Emotions often run high at the U.S. Dressage Federation convention as passionate dressage enthusiasts discuss changes to the rules of the sport they love, and this year’s convention, held in Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 29-Dec. 3, was no exception.

On the bright side, as of April 21, 2006 the USDF staff is now safely ensconced in the new National Education Center at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. It’s been a monumental effort to raise the funds necessary to build next door to the U.S. Equestrian Federation.

Through generous donations from individuals and group member organizations, the USDF has raised two thirds of the construction costs.

“The USDF education center has been delivered on budget and on time,” said USDF Executive Director Stephan Hienzsch. “We’ve paid the construction loan down to 1.2 million. We’re incurring less housing costs than we were as renters. Our goal is to be debt free by 2011.”

Several challenges were issued to the 900 attendees to raise a bit more money. One of the highlights of last year’s convention was a T-shirt auction that left USDF President Sam Barish, Vice President George Williams and Hienzsch standing bare-chested in the Board of Governors meeting.

New England Dressage Association President Paul Cormier was responsible, since he gave them the T-shirts and offered that NEDA would donate $5,000 if they wore them throughout the convention.

Cormier received a taste of his own medicine when delegates started an auction to have him strip down this year. Even though he came wearing two T-shirts to prevent such embarrassment, Cormier eventually bared all to the tune of $1,000 donated to the NEC.


No Easy Solution For The Budget Shortfall
Although the capital campaign for the NEC gained $45,000 during the convention, delegates balked when the time came to discuss how to address a USDF proposed budget shortfall of $116,000, for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2007.

USDF Treasurer Barbara Tuohino Funk explained to the gathered delegates that the shortfall had been $500,000, but she was able to reduce it to $116,000 by the time of the convention by cutting administrative costs.

“Nobody likes to talk about this stuff because somebody’s going to feel the pain,” said Hienzsch. “We tried to identify those things which generate revenue and reduce administrative costs. We wanted to find solutions that do not result in a general dues increase.”

Hienzsch described several measures that, when combined, would bring the 2007 budget back into the black. The first was to raise the Horse Lifetime Registration fee from $65 to $85. This fee hasn’t been raised since 1999.

Horses could still compete with the cheaper Horse ID number, but they wouldn’t be eligible for regional championships or USDF year-end awards. Breeders immediately objected to the higher fee and asked that the USDF consider a graduated fee for weanlings, yearlings, 2-year-olds and mature horses.

“Because [U.S. Equestrian Federation] has this program [graduated fees], I register every single foal so I can track them,” said Rachel Ehrlich, reserve champion USDF Breeder of the Year. “Registering or recording seven to 25 foals every year for $100? I just won’t do it!”

Breeders hoped that by graduating the fees, many more horses would be registered. But Cindy Vimont, USDF Senior Director of Member Services, said, “Volume isn’t going to help us because the administration fees are the same no matter how many register.”

Members of the GMO Council went in the other direction, suggesting that the USDF raise the HLR fee to $100 instead of eliminating the current rebate GMO members receive when they join USDF as a participating member, which was another part of the plan to balance the budget. Currently GMO members get $17 back after they send in their fee to become a participating member.

But Hienzsch argued that a GMO member gets separate benefits from joining a GMO and the USDF. “A participating member that doesn’t belong to a GMO doesn’t have all the opportunities that go with a GMO. I think it’s a stretch to say it’s unfair for a GMO member not to get a discount,” he said.

The other hotly debated cost-saving measure was the introduction of a $20 non-member fee per rider and owner per horse show. Currently non-members can ride in recognized dressage shows, but must obtain a free USDF non-member card. Although non-members aren’t eligible for year-end awards, the USDF has the same costs of tracking them as a regular participating member.

Kathy Moffit, chairman of the Competition Management Council, said that the council unanimously disagreed with a non-member fee.

“As president of a GMO the one thing I hear is, ‘It’s so expensive.’ I’m opposed to a $20 non-member fee because of that,” said Jennifer Mitchell, who leads the North Carolina Dressage and Combined Training Association.

One delegate stood up and suggested a yearly non-member fee instead of per show, while another pointed out that it didn’t make sense for people to get the benefits of being a member without paying for them.

