Clubs and Organizations











Being knowledgeable about equestrian clubs and organizations will enhance your horse riding experience. Whether you are horse riding for recreation or serious competition, these groups are dedicated to being your best resource for information on everthing equestrian by providing you guidance for a definitive advantage in all your equestrian pursuits.

We have provided you the links to the following groups to help our equestrian community continue to grow and thrive by providing you the knowledge or assistance that you are looking for.


American Association for Horsemanship Safety The American Association for Horsemanship Safety organization is a nonprofit, educational association founded in July 1995. As far as clubs and organizations, it answers a need for riding instructor certification that relates personal skills to safety and helps insulate instructors,clubs, camps, stables and guest ranches from liability suits.

American Horse Council Your national voice in Washington, D.C. representing all segments of our nation's diverse horse industry. Founded in 1969, the AHC was organized by a group of horsemen concerned about federal legislation affecting their industry. From a clubs and organization perspective, the AHC promotes and protects all horse breeds, disciplines and interests by communicating with Congress, federal agencies, the media and the industry itself each and every day.

Equestrian Aid Foundation As clubs and organizarions go, the mission of the Equestrian Aid Foundation's is to build a membership based organization to assist anyone in the equestrian world suffering from life threatening illness, catastrophic accidents or injuries by providing direct financial support for their medical or other basic needs.



Discover Selection at BootBarn.com


Equestrian Land Conservation Resource The Equine Land Conservation Resource is a national organization that is devoted to saving land for horses. As far as clubs and organizations, their mission is to advance the conservation of land for horse-related activity. Land available for equestrian use is disappearing at a rate of 6,000 acres per day. Loss of open land has been identified as the greatest threat to the future of all equestrian sport, recreation, and industry.

North American Riding for the Handicapped Clubs and organizations also include the NARHA which was founded in 1969 as the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association to promote safe and effective therapeutic horseback riding throughout the United States and Canada. Today, NARHA has nearly 800 member centers and over 6,300 individual members in countries all over the world, who help and support more than 42,000 men, women and children with special needs each year through a variety of equine-assisted activity, clubs and therapy programs.

U. S. Animal Health Association Founded in 1897 USAHA is a science-based, non-profit, voluntary organization. Its 1,400 members are state and federal animal health officials, national allied organizations, regional representatives, and individual members. For clubs and organizations, USAHA works with state and federal governments, universities, veterinarians, livestock producers, national livestock and poultry organizations, research scientists, the extension service and seven foreign countries to control livestock diseases in the United States.



Back In The Saddle


United State Equestrian Team Foundation The eight high performance equestrian disciplines supported by the United States Equestrian Team Foundation are dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, para-equestrian, reining, show jumping and vaulting. As far as clubs and organizations go, the USET Foundation's role is to help provide funding for the High Performance competition, training, coaching, travel and educational needs of America's elite and developing athletes and horses in partnership with the United States Equestrian Federation.

United States Equestrian Federation Clubs and organizations also include the US Equestrian Federation. It is the regulatory body for equestrian sports in the United States. In cooperation with the USEA organization, USEF licenses officials, sets rules, and establishes standards which ensure uniformity and safety at USEA competitions throughout the country. The USEF trains, selects, and funds our United States Equestrian Team. The Federation has been dedicated to pursuing excellence and promoting growth, all while providing and maintaining a safe and level playing field for both its equine and human athletes.

United States Pony Clubs The United States Pony Clubs was formed by a group of avid Foxhunters who wanted a structured program to not only teach childern sound riding skills and a love of equestrian sports, but also how to care for their mount. For clubs and organizations, it is based on the practices of The Pony Club in England (which was founded in 1928), The United States Pony Clubs, Inc., was established in 1954.





United State Dressage Federation Dressage is a French term meaning “training” and its purpose is to develop the horse’s natural athletic ability and willingness to work making him calm, supple and attentive to his rider. As far as clubs and organizations go, the United States Dressage Federation is an national membership organization dedicated to education, the recognition of achievement and promotion of dressage.

