New Technology:  The ODS Office is pleased to announce an RSS feed now available from the ODS Website.  The address is: http://www.oregondressage.com/news/feed/.  RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated digital content, such as news feeds, blogs or podcasts.  For more information on RSS, contact the ODS Office.

Show/Omnibus Updates:  Can you believe that we have shows that are already open or are opening soon?  We have started uploading the ODS Regional Omnibus to the website.  The official page for the Omnibus is: http://www.oregondressage.com/omnibus.html.  Check this page for corrections and updates to prize lists throughout the year.

Membership Renewals:  If you have not renewed your membership, now is the time to do so in order to be included on the Omnibus & Test Booklet mailing lists.  Members with renewals postmarked after 1/1/07 will have to include an additional $10 publications fee in order to receive those publications.  Renew online by going to http://www.usdf.org/gmo/ods or print a form from the membership page.  Memberships received in the office through 12/21/06 have been entered and cards are in the mail.

Chapter Announcements:  Please contact the ODS Office when you want a current copy of your chapter’s roster.  Please submit your office lists to the ODS Office ASAP.  Also, if you have any insurance needs, your President on record should have received a packet in the mail last week - be sure to review this packet and call the office with any questions.

Last call for retreat:  ODS Officers & Board Retreat will be 1/13 and 1/14.  Please e-mail the office if you would like to attend.

Over the next three to four weeks, the ODS Office Staff and Volunteers will be posting approved prize lists to the ODS Website. Prize lists will be linked from the calendar, or you can view all shows listed in the ODS Omnibus on the 2007 ODS Regional Omnibus Page.

Competitors are encouraged to check the 2007 ODS Regional Omnibus Page on the ODS Website often as prize list corrections and TBA/updates will be announced on this page.

Thank you.

Members who indicated interest on membership forms to be listed as an Instructor/Trainer in the ODS Roster should have received an e-mail with link to a form or a paper form in the mail to be included on the annual ODS Instructor/Trainer brochure.

As a value-added service for ODS Members, in addition to simply indicating your service within the alphabetical listing of the ODS Roster, ODS volunteers complie an annual Instructor/Trainer list. The central office then prints a brochure that is available to non-members and members by request from the ODS Office or from our booths during multiple horse shows, expos and other events.

We would like to invite interested ODS Members who are instructors/trainers to be included in this brochure — all an interested member needs to do is to fill out the Instructor’s Achievement and Continuing Education Report and send it in by the deadline. The form is located on the ODS Website. If you have a difficult time downloading the form, the office would be happy to mail you a paper copy - please call the office and leave your name and member number on the voicemail if nobody is available or if you call during the Holiday break. Please assist us by ensuring that your form is neat and legible (or have a student type it up for you!).

This form must be returned by February 1 so that we can create an up to date 2007 ODS Instructor / Trainer Brochure in time to be handed out at the Mane Event Expo (Ridgefield, WA), at the Northwest Horse Fair & Expo (Albany, OR) and at the Horse Affair (Southern Oregon). We will accept updates throughout the year, so be sure to send an updated form in the case that you move, change phone numbers or e-mail addresses.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to e-mail or to call the office during normal business hours of Monday - Thursday from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM or by appointment (exception: the office will be closed for the Office Manager’s Holiday Break 12/22 — 1/8).

Jan. 21, 1918 - Nov. 19, 2006

Honorary Oregon Dressage Society Lifetime Member Lynn Coleman Loomis, of Bend, died Nov. 19 of lung disease. He was 88. Private services will be held.

Mr. Loomis was born Jan. 21, 1918, in Eugene to Irving and Mary Loomis. He briefly attended Oregon State University, where he studied engineering, but left to pursue his pilot license. He married Alice Toy in 1942 in Corvallis.

Mr. Loomis earned his private pilot license in 1940 and later earned his commercial license in Yakima, Wash. He was a co-pilot for Pan American Airlines for three years before becoming captain in the mid-1940s.

Mr. Loomis piloted flights from Miami to Havana, the Caribbean and Central and South America. He later piloted flights from New York to Puerto Rico.

He retired from commercial aviation in 1978 at the mandatory age of 60 and moved to a ranch in Bend, where he and his wife raised horses.

He operated a tow plane for the High Desert Soaring Club for 15 years. He was a member of the Pan American World Airways and enjoyed skiing, woodworking, politics, dogs and horses.

Survivors include his wife; two sons, David and Michael; a daughter, Mary Louise Suckling; a sister, Alice Mae Hurd; and four grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Bend Metro Park and Recreation District.

