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The majority of event riders compete at the lower levels, and novice comes complete with baby novice and accommodating divisions for both horse and rider. Suppose your ambition includes moving up? Training level is where the groundwork gets laid to prepare horse and rider for the more technical questions of the cross-country and that, as any eventing enthusiast will tell you, is the heart and soul of the equestrian triathlon.

With the emphasis on safety, the need for continuing education prompted the creation of a “bridge” to help junior riders make the leap from training to preliminary and on to the upper levels. That’s where the Professional Riders Organization (PRO) comes into the frame. Founded by fve upper level riders in 2009, PRO seeks to improve the standards of competition and promote safety as well as attracting new fans, sponsors and participants to the sport of Three-Day Eventing. When PRO board member Marcia Kulak presented her brainchild of awarding scholarships to junior training level riders, the entire organization embraced the concept.

“I’ve been involved in eventing for 30 years, and I’ve seen eventing grow, going from the long format to the short format, and go through a lot of changes,” says Marcia. “You can implement all the safety rules you want, all the best safety course designs – all the things that might make eventing safer, but what about good old-fashioned riding lessons and education in horsemanship? It doesn’t matter how hard the course designer has worked to make the cross-country safer. Once you turn your pupil loose in the start box, it’s up to them.” The livelihood of upper level event riders depends on their adult amateur and junior/ young riders. While many in this particular subset can afford really

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