Due to the untimely closing of the NW Equestrian Center in Boring, OR, and the uncertainty of it’s reopening anytime soon, the decision has been made to relocate the Adult Team Competition to the Yamhill County Fairgrounds. We were fortunate in that they had the same date available for our show, so please mark on your calendar May 19 & 20 the Adult Team Competition in McMinnville, not Boring. Hope to see you all there. Gaye McCabe J-G.McCabe@Juno.com 503-378-0309

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The ODS Office will be closed for NW Horse Fair from 3/22 - 3/25 and for the Office Manager’s family spring break from 3/26 - 4/1. If you have an urgent situation during this time, please contact an ODS Board Member, your Region’s Representative or a Chapter Officer. Most contact information is available on the ODS Website.

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Region VI is allowed 7 Participating Member Delegates. PM Delegate is a one year position. The candidates must be Participating Members of USDF. They are expected to attend the annual convention which is November 28-December 2 this year in Orlando, FL. You can be a delegate for your GMO and a PM delegate. In that case you would have votes for your GMO and votes for all the Region VI Participating Members.

There is no funding or travel money available for PM Delegates. You can apply for the Ruth Arvant Grant from the USDF, but you would have to commit to the Convention before you knew the outcome. There are only 3 grants awarded in the whole country.

There is really no point in running for PM Delegate if you cannot or do not plan to attend the Convention. You do hold office all year but there is rarely any action taken outside of the annual meetings.

Participating in the governance of USDF is exciting and interesting, it can be stressful, but if you feel strongly about issues you have the chance to participate in discussion and you can cast your votes to represent the best interest of Region VI.

I must submit the nominations to USDF by April 15. Please respond to me at gotothebarn@bendbroadband.com if you wish to make a nomination or if you wish to run for the position.

We are also seeking a representative for the Youth Executive Board. Interested parties may contact me also. The Youth Executive Representative must attend the convention also.

Thank you,
Marsha Williams
Nominations Committee

We have been extra busy this year in the ODS Office - thankfully, we are about to start the last big project for the year - the ODS Roster.  Before we start importing all of the member information, please take a moment to contact the ODS Office with any updated contact information, such as a new address, phone number, alternate phone number (some members list a work number while others list their mobile number) or e-mail address so that not only will the document be as current as possible but also so that you receive it in the mail if you have moved!  Please understand that even if you have already sent this information to USDF and/or to Flying Changes, you still will need to notify our office; alternatively, if you notify our office of a change in contact information we will forward the correct information to both on your behalf.

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This defines “High Performance” as not including Regional Championships.

DR119    Participation in Dressage Competitions. [Chapter DR.  Dressage Division] Effective Immediately

6.  Definitions of USEF High Performance Program and USEF Developing Dressage Program:

a.  USEF HIGH PERFORMANCE DRESSAGE PROGRAM: The purpose of this classification is to develop and implement the USOC Strategic High Performance Plan (HPP) with the goal of selecting athletes and/or teams and maximizing the performance of these athletes and/or teams at Olympic, Pan American and World Championship competition and other designated international events.  The USEF High Performance (HP) Dressage Program includes the USEF National High Performance Dressage Championships at the Intermediaire I and Grand Prix Levels, as well as qualifying and selection trials, and observation classes for those events.

b.  USEF DEVELOPING DRESSAGE PROGRAM:  The purpose of this classification is to identify and recognize developing athlete and equine talent for the discipline of dressage.  The USEF Developing Dressage Program includes the USEF National Junior Dressage Championship, USEF National Young Rider Dressage Championship, USEF National Young Adult Dressage Championship, USEF National Developing Horse Dressage Championship, and USEF Young Horse Dressage Program.  These Championships and classes designated as qualifying for these Championships are not considered High Performance and therefore are not subject to rules applicable to High Performance classes unless otherwise specifically stated in the qualifying or selection procedures for these Championships.

We’re going to hold our North Region meeting along with this year’s first ODS Open/Championship Show Committee Meeting at the Holiday Inn in Wilsonville OR on March 28 at 6:30pm. Please let us know that you are planning on attending to ensure that our room space is adequate. If you have an issue that you would like to have added to the agenda, please e-mail one of the North Region Representatives. If you would like to be involved with the Championship Show, please e-mail the show manager Jennifer Milburn. North Region Representatives: Rose Newman (rose_newman@yahoo.com or (360) 281-6550) Carol Stevens (xenophon@teleport.com, (503) 692-6611) Championship Show Manager: Jennifer Milburn (jennifer.milburn@oregonstate.edu, (541) 926-7130)

Scholarship application deadline is April 1. If you are a graduating Senior, involved in the High School Dressage program and will be attending college next year, you may apply for the ODS College Scholarship. The application and guidelines are posted on the High School Page. If you need any assistance please feel free to contact Gaye McCabe at J-G.McCabe@Juno.com or call in the evenings 503-378-0309.

Don’t Miss Out!!

Auditing space is still available in one of the best educational opportunities of the year!

USDF ‘L’ Education Program: Session A

The ‘L’ Education Program is a fantastic educational opportunity for everyone. Competitors, trainers and instructors gain insight into the evaluative techniques of judging.

