athlete Kent Farrington as well as Missy Clark, who, alongside her husband John Brennan, owns and operates North Run, a highly respected jumping and equitation training operation based between Warren, Vermont, and Wellington, Florida. Clark has been a leading trainer for many years and was eager to join the Gold Medal Club: Farms & Stables chapter as a gold-level member at launch.
“Preparing our young North Run riders to be ready and qualified to step up to the Nations Cup level and to represent the U.S. team for the first time has always been a priority in our program,” she explained. “Being named to a U.S. team is always a privilege and an honor, as well as an important step in advancing their careers.
“From a financial standpoint, funding from the USET Foundation has made it more attainable for a wider range of our students to achieve the goal of participating on U.S. Nations Cup teams,” continued Clark. “In the U.S., funding from the USET Foundation plays a vital role in supporting the overall USEF High Performance Pathway. “As a result, we at North Run believe that joining the new Gold Medal Club: Farms & Stables program is an important show of support for the USET Foundation and USEF’s ongoing work developing and supporting U.S. riders of today and tomorrow,” she concluded. “We are proud to join this program in support of the system that has given so much to many of the riders we have coached over the years.”
Participation in the Gold Medal Club: Farms & Stables program demonstrates a commitment to the U.S. equestrian teams and to the people behind the scenes who prepare horses and riders for peak performance. The program will provide critical funding for a broad range of components within USEF High Performance Programs and its Pathway Programs. It encompasses training sessions, international competition opportunities, direct athlete grants, and support for the team behind the team which includes coaches and Chefs d’Equipe, grooms, veterinarians, farriers, physiotherapists, and logistics personnel who manage equine wellbeing safeguards, global travel, quarantine protocols, competition planning, and more.
As the philanthropic partner of USEF, grants from the USET Foundation, generated through Gold Medal Club members and individual donor contributions, go directly to USEF to support its High Performance Programs.