The summer is slipping by and it’s my final opportunity to remind you of the upcoming year-end events.

Please remember the ODS Championship Show and the Awards banquet, September 16th –18th.  This year, the awards banquet, held in conjunction with the show, will be off site at the SweetBriar Inn.  The Sweetbriar is also offering a special room rate for those needing lodging during the show.

As usual, we will need volunteers to help with the many tasks related to the show.  I don’t know if we’ll be using the Devonwood Volunteer site for the championship show, but sign into Devonwoodec.com to look at the on-line volunteer registration.  It’s the latest in building a volunteer database.

The deadline for special awards is just around the corner. Please have nominations for instructor, volunteer, support person, newsletters and more, (see the awards page at www.oregondressage.com) to the office by August 10th. Last year, the award committee had a numerous worthy nominations but only one award to present.  Please resubmit your nomination for reconsideration this year if your nominee did not win last year.

August will be a busy month— the entry deadline for ODS championships is August 16th, however we will accept entries at the Festival Show, or from the Casual Qualifier on-site at those shows if you earn your final qualifying score there.  Please come prepared with the appropriate forms and information if that is your intent.

The Linda Acheson Benefit show will be held at Lake Oswego this year.  The Chehalem Mountain Chapter is holding this show in just prior to the Casual Qualifier making it a novel opportunity to ride in a league show on Saturday and a recognized show on Sunday.  I believe the Chehalem Mountain chapter intends to manage the benefit show next year, but I’d like to encourage other chapters to consider hosting a similar show or a different fund raising event to benefit the education fund.

Thanks go to Barb Funk and the Sonnenberg Farms for setting up the handling clinic with Hilltop Handler Michael Bragdell. I appreciate your efforts.  I was pleased to see Barb’s Dove Creek farm listed as the third leading owner in the nation for Dressage Sporthorse Breeding in the USEF American Breeder email I received today.  In fact, five of the top seven point leaders in the nation at this time are from Washington.  Congratulations to you all.

It’s been a year since Corinne Stonier has assumed the position of office manager.  I just want to publicly commend her for the job she is doing for ODS.  This position continues to grow. It’s changed drastically from the days when Joyce Heinke was the office manager.  Cynthia Prater, Joyce’s successor, brought new skills and technologies to the job. The workload, and expectations of the membership, continues to increase and the relationships with USEF and USDF evolve as their organizations change. Corinne managed to step into the job and never miss a beat.  Thanks, Corinne!
See you next month!  John