Session A: Introductions to Judging and Biomechanics

March 31 – April 1, 2007

Lecture: March 31^st, 8am–5pm held at Chehalem Sr. Center in Newberg, OR.

Riding Demonstration: April 1^st, 8am-2pm at Crescendo Farms in Beaverton, OR.

Session Leader: Janet Brown-Foy

Janet is currently an FEI “I” judge, AHSA “S” Dressage Judge and an AHSA Sporthorse “R” Breeding Judge. She has judged at all major shows in the United States including the FEI North American Young Rider Championships, the FEI North American Junior Championships, the USA World Cup League Finals, the FEI North American Championships, Dressage at Devon, USET Festival of Champions and FEI shows in California, Illinois, Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Colorado, Florida, Washington, and North Carolina.

She has also judged national championships and CDI*** in Guatemala, England, Canada, Poland, Australia and Mexico as well as the FEI World Cup League Finals for the United States, Canada and Australia. In 2004 she was invited to judge both of the USET selection trials that selected the Olympic Team for Athens and in 2006 she judged at the WEG Selection Trials for the United States. She has passed her FEI Exam to be a Young Horse Judge.

As a rider, Janet has won her USDF Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals and gives clinics throughout the United States. Her students have also won many Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals. (Excerpt from Biography)

Additional Info and Applications for the Oregon Program:

Can be found on the ODS web site at www.oregondressage.com under the programs button. Pre-Registration is required!! Auditor Deadline extended to 3/24/07!

For exact requirements check the USDF web site at the following link. http://www.usdf.org/Programs/LProgram/index.asp

Demo Riders Needed!

The program will also need a variety of demo rides for each session. This is a fabulous way to get feedback on how you and your horse are doing without the pressure of a show. Demo riders do get to audit for free but need to pay for handouts, lunch and stabling. Contact Francy if interested.

Questions or more information contact:

Francy Haupt 971-832-0244 dqhorsestuff@comcast.net

Hope to see you there!

One of the decisions made at the ODS Board Retreat in January was to present an educational event on the new 2007 dressage tests. Kim Barker and John Craven put together a seminar/clinic by Tracey Lert on Saturday, February 3. The event was a big success, well attended and very educational. Tracey gave a great lecture on the training pyramid and then went through the tests Training through Fourth Levels with the help of some great demo riders and horses. I would like to thank the wonderful people at DevonWood for hosting the event, Teri Emrich in particular for lining up the demo riders and horses, all the wonderful horses and riders which were a pleasure to watch. The ODS board sponsored the event and I would like to thank Francy Haupt, Rose Newman, John Craven and Kim Barker for their work with organization and registration. Also, thanks to all the ODS members who supported this event I hope you found it enjoyable and educational.

At the retreat we began working on the revision of the ODS bylaws. Not so much to change things but to make sure our bylaws and procedures agree and are adjusted to the modern ways of doing business. We voted on a new indemnity clause in the by laws and we voted to purchase an Officers and Directors insurance policy which will cover ODS Board and Officers, Chapter Officers and others participating in the activities of our organization. John Craven and I will be contacting chapter presidents to explain the benefits of this insurance and the costs.

We also voted to make the ODS rider award year coincide with the membership year. Therefore, beginning in 2007 the scores from the shows late in the fall will appear with the plates for this show year.

We began a discussion about the League Show Program and the League Show Championships and formed an Ad hoc committee looking into updating and standardizing the league show program in the future. For the 2007 the Championships will be offered through Second Level. The League Shows may continue to offer classes above second level and the plates will be awarded for those scores.

Monica Honegger has resigned as ODS Historian. I would like to thank Monica for serving in this position. Siobhan Barker has volunteered to take on the position. ODS Historian is responsible for collecting and maintaining a scrapbook of memorabilia of the organization which is displayed at the annual awards banquet and other ODS events. Siobhan may be contacting your chapters for show programs, prize lists, photographs and other records of your activities. Thanks to Siobhan for taking on this job in addition to her many other duties as ODS secretary and busy show secretary schedule.

I would like to encourage any of our Washington members of ODS to write to their legislators in support of the Washington Horse Park. Such a facility would be a great advantage to all of us in the Pacific Northwest. I will be contacting our Washington chapters with information on how to show your support for this project.

A big thanks goes to the Fort Vancouver chapter for sponsoring the ODS booth at the Mane Event Horse Expo February 9-11. ODS will sponsor a booth at the NW Horse Fair and Expo in Albany on March 23-25. The dressage clinician is Craig Stevens, Classical Equitation. The ODS booth is a great place for the horse community to receive information about dressage. We also sell ODS merchandise and Half Halt Press books. It is fun to volunteer at the booth; you meet lots of people and receive a pass for the day. Please call the ODS office if you would like to participate. We can use your help!

USDF Lifetime Horse Registration is going up April 1, 2007 from $65.00 to $85.00. If you have young horses or new horses that you wish to register you can save $20.00 before April 1. This was one of the fee increases approved at the USDF Convention to help balance the USDF budget.

The 2007 competition season is upon us! Entries are opening for a number of the early shows. Good luck to all of you…I’ll see you after the snow melts!

Marsha