Hopefully by the time you read this those of us in Central Oregon will be thawed out, dug out and able to ride, haul and travel. It has been an especially tough year for equestrians on this side of the mountains so we have been concentrating on planning and organizing our second Central Oregon Dressage Classic which is growing to a two day show this year. We hope you will come and join us at the beautiful new facility at Brasada Ranch in June.

Choices of  ODS activities to participate in this month are numerous. Spring into Dressage and the Northwest Horse Expo in Albany featuring ODS member Jeremy Steinberg as the Dressage Clinician, the ODS Adult Team Show and Bears Above the Ground are our first two league shows. If you’re not ready to ride it isn’t too late to contact organizers of these events and offer your volunteer time. I know for sure the Team Show in Salem will appreciate volunteers and we will need people to help in the ODS Booth at the Expo which is in Albany.

The ODS Board Meeting and Retreat were held in January at the Silver Falls Convention Center. Besides the board there were several chapter presidents, officers and members making a total of over 20 participants. The first day we participated in round table discussions about topics the board plans to work on during the year. The discussions were very productive and it was great to have the input from people outside the board. ODS secretary Sally Temple compiled a list of ideas we can use as a resource throughout the year.

Decisions made at the board meeting include moving the Omnibus deadline up to July 1. This will make it possible to publish and mail the Omnibus in November. Show management committees for league, practice and licensed shows need to begin planning earlier for their 2009 Omnibus listings.

The board also voted to support educational opportunities already planned for this year to make them more available for ODS members. The USDF Region 6 Adult Clinic will be held at Devonwood and the Region 6 Mini Convention in Portland, were selected as the opportunities we would support this year.

The board will travel to Klamath Falls for the next meeting which is in April in conjunction with a Show Biz seminar sponsored by the Cascade Chapter.

There are currently some important volunteer opportunities available for ODS members. We are seeking an assistant treasurer. This is a position that does not require travel or attending meetings. Most of the work involves receiving the year end financial reports from the chapters and preparing the report for the annual meeting in the fall. For a job description please contact John Craven.  Secondly we are seeking an ODS Treasurer. Our new bylaws allow us to appoint a qualified member as Treasurer. This is a year to year board position and requires attendance at board meetings. For a job description please contact John Craven.
As Region 6 Elections Committee representative it is time for me to solicit candidates for the 8 Participating Member Delegates for USDF convention. These positions are open to all USDF Participating Members and you must be a Participating Member to run for election. These people attend the USDF Convention (in Colorado this year) and vote at the Board of Governors representing the whole region. Currently there is no financial support from the region for these delegates but we are working on ways to raise funds to help defray the costs at the regional level. I am also seeking a person to count votes for one of the USDF regions. This job takes a few hours in the month of August and a computer is required. Basically you enter the votes for all the members who vote by mail into the computer. Please contact me if you are interested in any of these positions.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the EXPO and The Adult Team Show! Good Luck to those starting the show season at Spring into Dressage. Travel safely!

Be sure to watch for your April issue of the USDF CONNECTION as there will be a feature article on ODS in that issue!!!

###