USA Equestrian Trust announced April 29 it has awarded nearly $70,000 in grants to help fund equine-focused projects by a dozen nonprofits. The organizations receiving funding all submitted applications as part of the Trust’s 2020 application period. Since the inception of its grants program, the trust has awarded more than $2.2 million in grants.

The trust is also pleased to announce it is now accepting proposals from IRS-registered equine nonprofit organizations for its 2021 grants program. To submit an application visit trusthorses.org and complete the online form. Any organization applying must submit copies of its IRS nonprofit determination letter and most recent Form 990, as well as a proposed budget for its project. The deadline to submit applications for the foundation’s 2021 grants program is 11:59 p.m. PDT on Wed., May 26.

The trust’s financial support has been dedicated largely but not exclusively to initiatives that are productive across several national-level discipline and/or breed boundaries. The trust welcomes applications for need-based projects and encourages applicants to detail those in their applications.

Among the equine nonprofits granted funding during 2020 was Oldfields School, which was awarded $4,600 to support a series of free 30-minute online horsemanship lessons.

“In the early days of the pandemic, when everything was shut down across the country on short notice, USA Equestrian Trust’s generous grant to Oldfields School allowed our Riding Program to offer 15 virtual educational clinics with top professionals from the industry,” said  Amy Phillips, Oldfields director of riding. “These clinics emphasized horsemanship via a multidisciplinary approach and were made available at no cost, not only to Oldfields’ riding students, but also to anyone in the country with an interest in equestrian pursuits. Oldfields School and Oldfields’ Riding Program are deeply grateful to the USA Equestrian Trust for their grant, which allowed this original and impactful series.”

Among other USA Equestrian Trust grant recipients was the Washington International Horse Show Association, which was awarded $7,500 to support youth initiatives.

“2020 forced WIHS to reimagine one of our signature in-arena events — Barn Night — and thanks to the support of USA Equestrian Trust, WIHS was able to pivot to a Virtual Barn Night and keep the spirit and fun alive through online and social media competitions,” said Mary Helen Shaughnessy, WIHS executive director. “Virtual Barn Night featured contests with a special twist to reflect 2020. This year’s theme was ‘Horses and Heroes,’ honoring our essential workers and those that keep us safe. USA Equestrian Trust’s support enabled WIHS to expand our virtual outreach to barns across the entire United States and ensured that we could keep this WIHS tradition alive even while being socially distanced in our homes and barns.”

Recipients of grants in 2020 included:

AMERICAN HORSE COUNCIL FOUNDATION ($10,000) to support the Equine Welfare Data Collective, a long-term research initiative gathering and reporting data on at-risk horses and those in transition.

AMERICAN SADDLEBRED HORSE ASSOCIATION ($10,000) to support youth scholarships.

EQUUS FOUNDATION ($7,500) to support the continued development of its Next Chapters program that matches horses in transition with organizations in need of horses for their programming.

GRAYSON-JOCKEY CLUB RESEARCH FOUNDATION ($5,000) to support research by North Carolina State University researchers into treatments for common equine tendon injuries.

HPF RESCUE-REHAB-REHOME ($2,120) to support its youth camp teaching children about horseback riding and horsemanship.

LOUDOUN COUNTY EQUINE ALLIANCE ($5,000) to support a large animal emergency rescue training program.

OLDFIELDS SCHOOL ($4,600) to support a series of free 30-minute online horsemanship lessons.

PRANCING HORSE ($3,800) to support equine education initiatives for the children of active-duty military.

SECOND WIND THOROUGHBRED PROJECT ($4,500) to help the Thoroughbred aftercare organization move to a larger farm and expand its programming.

THOROUGHBRED RETIREMENT FOUNDATION ($5,000) to support an equine job training program for inmates that prepares them for employment in equine care and stable management.

WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL HORSE SHOW ASSOCIATION ($7,500) to support youth initiatives.

WOODSIDE VAULTERS ($2,225) to support an educational clinic.

If you have any questions about applying, please e-mail grants@trusthorses.org.