One of the most enjoyable jobs I’ve had while on the ODS Board is serving on the ODS Scholastic Merit Scholarship Selection Committee. We have just selected 5 recipients of the 2007 Scholarship fund. Each will receive a $500.00 scholarship for college. The winners are Barbara Ayers of Cottage Grove, Catherine Pike of Gervais, Magen Pettitt of Estacada, Jamie Hughes of Salem and Denae Martin of Gervais. The Scholarship Fund is generated from the profits of the Dressage for the Ages Show. Last year we were able to award 3 scholarships and this year the show profits provided for 5. The money is raised by the youth and their supporters. The criteria are: Academics, Leadership and Community Service and Extracurricular Activities. The students must also submit essays on a given topic and at least 2 letters of reference. Congratulations to the 2007 winners!

Our two largest League shows, the Adult Team Show and the ODS League Championships have both grown to be full shows this year. The League Championship (which also includes the High School Championship is a two ring show this year). I attended the Team Show for the first time this year and it was really a lot of fun. There were lots of riders fairly new to dressage as well as a few more seasoned horses and riders. The last minute venue change gave us a weekend chock full of surprise distractions but everyone toughed it out and by the second day the horses and riders had become quite seasoned. A delicious lasagna feed was provided for the riders who participated in some interesting games and won prizes. There was a great quadrille performance by a team of Haflingers. The show had great awards for performance and the awards ceremony was quite impressive with all the horses and riders lined up in the arena. Many thanks to Gaye McCabe and her dedicated crew for putting this show on. This year the League Championships is offering an all comers Freestyle and Quadrille competition. There are quite a few Musical Freestyle entries which will be fun for spectators and competitors. The judges are both USEF licensed judges. This show is a great opportunity for league show participants to get a taste of the more formal world of licensed competitions. Thanks to Gaye McCabe, the ODS Board and all the volunteers who have helped to make this program a success.

The ODS Board held a quarterly meeting following the dinner at the Team Show following are a few items from the meeting:

The board members attend 4 meetings per year and a retreat on their own dime. Recently it was suggested ODS pay the board members a travel stipend . We have had trouble getting representation from the far corners of the state due to time and cost of travel and with the rising cost of fuel it has become an issue for all of us including the many committee chairpersons who must attend at least some of the meetings. Treasurer John Craven did a study and calculated an approximate cost. Even with the board members carpooling the cost to ODS would be around $3,000.00 per year. Your board voted not to adopt the stipend because we felt at this time we could not count on increased revenues without raising dues. I hope the over 1,000 other members will express appreciation to the board members for their generous spirit and dedication to the good of the organization. They truly are fabulous, hardworking volunteers and they deserve your support. I know it is very meaningful for me when I get a personal thank you from a member.

A proposal to make some slight changes to the ODS Mission statement was passed by the board and the new statement will appear in the 2008 publications. The By-laws are under revision and a document will be presented to the board for approval at the November meeting. The league show committee will finalize a proposal for formalization of the League show program for the August meeting. So far the board has voted to keep the League Championships limited to Intro through Second Level. The League shows may offer upper level classes but year end awards and championships will not be offered due to the fact that L Graduates are not trained to judge above Second Level. The August Board meeting will be held via e-mail and the next Board meeting and the Annual General Membership meeting will be held in Springfield November 3. If you have concerns, input or comments please contact your regional reps, directors at large or the ODS officers and please plan to attend the General Membership Meeting in November.

Our many licensed competitions are having a successful season! Be sure to get your entries postmarked on the opening day as all the shows are filling quickly. Here’s wishing you good luck and safe travel in the remaining season-see you at the shows!
–Marsha