Other less contested proposals to balance the budget included creating one business membership fee of $175 instead of two at $250 and $100, and increasing the show recognition fee.

Another suggestion was to cut all the USDF programs across the board by the same amount to find the required money, but that didn’t meet with much support.

Although the Executive Board had reserved time at the end of the BOG for discussion, it wasn’t enough. The meeting ran over, and delegate Don Faso called the question. When this was done, the votes were too close to tell, so a roll call vote was necessary.

In the end the budget was barely passed, 978 for and 913 against, with all of the original fee increases included.


USDF Develops New Strategic Plan
With the budget cleared and the move of USDF headquarters to the NEC settled, officials at the USDF were able to focus on reviewing the mission and goals of organization. The core purpose of the USDF is that it “is dedicated to education, the recognition of achievement and the promotion of dressage,” said Barish. “We have not been very effective at the promotion of dressage.”

He stated that the biggest goal of USDF is to make it the “must join” organization for all dressage and related horse enthusiasts.

Membership of the USDF has been relatively stagnant for the last 10 years. “We can’t be everything to all people, and we struggle to meet the needs of everyone,” said Barish. “We need to identify and focus on our top priorities.”

He named some goals for 2011 that include increased membership and retention, increased visibility of USDF, a clear image and understanding of the role and responsibility of USDF, additional education and technology improvements.

Broader goals include making the USDF an indispensable resource for education and training, advocating for the improvement and development of competitions and awards and turning USDF into an information portal for dressage with state-of-the-art infrastructure and a financially secure operation.


Tidbits From The USEF Dressage Committee
The biggest change for dressage in the United States for the coming years will be a new system of qualifying to ride at the upper levels. Janet Brown Foy announced the plans for this new program in the USEF committee meeting.

“We’re going to require riders to meet certain competition standards to move up the levels,” said Foy. “It will be based on the Dutch model, not the German model. We want to grandfather as many people in as possible. You can ride training through second level all you want. To ride at third and fourth you’ll have to show some proficiency at second level. To ride FEI you’ll have to show some proficiency at fourth level. Once you qualify you’ll never have to do it again. We’ll never require a horse to move up.”

Although the new system won’t be in place any sooner than 2008, the guidelines should be in place for 2007. The same criteria will apply to both open riders and adult amateurs.

Foy also discussed some refinements for the judging system for the FEI young horse tests. “We’re working on a more consistent scoring system for senior judges,” she said. “We’re working on the comments–being able to be truthful, but not in a negative way.”

Two of the three judges will travel to all the selection trials in one year for the FEI Dressage World Breeding Championships in Verden, Germany. In 2007 it will be Foy and Jayne Ayers. In 2008 it will be Liselotte Fore and Anne Gribbons.

The qualifying scores for the selection trials have been raised from 6.8 to 7.0 because the standard has grown. Horses will need a 7.8 instead of 7.5 to go to the World Championships.

“We’ve added an FEI 7-9-Year-Old Prix St. Georges class and will add ponies to the national championship if they’re registered,” said Foy. But ponies can’t compete in the selection trials or at the World Championships because in FEI rules only juniors may compete ponies.

George Williams warned riders that re-presentatives of the World Anti-Doping Agency arrived at a CCI three-day event this year. “They’re allowed to test FEI competitors,” he said. “People should visit the WADA website [www.wada-ama.org/] for the rules.”

He also announced that the 2007 USEF National Championship for Juniors and Young Riders will be held in conjunction with the USEF Grand Prix and Intermediaire I National Championship in Gladstone, N.J., June 14-17. The Brentina Cup, the championship for young adults, will no longer use the Intermediaire II test, but a new shortened Grand Prix test instead.

And Axel Steiner commented on the new dressage tests for 2007. “They are shorter and sweeter,” he said. “There is a coefficient for the rider of 3. There are a few major changes at third and fourth level. They all ride quite well. Please read the objectives and directives.”

