Possible Ratings and Levels for USEF-licensed Dressage Competitions are Being Developed

January 9th, 2009

In 2006, the USEF Board of Directors approved a rule change requiring “levels and ratings” for Dressage Competitions. The effective date has been delayed until 12/1/09 to allow time for development of criteria and standards. The purpose of this rule change was to evaluate competitions for re-licensing using appropriate and fair criteria for each level and rating. [In other words, a small regional competition shouldn't have to meet the same criteria as a regional championship or a high performance qualifying competition.] As the Dressage affiliate organization of USEF, USDF was directed to propose criteria for Dressage Competitions. Early in 2008, USDF appointed a working group to develop a system for dressage levels/ratings. The attached chart located at the link below, recommending five levels of Dressage Competitions, was approved in principle by both the USDF Executive Board and USEF Dressage Committee at the recent USDF annual convention. Now we are asking for your feedback in order to further refine the proposal.
The chart lists five levels of Dressage Competitions. Levels Three through Five are already in existence and already require separate applications and criteria from USEF and/or USDF. Level Two includes most of the current USEF-licensed/USDF-recognized Dressage Competitions. Level One would be a new lower level of competition which we hope will encourage new competitions in areas which cannot currently afford to hold licensed competitions. The big incentive for Levels One and Two would be the introduction of Dressage “Opportunity” classes. Such classes would not require either USEF or USDF horse IDs or rider/owner memberships, however scores from these classes couldn’t be used for national awards.
We look forward to your questions and suggestions in order to improve our recommendations. Please respond by February 5, 2009.
The Competition Ratings and Standards Working Group members are Janine Malone, Chair, George Williams, Kathie Moffitt, Veronica Holt, Janet Foy, Anneliese Vogt-Harber, Sally Chionsini, Lendon Gray, Mary Anne McPhail, and Debra Reinhardt.

LEVELS RATINGS CHART

###

January 2009 President Column

January 1st, 2009

Since we have just returned from the 2008 USDF Convention this month’s column will be a report of the issues presented and decisions made.

The USEF Dressage Committee very graciously agreed to withdraw the current Performance Standards Proposal after ODS and PM Delegates stood with California Dressage Society and several other large GMO’s to request the committee not go forth with the proposal at this time. The committee listened and responded and they will go back to work on a new format which may very likely end up being a rider test at each level to grant proficiency to move up. The rider tests would be based completely on the rider and not the horse.

The USDF proposed budget which was presented by ODS member and USDF Treasurer Barb Tuohino Funk was rejected by the Board of Governors. The proposal was for a balanced budget but included substantial dues and fee increases and the addition of some new fees. After a very long discussion the Executive Board and USDF staff was directed to balance the budget without raising dues or fees. Barb was on the podium for hours directing the debate and discussion of this topic and she did a great job. I am very proud that we have had an ODS member on the Executive Board. Barb has put in hundreds of hours for USDF and her work has been greatly important and appreciated. Her job is not over as she will have to put in many hours revamping the budget.

One of the programs scheduled to get the ax due to budget constraints was the High School Dressage Pin program. Our Youth program coordinator, Gaye McCabe and another person from another region lobbied hard to retain the program. The other person was actually able to find a sponsor for the program during the convention and it due to that and the fact that there is are several years worth of pins that have already been purchased the program has been saved.

The rule regarding entering the arena at A only will go back to committee to be revised so that the concerns the rule addressed are dealt with without the enter at A only clause. The just of it is an arena opening will be allowed at spots other than A, except for C where there will be no entry or exit. If the opening is not at A then the fence must be closed for the test.

The USDF Committee on Governance presented a draft proposing reorganization of the current USDF Governance. The draft is detailed and the committee admitted it was not a finished project. The main issue being reduction of delegates on the Board of Governors by more than half and a reduction in the number of councils and committees. The Board of Governors voted to table the Governance changes until the 2010 Convention. I hope the proposal will be available on the USDF website for members to review.

There was once again discussion regarding the National Dressage Championships for Adult Amateurs and possibly for Open Riders that do not compete in High Performance Dressage. Money put aside for this purpose has been a part of the “Qualifying Fee” PM’s pay when entering a class to qualify for the Regional Championships. The first such championship would be held in Lexington, KY in 2011 if the plan goes through. There is much controversy on this topic. Many people feel the fund should be used to balance the budget without cutting programs. Most people seem to feel it is an impractical idea to hold this sort of championship. The details at this time are that Champions and Reserve Champions from each region in Training through Grand Prix would be invited to attend and that they must be US Citizens. There is a survey of Participating Members being planned. Please watch for that and participate. Also let your PM Delegates know your opinion on the subject.

I left the convention feeling positive about the Democratic process in USDF. We as delegates were able to influence the decision making at our council and committee level and in the open discussion on the floor at the Board of Governors meeting. My only regret was not attending the Symposium with Kyra Kirkland especially after I attended her lecture on Friday night. We will look for a report from President Elect Ed Miller on that topic!

While at the convention we purchased 4 new DVDs to add to the ODS Library. Look for them to appear on the list very soon. We were able to purchase them at a very low cost because we had received points towards ODS purchases when Participating Members buy items from USDF. The new ODS Librarian is: Claudette Fitzgerald her address is: PO Box 1063, Keno, OR 97627.

The Oregon Dressage Society has been approved as a host organization for the Open Event Incentive Program of the Arabian Horse Association. This means that program members will be able to earn points at your open shows, earning prizes for themselves and a permanent show record for their Arabian and Half-Arabian horses. If you ride Arabians be sure to check with the Association and see what the qualifications are to participate.

The ODS Board Retreat is planned for January 10-11, 2009. This is a board meeting and planning session for the year. Chapters have been encouraged to send a representative. We will have a report in the next column on the retreat.

Happy Holidays!
Marsha

###