About USREF

USREF was founded by Michelle Leighton in 2004 after searching for meaning from a personal tragedy that occurred when she was a young rider. This, coupled with the increasing costs associated with quality education and instruction, led to the creation of The United States Rider Endowment Fund. 

As an equestrian competitor for over 15 years, she strongly believes that education and safety go hand in hand in our sport. Michelle became concerned that Amateur riders may not be able to easily continue with their education in the sport of Eventing and thus, be at risk for impeding their growth and development as a rider.

Speaking to others in the community, she quickly discovered that a large number of competitors routinely chose between attending quality clinics and programs versus 'winging it' at an actual Event. The primary reason for passing up educational opportunities were due to high costs.

A troubling consequence of not having proper training is an exponential increase of injury to horse and rider.

What started as a simple question "Is there a way to increase safety and skills by making clinics and programs more affordable?" turned into USREF. A non-profit organization fueled by her passion to pair world-class instruction and trainers with corporate and individual donors at affordable rates for the Eventing community.

What if USREF earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Well, now we can! GoodSearch.com is a new search engine that donates half its revenue to the charities its users designate. You use it just as you would any search engine, and it’s powered by Yahoo!, so you get great results. Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter United States Rider Endowment Fund as the charity you want to support. Just 500 of us searching four times a day will raise about $7300 in a year without anyone spending a dime!