United State Eventing Association Eventing could be termed an "equestrian triathlon." The three phases are: dressage, endurance (or cross-country), and show jumping. From it's beginnings as a test for the ideal military charger, eventing has now evolved into an exciting sport attracting interest from all levels of sports enthusiasts, from weekend hobby riders to international professional. As clubs and organizations go, the sport is most known for its cross-country phase where horse and rider gallop over an outside course of solid obstacles which the horse has never seen before.

American Grandprix Association An organization promoting Olympic Caliber Showjumping in the U.S.

American Hunter/Jumper Foundation The AHJF organization focuses on spectator education, providing emergency support within the hunter/jumper community and to develop a retirement plan for the industry.

National Steeplechase Association The National Steeplechase Association is the official sanctioning body of American steeplechase horse racing. For clubs and organizations, the NSA organization licenses participants, approves race courses, trains officials, coordinates race entries and enforces rules.

National Thoroughbred Racing Association This organization features News, Stats, and Stories related to Thoroughbred Racing.

The Jockey Club Clubs and organizations also include the Jockey Club. It is the breed Registry for Thoroughbred horses in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The organization is dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing.

American Vaulting Association The non-profit American Vaulting Association was founded in 1968 by Elizabeth Searle and J. Ashton Moore to build and promote equestrian vaulting in the United States. Today, there are more than 141 AVA vaulting clubs and affiliates in states from Hawaii to Massachusetts and Alaska to Florida. The AVA has more than 1,200 members in the United States and Canada. Vaulting is a unique and growing sport which combines dance and gymnastics on a moving horse.

American Driving Society The CAA organization was the first carriage association in this country, founded in 1960. The main interest of this group was and is the preservation, restoration and exhibition of antique carriages, as well as historical data on the origins of particular vehicles and the history of horse drawn vehicles. The CDE (Combined Driving Event) is modeled after the Three Day Event, which tests the overall condition and versatility of the horse in sport.

Carriage Association of America The Carriage Association of America (CAA) was founded in 1960 and is the oldest and largest international organization devoted to the preservation and restoration of horse-drawn carriages and sleighs.

Masters of Foxhounds Association of America The Masters of Foxhounds Association of America was formed in 1907 and is the governing body of organized fox, coyote, other acceptable legal quarry and drag hunting in the United States and Canada. The MFHA Foundation provides education, information and solicits funds to secure the future of this sport.

U.S. Mounted Games Association The United States Mounted Games Association provides opportunities for riders of all ages to enjoy games on horseback and to compete internationally as well as in the United States.

National High School Rodeo Association The National High School Rodeo Association established in 1949, is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to the development of sportsmanship, horsemanship and the character in the youth of our country through the sport of rodeo. As far as clubs and organizations go, the NHSRA membership consists of over 10,500 members from 41 states, five Canadian provinces and Australia. The NHSRA is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Professional Bull Riders Association The Professional Bull Riders association is headquartered in Colorado. More than 1,200 bull riders from the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico hold PBR memberships. For clubs and organizations, they compete in more than 300 bull riding events per year on either the elite tour, which is the Built Ford Tough Series presented by Wrangler (BFTS), the three minor league tours, which are the Challenger Tour, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour, and the Discovery Tour, or the PBR Internationalcircuits (PBR Australia, PBR Brazil, PBR Canada and PBR Mexico).

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association This is the largest rodeo association with the biggest purses and prize money available. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is an organization whose members compete in rodeos throughout North America, primarily in the United States. For clubs and organizations, the PRCA sanctions rodeo venues and events through the PRCA Circuit System. Its championship event is the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The PRCA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, CO.

U.S. Calf Ropers Association Clubs and organizations also include the United States Calf Ropers Association which was founded in 1996. Calf roping, is a organized rodeo event that features a calf and a rider mounted on a horse. The goal of this timed event is for the rider to catch the calf by throwing a loop of rope from a lariat around its neck, dismount from the horse, run to the calf, and restrain it by tying three legs together, in as short a time as possible.

