French Picks a Winner

From staff reports

When the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association created a new membership category — one aimed at competitors who ride in it local affiliates’ medal classes — it needed a suitable name.

Naturally, the association sought help from those very same affiliates, so USHJA held a naming contest. It sweetened the pot by promising the winner a three-page spread in its bimonthly magazine, USHJA In Stride.

That was music to Sweet Briar College riding director Shelby French’s ears.

“I sent in a bunch of names because I wanted the name chosen to be a good one but more than that, I wanted to win the free spread in the USHJA’s publication for Sweet Briar,” said French, who serves on the USHJA Northeast Affiliate Committee.

One of those entries, “Outreach,” was chosen as the winning name of the new USHJA Affiliate Equitation Program membership category. The spread on Sweet Briar’s riding program will be published in the October issue of In Stride. It will likely be read by more than 33,000 USHJA members.

After putting out a nationwide call to its affiliates for name ideas, USHJA staff and officers whittled the suggestions down to their top 10. The finalists were put to a vote by all of the affiliates to pick a winner.

According to its Web site, the USHJA’s mission is “advancing and representing the hunter and jumper disciplines by fostering an educated community of equestrians that promotes the welfare of the horse and fairness in competition.” Find out more by visiting http://www.ushja.org/.