SEE Partners with USEA Foundation
The United States Eventing Association (USEA), along with the USEA Foundation, has announced its partnership with and support of the Strides for Equality Equestrians (SEE) initiative. The goals of SEE align closely to those of the USEA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee and include promoting a more inclusive culture within the equestrian community that values the participation, voices, and contributions of BIPOC people, while educating others on how to be effective allies. This includes not just riders, but also volunteers, officials, grooms, sponsors and everyone who loves horses and horse sports.
The USEA Foundation and SEE have developed a memorandum of understanding in order to facilitate fundraising for the initiative. In addition, this partnership will allow donations to SEE to be tax-deductible.
“The acronym ‘SEE’ works very well because we care a lot about visibility,” said SEE founding member and USEA DEI Committee Co-Chair Dr. Anastasia Curwood. “We want BIPOC equestrians to become more visible and part of our communities and we thought having a visible way for all people to show their support for diversity, equity, and inclusion would draw equestrians together. We started with those two small goals, plus the idea of donating what we raise to organizations that are promoting access and education, last summer. Since then our vision has grown to DEI education, an apprenticeship program, and more to come.”
“Strides for Equality Equestrians started as a crazy idea between two friends this past summer with this basic question: How do we make BIPOC equestrians know they are seen and are welcomed? We quite literally started with the simple idea of visible allyship and team building. Wear a pin or a ribbon showing your support for BIPOC horse people,” Heather Gillette, also a founding member of SEE and Co-Chair of the DEI Committee, explained. “We are thrilled to be partnering with the USEA Foundation to raise funds through a non-profit program supported by equestrians for equestrians. We have lots to do! Join the team and help SEE the change!”
Funds collected in the form of donations will be utilized to implement a grant and mentorship program intended to support BIPOC equestrians and aspiring industry professionals to gain a foothold within the industry.
Tax-deductible donations to the USEA Foundation for the SEE Fund can be made through the USEA Foundation website and selecting "Strides for Equality Equestrians" from the drop-down menu. Supporters can also visit www.stridesforequality.org to initiate their donation.