September President Note
The Century Club was formed at The Dressage Foundation in 1996 to recognize Dressage riders and horses whose combined age totals 100 years or more. To be eligible to be a Club Member horse and rider must perform a Dressage test of any level, at a Dressage show or event, and is scored by a Dressage judge or professional.
The Dressage Foundation provides a beautiful black and gold ribbon and a handsome Century Club Award bearing the names of the rider and horse, the year of their ride, and team number.
Not just one, but two! We have had two new members of the Century Club from Oregon so far this year. Norma Talburt of Roseburg completed her Century Ride aboard her 31 yr old mare Lady of Fame, aka Joni. Norma’s Training Level test 1 ride was performed at an ODS approved League Show in Roseburg April 25. Norma is Treasurer of the Umpqua Valley Chapter of ODS and is active in a variety of other horse related organizations. Check the ODS website news page for more interesting information about Norma.
Barbara Larson of Grants Pass rode training level test 2 for her Century Ride at Tulelake June 27 on a borrowed horse named Lynx N Willy. The inclusion of an Opportunity Class (new addition for 2010) made the ride possible. Barbara is a long time member of ODS.
The Dressage Foundation now has 72 members, four of whom are from Oregon, and I might add, all four are from Southern Oregon. Besides Norma and Barbara, other Oregon Century Club members are Dave Keiser of Medford, and Winnie Heiney-Duncan of Malin.
ODS Dues to increase
The ODS summer Board meeting took place in Eugene July 31. As I have reported before in the February and May columns, there have been significant increases in costs associated with ODS membership benefits since the last dues increase in 2004, most notably the increase in USDF dues, increased subscription rates for Flying Changes Magazine, postage and printing costs. ODS is currently operating on a lower per capita income than we were in 2004. The bottom line is that the current ODS dues cannot cover the increased costs for next year. The Board approved proposals prepared by the Finance Committee to restructure the dues as follows:
Adult Member $75
Junior Member $55
Business Member $200
Patron Member $125
Lifetime Member no longer being offered
After the fixed costs, the dues increase still does not provide the same level of funds as we had in 2004 for operation of the ODS office and programs. Obviously we are taking some steps to reduce operational costs as well.
Last year we started a program which allowed you to renew ODS when you renew your USDF membership on line. New for this year is that you will have the option to list your Group Member Organization (GMO) on the USDF card when you renew Participating Memberships. If you choose the option, ODS will appear on your USDF card. It will be sufficient membership evidence eliminating the necessity for two ID cards for ODS approved show applications.
Last year you were given the opportunity to “opt out” of various ODS publications as a cost savings measure. Unfortunately it didn’t go as well as we hoped. It resulted in some miscommunication with members and also unintentionally resulted in losing our bulk mailing rate for some publications, thereby increasing costs. This year the “opt out” will apply to all publications; it will be all or none. If you select “opt out” it means you will not receive the Omnibus, Roster, or Test Booklet. If you don’t need the publications, please “Opt Out” to save us the printing and postage expense.
New member benefit
I’m pleased to announce a new member benefit. ODS and Shiloh Inns have reached an agreement for Shilo Inns to be an Official Host Hotel of the Oregon Dressage Society. Shilo Inns will offer ODS members approximately 20% discount on room rates. Members have to request the Oregon Dress Society contracted rate at the time reservations are made (1-800-222-2244) or book on line at WWW. Shiloinns.com with special rate code “ORDRESS.” Some locations may have blackout dates.
Show standards and approval process
The ODS Show Committee has been hard at work improving the standards and procedures for ODS Approved Show applications. Shows are approved for the purposes of ODS Awards and ODS Championship qualification purposes. Be sure to check the ODS website for current standards and application procedures on the show management page.
One significant change show standard change is at least one member of your show management team (i.e. manager or secretary) must be a current ODS member in good standing.
Another very significant change is that ODS will no longer bill for show approvals. Show applications must be accompanied by payment before they are accepted for processing. Show approval applications can now be completed on line and submitted electronically. The application page on the website contains a pdf version of the application which can be completed out on line and then either e-mailed, faxed, or printed out and mailed into the office. The application page also provides the opportunity to pay online using PayPal. If PayPal is not used, the application must be accompanied by a check.
Voting Procedures
ODS is in the process of revising procedures and setting up mechanisms to allow for voting of the Board of Directors and Regional Representative electronically. The voting process will be through the USDF website and will work similar to the current process for voting for USDF regional delegates. Paper ballots will also be available upon request. We estimate that voting costs by will be about half the first year by minimizing printing and mailing costs. Subsequently set up costs will be minimal and savings will be even greater.
Annual ODS Awards Banquet and annual meeting
Mark your calendars. The annual ODS Awards Banquet will be held in Eugene October 23. Plans are underway for educational events during the day preceding the banquet. The silent auction chairperson is looking for some help from the Portland area to assist with the auction. The helper would contact people (tack stores, feed stores) and also would need to help get items to the auction / pick up. Contact Sally Temple (541-935-7567) if you can help. The Banquet will be followed up by the annual ODS membership meeting and ODS fall Board meeting on Sunday October 24.
Region 6 Youth Camp
ODS sponsored the first ever Regional Youth Camp held on July 9-11 at DevonWood Equestrian Center in Sherwood, OR. The purpose of the event is to help raise funds for the Region 6 Team, develop a scouting mechanism in order to find and foster young riders, as well as develop a sense of “team” amongst the youth in our sport.
ODS Board member Jessicca Rattner organized the event along with Heather Oleson. Needless to say the first time takes a tremendous effort to pull off.
DevonWood generously donated their facility, countless volunteers donated time and energy, and 6 Instructors gave freely of their talents, time and expenses for 3 days to the nearly 40 Junior/Young riders that were in attendance. All the young riders were appreciative of the opportunity to ride with and learn from the experiences of our Region’s past NAYRC riders. Instructors were very positive about their experience.
About $2000 was raised for the Region 6 team.
Adult Amateur Camp
Blue Mountain Dressage Camp for adult amateur riders is being held by the North East Oregon Chapter in LaGrande September 10-12. The camp features Jennifer Schrader-Williams. Riders must be ODS members. Auditors welcome. Contact Zoe Wallace (541-963-9249) or Connie Dunham (541-426-3315). The Camp is made possible by a Connie Keith Grant from ODS.
USDF Youth Sportsman’s Award
USDF will be selecting a national nominee for the USEF Youth Sportsman’s Award. The USDF national nominee will be submitted as a candidate to USEF for consideration as the overall Youth Sportsman’s Awards winner as well as being nominated for the USEF Junior Equestrian of the Year Award. USDF seeks nominees who demonstrate an ongoing commitment and dedication to both USDF and USEF through their promotion of the horse. The USDF national nominee shall receive a complementary one-year USDF youth participating membership and shall be recognized by USEF with a six-day, all-expense paid career opportunity workshop at the USEF national headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky. Nominations should be submitted to USDF by October 1.
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Please join us for the Annual Celebration & Awards Banquet held Saturday evening October 23rd hosted by the Twin Rivers Chapter. The evening is sure to be exciting with our fabulous annual Silent Auction featuring Chapter and Barn Baskets, delicious food and terrific camaraderie. This year’s banquet is going to be held in conjunction with Saturday’s Educational Sessions and Sunday’s ODS Annual General Membership and Board Meetings