The ODS Membership year runs Nov. 1st through Oct. 31st. Use the your renewal notice that was mailed to you in September, or download a new membership application (http://oregondressage.com/2007_ODS_MembershipForm.pdf). You can fax, mail or phone in this membership application.

Alternatively, you may join online using the USDF GMO Membership Renewal page. To access this online page, please visit https://www.usdf.org/gmo/ods.asp.

As previously published in Flying Changes, members who do not renew will be removed from the ODS January Mailing lists. Flying Changes has given us through December 11th to add members to the January mailing list.

For renewals postmarked after 1/1, the Omnibus/Roster/Testbook will be mailed only to those who include an additional $10 for postage/handling, as long as supplies last.

If you are unsure about your renewal status, or are sure you sent in your application however have not yet received your membership card, you can check this list on the show & clinic managers page (http://www.oregondressage.com/2007AllCurrentMembersForWebsite.pdf) to see if your membership has been processed in our office. If your name does not appear on this list and you feel that it is an error, please e-mail the office. We are current though 12/4 on membership processing within our office.

Contact the ODS Office if you need further information or call if you want to renew by phone. Normal office hours are Monday - Thursday from 1 PM - 4 PM.

From: Paula Helm

The Dressage Benefit Bonanza was a great success! The event was held on October 27th, 2006 at Emerald Downs.

Jeremy Steinberg, Jennifer (Schrader) Williams, and Nicki Grandia, all ODS members, were delighted at the support and exhilaration of the evening.

The Bonanza raised almost $18,000 net of costs to be used by the riders for their 2007 competition year. USDF Region 6 will once again be well represented by our best!

We all want to thank our enthusiastic participants and generous donors for a wonderful event!

Every bit of participation made the difference for these riders - THANK YOU!

The annual ODS general membership meeting and quarterly board meetings have just been held in Springfield this past weekend, November 4. The general meeting was attended by several local members, the three candidates for USDF Region VI Director and the ODS Board. Biographies of the three candidates were also published in the October 2006 USDF CONNECTION magazine. ODS delegates who will be voting as your representative at convention are Francy Haupt, Rose Newman, Edwin Miller and myself.

The board meeting was very productive. A motion was made and passed to purchase the Errors and Omission Policy for ODS officers and board members including chapter officers. The chapters will be asked to pay approximately $50.00/year towards this coverage.

New officers were elected: President: Marsha Williams, President Elect: Kim Barker, Treasurer: John Craven, Secretary: Siobahn Barker. Directors at Large are: Francy Haupt, Siobahn Barker and Marsha Williams

As I read Sam Barish’s (USDF President) article in the November CONNECTION I was struck by the fact that the 5 key elements of the USDF strategy plan are really similar to the very items our own board has been committed to for the past few years: how to provide the services and programs to make membership meaningful and valuable to the wide variety of members. January 13 and 14 is the 2007 Board Retreat at Silver Creek Falls. This retreat is where many of our most creative and forward moving ideas have been inspired. This year some of our topics will include the league show program, a review of possible by laws revisions and board structure and possible revisions. The retreat is open to all board members, chapter officers and others interested in planning and directing the activities of the GMO.

Please renew your USDF GMO membership if you haven’t yet. It is so easy to do online and you can add the Participating Membership at the same time if you desire. The basic membership dues are $60.00/year. Corinne provided a breakdown of where this money goes which may make it more meaningful to you: $17.00 to USDF, $8.00 for FLYING CHANGES subscription, $9.50 for ODS publications. That leaves $25.50 to go toward the other ODS expenses which include the Office Manager’s Salary, Office and Storage unit rent, phone and website, office supplies, Insurance, Convention delegations, postage, office equipment and additions to the library.

Please don’t forget about your chapter’s commitment to the USDF Capital Campaign. The board has approved a $1,000 donation from the championship show proceeds and thanks to a generous $2,000 donation from Mid Valley Chapter the delegates will be taking a check for $3,000 to convention. This puts ODS about halfway to the 5 year pledge of $20,000 with three years to go!

Have a Wonderful and Happy Holiday Season! -Marsha

Region 6 delegates attending the 2006 USDF Convention in Kansas City, MO have elected Donna Longacre from Longview, WA as our new Region 6 Director, effective 1/1/2007.  We want to thank our resigning Region 6 Director, Gaye McCabe, all three candidates (Donna Edwards (North Willamette Valley Chapter - ODS), Donna Longacre (ODS General Member) and Peter Rothschild (Equestrians Institute)) plus the multiple delegates from across the region who traveled to Kansas City on behalf of the members of Region 6.