The major theme of this year’s U.S. Dressage Federation’s annual convention was the kickoff of their Capital Campaign to raise five million dollars and build a National Education Center at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. The convention was held in Lexington, giving participants an opportunity to visit the future site, located next to the U.S. Equestrian Federation at the Horse Park.

Stephan Hienzsch, Executive Director of the USDF staff presented a power point introduction of the NEC at both the Board of Governors meeting and at the Salute Gala. The new center will house the USDF Hall of Fame, provide a showcase for the sport and will make communication between the USDF and the USEF that much easier. It will also eventually reduce overhead cost as the USDF is now paying $15,000 a month in rent!

Although the BOG ran smoothly, there were two motions that caused heated debate. One came from the Regional Championships Committee and raised qualifying scores across the boards. For most levels, the new qualifying score will be 60, while at open training level a rider will have to score 68 percent to qualify, up from 65 percent.

“Raising the bar is good for the sport,” said Elisabeth Williams FEI steward and USEF Technical Deligate from Horshar, Pa.
“I agree with raising the bar absolutely,” said Sandie Dennis of the North Carolina Dressage and Combined Training Association. “But a three point jump is too high for training level.”

The motion passed by a slim majority after delegates voted by electronic kiosk.

Another contentious motion came from the awards council to change how the median score is calculated for USDF awards. Instead of dropping the lowest 20 percent, the awards council asked that the top two scores from each individual judge would count. Their aim was to make average scores more representative of a horse’s performance and to prevent many good scores from one judge overriding poor scores from multiple judges. This motion also passed.

Robert Dover was the star of the night at the Salute Gala. After watching an incredible video of the Olympic and Paralympic riders, Dover stood to speak about his and his teammates’ experiences in Athens. In a surprise announcement, Dover offered a special opportunity for youth riders. He plans to conduct his own version of “American Idol” and will be accepting videos of riders 25 years and younger. He will review them and choose the best from the videos and will then offer free board and training for the month of April at his facility in Wellington, Fla.

Dover also accepted the USDF Horse of the Year Award for Jane Clark’s FBW Kennedy. Other major award winners included: Volunteer of the Year, Patsy Albers and Lifetime Achievement Award, Kay Meredith. Captain Andrew Bela de Szinay and Dr. Max Gahwyler were announced as this years’ inductees into the USDF Hall of Fame.