Women's Professional Rodeo Association The Women's Professional Rodeo Association was organized in 1948 in San Angelo, Texas its purpose was to create an organization dedicated to the promotion and advancement of women in the sport of rodeo. The earliest pioneers of the Girl's Rodeo Association (GRA) were ropers, bronc riders, and barrel racers. In 1981 the club changed its name to the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. For clubs and organizations, it is the oldest women’s sports association in the country and the only one governed entirely by women.

National Snaffle Bit Association The National Snaffle Bit Association (or NSBA) is an equestrian organization in the United States that promotes and stages Western Pleasure events.The club founded in 1983. It is currently headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

American Endurance Ride Council The American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) was organized in 1972 as a national governing body for long distance riding. The club sanctions more than 700 rides each year throughout North America. In 1978 the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) recognized endurance riding as an international sport. In 1993 Endurance became the fifth discipline under the United States Equestrian Team (U.S.E.T.).

FEI World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games are held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive Summer Olympic Games. WEG runs over two weeks and, like the Olympics, the location rotates to different parts of the world. Riders and horses competing at WEG go through a rigorous selection process, and each participating country sends teams that have distinguished themselves through competition as the best in each respective discipline. As of 2010, 57 countries are represented by 800 people and their horses.

North America Trail Ride Conference NATRC (North American Trail Ride Conference) has six regions covering the country from Alaska to Florida. Each region organizes rides in their geographic area and maintains a schedule of their rides. The North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC) provides long distance competitive trail rides for riders of all breeds and from all disciplines.

U.S. Trotting Association This club was organized in 1939, the USTA maintains the racing and breeding records of more than 700,000 Standardbreds, and information regarding thousands of drivers, trainers, breeders, and owners. The USTA organization is the sole issuer of registration documents for Standardbred horses, which must first be registered with the USTA (by law) before being eligible to race in North America— or to subsequently be used in the Standardbred breeding industry.

United States Polo Association The United States Polo Association was organized in 1890 to standardize the rules of the game in the United States. Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet. For clubs and organizations, the traditional sport of polo is played at speed on a large grass field up to 300 yards in length, and each polo team consists of four riders and their mounts.

National Cutting Horse Association NCHA held its first cutting in Dublin, Texas, in 1946. In 1955, 300 NCHA events were held with total purses of $190,000. The ensuing decades have afforded tremendous growth for the NCHA organization and today, more than 2,200 shows are held annually with total prize money exceeding $36 million.

National Barrel Horse Association The National Barrel Horse Association, headquartered in Augusta, Georgia, is the largest barrel racing organization in the world. NBHA has over 23,000 members of all ages across the United States and affiliates in twelve countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

National Reined Cow Horse Association The National Reined Cow Horse Association, the governing body of cow horse competition, is responsible for promoting the sport, insuring high standards of competition and educating members and the public about the history and tradition of the reined cow horse. Formed in 1949, the organization was originally called the California Reined Cow Horse Association.

National Reining Horse Association Founded in 1966, the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) is an organization dedicated to the promotion of the reining horse. The National Reining Horse Association is a nonprofit association dedicated to promoting and encouraging the development of and public interest in the sport of reining. For clubs and organizarions, the focus is on developing and maintaining suitable standards of performance and judging and in providing a fun filled, family-oriented atmosphere.

American Trail Horse Association The American Trail Horse Association, Inc. was organized to meet the needs of today's Trail Riders, by providing Identification, Registration, Certification and Acknowledgement to all trail equines, regardless of color, breed, size or bloodlines. For Unregistered equines, ATHA provides registration, proof of ownership and identity. To equines that are registered in other breed associations, ATHA provides a Sport/Performance registry based on ability

Para-Equestrian Dressage competitions for riders with disabilities was organized in Scandinavia and in Great Britain in the 1970s. In 1987 the first dressage World Championship was held in Sweden, and they first took part in the Paralympic Games in 1996.



Return from Clubs and Organizations to Horse Riding Connection