The USA Equestrian Trust has awarded nearly $40,000 in grants to help fund equine-focused projects by four nonprofits. Since the inception of its grants program, the Trust has awarded nearly $2.1 million to nonprofits

Projects funded include:

• Asbury University, in Wilmore, Kentucky, received $5,000 to fund scholarships for students participating in the university’s service mount program, which trains horses for service with police, military, and national park rangers.
• Memorial Hospital at Gulfport Foundation, in Gulfport, Mississippi, received $3,212.75 to provide helmets and safety education to young riders.
• Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, based in Lexington, Kentucky, received $25,423 to examine weight’s effects on show horses’ hoof and leg behavior while in the air. The research will compare horses with corrective and performance shoeing to flat-shod horses.
• Sacramento Area Hunter Jumper Association, in Sacramento, California, received $5,000 to offer a free training clinic to its members, who are entry-level exhibitors and low-budget owners. The money for this grant was allocated from funding reserved for hunter/jumper activities in California and Nevada.

The trust’s next grant application period will begin early in 2019. Equine nonprofits wishing to request funding during that application period must fill out the online application form at trusthorses.org. E-mail grants@trusthorses.org to be notified when the application period opens