The Adequan/USDF National Symposium featured German Olympian Ingrid Klimke and Ina G�smeier, official veterinarian for the German horses at the 2002 World Equestrian Games and the 2004 Athens Olympics. Klimke focused on fitness through cavaletti work for the dressage horse, while G�smeier discussed the theories of traditional Chinese medicine when used for horses.


Three New Faces Added To The Hall of Fame
Major Robert Borg, Sarah “Sally” Swift and Roemer were added to the U.S. Dressage Federation Hall of Fame during the Salute Gala at this year’s convention.

Borg (1913-2005) had the distinction of being the only person to coach and ride in the same Olympics. He trained the horses and riders for the early Olympic dressage and three-day teams from 1948-1956. He had a crippling accident in 1959, but was determined to continue training horses and devised an invention christened “The Round Table” that would allow him to work horses on the longe.

“This is the one award that would’ve meant the most to him,” said his son, John Borg. “I’m always amazed at the audacity of his dreams. He learned dressage from a book. It’s comparable to starting an Apollo rocket program in your backyard. After he achieved his goal and had his ability to ride taken away from him, he refused to acknowledge it. He continued with the will and integrity he always possessed.”

Swift, 93, accepted her award in person. Her books, Centered Riding and Centered Riding 2 have sold more than 600,000 copies and have been printed in 14 languages.

“Her induction into the USDF Hall of Fame is in recognition of her articulate genius as a riding instructor,” said Barish. “She is an ambassador for a more harmonious connection between horse and rider.”

Mary Alice Malone couldn’t be at the Salute Gala to accept her award for her Dutch Warmblood stallion Roemer, but she sent a letter to Historical Committee Chair-man Anne Moss to read.

“Even though he was a grand prix jumper, he happily offered a few steps of piaffe the first time I rode him,” wrote Malone. “You could always count on him to do the right thing.”

Roemer is the first breeding stallion to be inducted into the USDF Hall of Fame. He was listed as the top producing sire of USDF Horses of the Year from 1989 to 1999 and produced four approved sons, one licensed son and 627 registered Dutch offspring. In 1996 he won the get of sire award at Dressage At Devon (Pa.). He died at age 21.


News, Notes And A Few Rule Changes
In an effort to increase efficiency, several committees were dissolved during the U.S. Dressage Federation Convention. Committees dissolved included: Development Committee; FEI Managers Committee–it will become a subcommittee of the Competition Management Council; Quadrille Committee–it will become a part of the Freestyle Committee; Marketing Committee; Test Writing Committee–it will become a subcommittee of the Judges Committee; Budget and Finance Committee–it will be replaced by an Audit Committee instead.

Four regional directors were elected. These included: Region 2–Sue Hughes (incumbent); Region 4–Sarah Patrick; Region 6–Donna Longacre; Region 8–Fern Feldman (incumbent).

Robert Higgins of Winter Springs, Fla., petitioned the Board of Governors to create an independent audit committee. “The key word is independent,” he said. “Our actions are not subject to oversight. We report to the BOG.” The audit committee would be responsible for recommending an independent certified public accounting firm to conduct an annual certified audit of the financial records of USDF and will monitor and investigate all financial matters within the USDF. Higgins will be the new chairman.

The Board of Governors passed the Sport Horse Committee recommendations for raising the minimum median for a few USDF year-end awards because the current minimum medians are well below the average scores. Dressage Sport Horse Breeding Horse of the Year will go from 58 percent to 65 percent. Materiale Horse of the Year will go from 58 percent to 65 percent. Both FEI 5- and 6-year-old will go from 6.0 to 6.5.

Other amendments from the Sport Horse Committee included requiring the identification for sport horse handlers be non-transferable, granting donor mares for embryo transfer foals the breeding status they held in the previous year and requiring award ceremonies for championship classes where failure to show up will result in elimination.

The Regional Championships Committee passed several amendments including a new deadline of June 1 for competitions to declare their qualifying year, limiting juniors and young riders to two championship levels, so that a junior couldn’t enter a regional cham-pionship at third level, fourth level and the FEI junior level, allowing awards ceremonies to take place unmounted in inclement weather and allowing scores from the new Young Adult test to count toward qualifying for the Intermediaire II regional championships.


Sara Lieser