Youth Olympic Games

Program Overview

The Youth Olympic Games are an elite sporting event held every four years in which athletes aged 15 to 18 come from around the world to represent their nation in 28 different sports.  The equestrian program at the Games features Team and Individual Jumping Championships in a format modeled after the Olympic Games, with a few twists.  Each qualified Nation selects one athlete to compete on a five-member Continental Team.  Athletes are assigned borrowed horses by random draw and compete that horse for the duration of the Games, in which fence heights are up to 1.30m.  

2022 Youth Olympic Games – Postponed to 2026

Dakar, Senegal

After a successful finish in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, US Equestrian is currently looking into the 2022 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal (postponed until 2026). The quota for equestrian sports has not yet been determined, but please check back for updates. 

2022 FEI Youth Jumping Competition

June 28 – July 3, 2022  |   Aachen, Germany

Athlete Informational Memo

Following the postponement of the 2022 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar (SEN) until 2026, the FEI has created the 2022 FEI Youth Jumping Competition to provide young Jumping athletes (FEI ages 15-18) with the opportunity to participate in this unique competition.

Each Nation must qualify a quota place in order to participate. For the 2022 FEI Youth Jumping Competition, the three (3) highest placing Nations in the Individual Final at the 2021 North American Junior Championship in Traverse City, MI will earn a quota spot on the North American Team.

If a quota spot is secured for a US athlete, there will be a selection process for the one US athlete. This athlete will be joined by the other North American rider and three riders from Caribbean or Central American countries to compete on the North American Team in Aachen.

Athletes are assigned borrowed horses by random draw and compete that horse in the Team and Individual competition, in which fence heights are up to 1.30m. 

2018 Youth Olympic Games Results

October 6 – 18, 2018 | Buenos Aires, Argentina

The North American Team battled through an intense jump-off against Europe to win the gold medal at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games on Tuesday. Led by U.S. Youth Chef d’Equipe DiAnn Langer, Mattie Hatcher from the U.S., Mateo Coles from Haiti, Pedro Jose Espinosa from Honduras, Nicole Meyer from Mexico, and Marisa Thompson from Panama finished on zero faults and accumulated 10 clear rounds throughout three rounds of competition. Hatcher produced one of the three triple-clear North American performances with her borrowed horse Santa Rosa Valery.

Questions?  Contact Erin Keating, Director of Jumping Development Programs at [email protected].