PrintRule changes are in the works, but not without a lot of input from the grassroots members.
Change isn’t easy, and this year the delegates at the Adequan/U.S. Dressage Federation Annual Convention made sure no change was made without adequate discussion and research.
One pleasant change for the USDF was that officials didn’t have to spend much of their time fundraising in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 27-Dec. 2. The capital campaign to raise money for the USDF National Education Center in Lexington, Ky., is complete with $4.1 million in campaign commitments.
“When these donor commitments are paid in full, we will fully satisfy all financial obligations to the national education center building project,” announced USDF President Sam Barish.
Barish also told delegates about a few more positive changes that USDF is undertaking. He formed a task force in March, led by Margaret Freeman, to make recommendations to the executive board on implementation of the strategic plan.
The task force organized the plan into eight categories: competition, education, finance, governance, information technology, marketing, membership and outreach.
Four high priority projects will begin soon. The first is to list all USDF educational programs and activities, identify the ineffective ones and reallocate resources as needed. Next is to review the USDF’s governance structure regarding the organization’s roles and responsibilities, then redesign the council and committee structure.
Change isn’t easy, and this year the delegates at the Adequan/U.S. Dressage Federation Annual Convention made sure no change was made without adequate discussion and research.
One pleasant change for the USDF was that officials didn’t have to spend much of their time fundraising in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 27-Dec. 2. The capital campaign to raise money for the USDF National Education Center in Lexington, Ky., is complete with $4.1 million in campaign commitments.“When these donor commitments are paid in full, we will fully satisfy all financial obligations to the national education center building project,” announced USDF President Sam Barish.
Barish also told delegates about a few more positive changes that USDF is undertaking. He formed a task force in March, led by Margaret Freeman, to make recommendations to the executive board on implementation of the strategic plan.
The task force organized the plan into eight categories: competition, education, finance, governance, information technology, marketing, membership and outreach.
Four high priority projects will begin soon. The first is to list all USDF educational programs and activities, identify the ineffective ones and reallocate resources as needed. Next is to review the USDF’s governance structure regarding the organization’s roles and responsibilities, then redesign the council and committee structure.
| News And Notes • The Bylaws Committee brought up an amendment that would allow someone to serve as both a Participating Member delegate and a Group Member Organization delegate at the same convention. While delegates were generally in favor of this amendment, it hadn’t been presented to the Bylaws Committee with enough time to properly discuss it, so delegates couldn’t vote on it. • Delegates voted for the Regional Directors of the odd-numbered regions this year. Winners included: Region 1—Alison Head; Region 3—Sandi Bishop; Region 5—Theresa Hunt; Region 7—Terry Wilson; Region 9—Bess Reineman. • Dressage outsold all other disciplines in the early ticket sales for the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Ky., offered by the U.S. Equestrian Federation. • The Sport Horse Committee brought two amendments before the Board of Governors and both passed, effective Oct. 1, 2008. Applications for the U.S. Dressage Federation Breeders’ Championship Finals are now due on March 1 of the year prior to the competition year. Also, any horse receiving a score of 77 percent or better in its age/sex class at a qualifier will receive an invitation from USDF to participate in the Series Final competition. |
Another priority is to develop an implementation plan for a national championship for adults or adult amateurs. This project has been on the backburner for years, but USDF members have shown overwhelming support for the idea.
