This month I would like to catch everyone up on the events which took place at the USDF Convention. This year Jessica Rattner, Corinne Stonier and I represented ODS as well as Region 6. This year the convention took place in St. Louis. Thankfully the weather for the most part cooperated though was on the cool side. Thursday of convention is spent going from meeting to meeting learning what the committees have been up to and any potential items to come to the floor of the Board of Governors (BOG) for a vote. The BOG is where the action takes place and where your vote still counts.
Some of the highlights from this year are:
Adult Programs Committee reported on a proposal which was dependent on the approval of in increase of dues for Participating Members (PM). The proposal known as the USDF National Education Initiative is designed to meet the needs of a broader base of USDF members. The history of the USDF Adult Clinic was there used to be one every year somewhere in the region. Due to the challenge of finding one clinician available to attend nine clinics in one year as well as the cost the clinics then moved to an every other year format with even number regions one year and odd number the next. The new proposal is to offer up to $3,000.00/per region of grant money to be divided in the region to enable GMO’s to offer programs that can best meet the needs of their membership. USDF will have a list of approved clinicians, but will also review other recommendations. Money many be used for mounted/unmounted/adult camps and ride and review type clinics. More information on this program will be forth coming.
Awards Committee: Three motions came to the board which all passed, the motions were: 1) to increase the minimum median required score from 60% to 63% for the Musical Freestyle Year-End Award. To become effective October 1, 2017. 2). To increase the minimum median required score from 60% to 63% for the Musical Challenge. To be effective October 1, 2017. 3). Approved the new Adult Amateur Musical Freestyle Award with a required score of 63%. To be effective October 1,
2017.
Regional Championship Committee:
USDF Finals committee reported that there were 1014 scheduled rides for this year’s finals. They also provided the following comparisons: 2016 there were 570 stalls used representing 39 states and 210 adult amateurs. In 2015 there were 500 stalls used representing 36 states and 189 Adult Amateurs. Each Region sent the following number of riders: Region 1 – 59, Region 2 – 94, Region 3 – 72, Region 4 -41, Region 5 10, Region 6 – 9, Region 7 – 15, Region 8 – 42 and Region 9 – 36. A committee representing the West Coast put forward DG Bar Ranch as a proposed site for a Finals location. A site location committee will visit the proposed site in the fall of 2017 and report back to the BOG on what they found.
We were reminded that you may check your progress towards earning USDF medals by going to USDFscores.com.
Did you know that there are perks to being a USDF member other than the obvious ones? Find out more at: http://www.usdf.org/join/memberPerks/. One benefit I checked out was for a discount on hotels. I found it easy to navigate and a hotel discount of 10% at a hotel I use for shows!
USDF Dues Increase:
Finally for this month there was a vote to increase dues for PM, Youth, 5 year, Life and Business Memberships. The committee chose not to request any dues increase for Group Members (GM) members. The last dues increase was in 2011 membership year. The following dues increases were voted on and passed. The dues increase will be for the 2018 membership year and will increase to the following amounts: from $75.00 to $90.00 for Participating Members (PM), $60.00 to $72.00 for Youth, $300.00 to $360.00 for Five Year, $1500.00 to $1800.00 for Life and $200.00 to $240 for Business memberships.
Until next month,
Gaye McCabe
ODS President
2016 Rider Awards Procedure
Please watch your ODS broadcast e-mails for an announcement that will contain instructions about procedures as well as a link to the list of 2016 ODS Rider Awards winners for both ODS League and ODS Licensed awards plates. The date will be based upon timing of receipt of results and reports from show secretaries and from USDF but should be sometime this month. League plates will be sent automatically to riders who earn them (paid by “participation fees”); due to USEF rules, Licensed plates will need to be ordered and paid for by riders. We are asking for every rider to please review their horse’s name for accuracy (spelling, missing parts, etc.), and to audit the number of scores listed against your actual tests. We will need to have award corrections phoned or emailed to ODS award coordinators by a deadline which will be specified in the broadcast e-mail.
Attention High School Dressage Seniors!
Scholarship application deadline is April 1. If you are a graduating Senior, involved in the High School Dressage program and will be attending college next year, you may apply for the ODS College Scholarship. The application and guidelines are posted on the ODS Website’s High School page. If you need any assistance please feel free to contact Gaye McCabe at J-G.McCabe@Juno.com or call her at (503) 378-0309.
Annual Chapter Officer and ODS Board Retreat
To be held on January 28 and 29, 2017 at the at the Silver Falls Conference Center, Sublimity, OR. This event is open to ALL ODS members and supporters. If you are a new chapter officer, this is where you receive training about ODS operations, programs, insurance and more. Plan on workshops, brainstorming and other important items to be on the agenda. This is a not to miss event for Chapter Officers and ODS Committee chairs. If there is enough interest, there is a possibility of hosting a treasurer’s workshop on Saturday morning. Limited space; the price has increased for this year due to the costs rising (ODS tries to break even at this event); you must pre-register so watch for n e-mail to all chapter officers or find the link on ODS calendar to online registration. Contact the ODS Secretary to get put onto the agenda or the office with questions (503) 681-2337 office@oregondressage.com.
NW Horse Fair – Demo Riders and Volunteers Needed
ODS is proud to announce that we will again be involved in the dressage presentation at the Northwest Horse Fair and Expo, which is to be held March 24, 25 and 26 in Albany, Oregon. Information on Demo Rider applications has been posted to the News page of the ODS website – Francy Haupt is in charge of organizing Demo Riders. Demo riders will be provided with admission tickets (one for rider, one for groom) and stabling.
ODS will also have a booth in the trade fair with ODS logo merchandise such as t-shirts, vests and hats for sale and specially ordered books and DVDs which will be sold at a discount to our members. Volunteering in the booth has been a lot of fun in the past years and it is an unequaled opportunity to share information about dressage. We need a few volunteers to staff the booth each day. We are offering a $10 admission pass in exchange for a three to four hour shift in the booth. Duties are fairly light – handing out brochures, answering questions and selling merchandise. We will provide on the job training. Members interested in helping can visit the ODS Volunteer webpage to sign up or contact Corinne Stonier in the ODS Office.