Immersive Educational Experience in Portugal, May 2025
USAWE is excited to bring our members a great learning opportunity the first weekend in May, 2025 at a Portuguese Working Equitation competition taking place at Hotel Golf Mar in Vimeiro, Portugal.
This trip will serve a variety of purposes:
For Competitors, it will provide inspiration for the future, help establish goals for attaining higher levels of performance, and help foster international friendships within the discipline.
For Judges, it will deepen their nuanced understanding of the sport, increase their exposure to horses performing at the highest levels, and provide a mechanism by which WAWE judges can begin to get to know USAWE judges.
For Professional Instructors, it will train their eyes and give them ideas for lessons back home, in addition to providing a mechanism for professional networking with WE instructors in Portugal.
2025 Judge Trainer: António Vicente
Financial Responsibility:
All attendees (including organizers, committee members, board members, judges of all ranks, etc.) will be responsible for covering all of their travel costs. USAWE will cover the honorarium for the WAWE Judge providing instruction during the competition as well as paying for their lodging and meals.
Attendees will either be responsible for transporting themselves to/from Vimeiro, or they can pay for a spot on a bus chartered for the group or a rental van driven by one of the organizers. Group-organized transport will leave the Lisbon Airport at 11:00 AM on Friday, May 2 and will return to the Lisbon Airport by 10:00 AM on Monday, May 5.
Estimate of cost for the educational event weekend (excluding airfare) is $550 (includes lodging at the Hotel Golf Mar, transport between airport and hotel, and meals during the event). Sharing lodging and/or rental cars can bring the cost down.
Pictured is Nicole Silva, current World Champion Young Rider, from Portugal
Itinerary
Friday: Arrive in Lisbon no later than 10 am on May 2, the Friday before the competition. If you are taking advantage of the group-organized travel, once you’ve cleared customs, gather at the café far right side of the terminal (near the escalators and the exit to the rental car counters). Once everyone has arrived (estimating around 11), drive to the Belem neighborhood in Lisbon to tour the National Carriage Museum, walk along the waterway, and/or sample the famous custard tarts (natas) and European drinking chocolate (or coffee or tea) at Pasteis de Belem, a famous bakery and café in Lisbon, or – if we get there in time, watch a training session at the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art.
After lunch (on your own), get transported to Vimeiro and check in at Hotel Golf Mar, where the competition will be held. Eat dinner (the restaurant will open at 7:30 pm) and go to bed early.
Saturday: Eat a hearty breakfast in the hotel and then head down the hill to the competition grounds to watch the warm-up and Dressage trials.
Judges will sit with Antonio and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the different rides using the remote headset / speaker system they have purchased in advance for this seminar. All others will sit in a nearby area with a good view of the dressage court and within reach of the remote headset/speaker system they have purchased in advance for this seminar so they can listen to Antonio while they are watching.
Lunch back at the hotel, giving all USAWE members in attendance the opportunity to debrief / discuss their “key take-aways” and “aha moments” from the morning session.
After lunch, return to the competition grounds for the rest of the Dressage rides, with Antonio once again providing instruction / guided discussion for the judges while others listen via headsets from a different part of the competition venue.
When the competition is over for the day, return to the hotel for a shower before dinner. Join the rest of the USAWE group in the hotel banquet hall at 7:30 pm for a buffet-style dinner featuring a variety of Portuguese delicacies.
Sunday: Eat a hearty breakfast in the hotel and then head to the competition grounds to watch the warm-up, EOH and Speed course walks, and trials.
Lunch and dinner at the hotel together, providing opportunities for sharing lessons learned and community building.
If you’re arranging your own transportation, you are free to leave at any time.
Monday: If you’re joining the group transportation option, get transported back to the Lisbon airport after breakfast and fly home or continue exploring Portugal on your own or with a group you have organized.
The part of the trip being organized on behalf of USAWE involves the educational event at the Vimeiro competition as well as transport between the Lisbon airport and the competition grounds (for those who would like to pay for this).
Participants are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to schedule classical dressage and/or WE riding lessons and/or indulge in sight-seeking while they are there, but this part of the event will not be centrally organized.
If you would like to be added to the list of people potentially interested in attending this year, please fill out the expression of interest form
Recap and a Glimpse of 2025 Shows
- Region 1 will be held Sept 17 – 21 in Eugene, OR
- Region 2 will be held Oct 10 – 12 in Temecula, CA
- Region 5 will be held Oct 3 – 6 in Hampshire, IL
- Regions 6 & 7 will be held together on Oct 16 – 19 in Doswell, VA
