Welcome to the Year of Youth's equestrian blog for youth riders, horse lovers and horsey people. Join in the discussion on facebook, twitter, myspace, bebo and flikr.

Have you got a horse-related question that you’d like some help answering? Or perhaps you’ve got tips you’d be willing to share with other members of the equestrian community? Well get yourself signed up to our brand new Facebook group “Equestrians and Answers!”

We’ve set it up so equestrians can help each other out with advice and tips… and hopefully make some new friends along the way.

To get a flavour of the group, here is a taste of some questions that are being asked:

 Jean: What home remedies can you use to get hair growth back on a wound?

Lee: I dont know of home remedies but original Cornicresine is best for hair re-growth xx

Hannah: I’m getting another horse, what should I look for when I go look at him?

If you think that you can help, or you’ve a question of your own, then please join us on Facebook and share your best tips!

The FEI’s Year of Youth has been officially launched by FEI President Her Royal Highness (HRH) Princess Haya. Speaking at the launch event at the Alltech FEI European Jumping and Dressage Championships HRH Princess Haya said “Equestrian sport is fortunate to have a generation of ambitious and hard working young people emerging onto the international stage”.

The Princess took time out of her busy schedule to meet youth riders who were helping out and competing at Windsor to launch the Year of Youth with a photoshoot. Having the president at the launch of the event was symbolic of the FEI’s commitment to communicate with youth riders.

FEI Youth Director Nici Kennedy added: “Our goal for the Year of Youth is to ensure we hear the opinions of the competitors, grooms, fans, volunteers and support teams of all those aged 12 and 21 involved in equestrian sport in order to help us best shape and drive the sport in the future”. “It is a tremendous opportunity and we are really looking forward to hearing from a great diversity of perspectives.”

The FEI Year of Youth runs from August 2009 right up until the Youth Olympic Games which take place in Singapore next year. We want to break down the barriers of distance by bringing young equestrians together via the website and social media products such as Twitter and Facebook so that your voices are heard.

We’ll be sharing your best tips and stories on this site and speaking to some of the superstars of the equestrian world in order to bring you the best advice on all things equine. If you’ve got a story that you’d like to see on these pages then drop us a line and let us know paulino@feiyearofyouth.org

FEI President HRH Princess Haya surrounded by young riders at the Alltech FEI European Jumping and Dressage Championships. © Kit Houghton

We’d love to see your horsey pictures too, so be sure to tag them with “FEIYOY” and check out the official Year of Youth Flickr stream here

As part of the FEI Year of Youth we’re asking young equestrians to get involved with the Year of Youth blog.  Here Lisa Stock respects her elders and celebrates the golden oldies of the equine world.. 

The older our horses become, the more we understand the need to give them more care and attention! Candy my beautiful pony does not look a day over 21 but in fact he is in his 28^th year and is as energetic and troublesome as ever!

I decided it was time to set up a Facebook group dedicated to our golden oldies, and what a great response I had! It seems there are many of you out there that also own an older horse who is happy and healthy and living their life to the full. So far the oldest horse mentioned is ‘The chaser’ who is 34 years old and still looking gorgeous. Working up until he was 30, winning XC, ‘The Chaser’ shows how old horses can still be in great shape. Owner Melanie explains on the group how she is keeping him so active, with a great balanced diet and knowledgeable horsemanship!

Here are a few great pics posted on the group:

Old horses should be treasured and loved unconditionally. Candy has been around longer than I have and has taught me so much about caring for horses and the art to riding. Without him, I am not too sure where I would be… Would I love equestrianism as much? I don’t think so, he is one in a million and deserves all the love he receives!

If you have an older horse make sure you join the Facebook group “Golden Oldies” and get involved in our chats. It would be great to hear more stories and advice from other equestrians!

Lisa x

Welcome to the official website of the FEI’s Year of Youth! We’ve got lots of exciting things coming up in the year ahead and this is the place to find all the latest news and updates.

We are really keen to get to know you and find out more about what makes you tick. Do you own your own horse? What got you into horse-riding in the first place? What is it about equestrianism that you love – and what do you think could be changed to make it easier for young riders? Let us know how you would get more people interested in equestrianism and encourage them to take part in the sport.

This is your chance to shape the future of equestrianism. We’re here to celebrate the best in youth equestrianism and we’re here to listen to what you want.

Come and join in the conversation on Twitter and share tips with other like-minded people in the Year of Youth Facebook group.

We’ll be adding your stories, photos, videos to this site throughout the year and we’d like to know what else you’d like to see on these pages too.

You can get in touch by emailing us at paulino@feiyearofyouth.org and if you’d like to find out more about what the FEI does then check out the main website here.