The ODS Board will meet August 9 in the Sherwood area. The September Column will include a report on the news and business that results from that meeting.

In the meantime, there are still plenty of ODS events coming up in August and September:

The Breeders Showcase at Devonwood August 9 and 10. This is a fun show to work at because you get to see a lot of foals and youngsters. Lots of help is needed to make this 2 day event go. Contact Rose Newman if you can spare a day or a few hours to help out.

The Linda Acheson Education Fund Benefit shows are August 16 and 17 at Lake Oswego Hunt Club. These are ODS League shows and they need volunteers for gate people, scoring, scribing, runners and warm up. League shows are a good way to try a volunteer position in a more relaxed atmosphere. If you can spare some time on this date contact Kim Barker.

ODS is the host GMO for the USDF Region 6 Adult Clinic with Jane Savoie. This will be held at Devonwood August 22-24, starting Friday night with a lecture. There is a fee to audit the clinic. Volunteers are needed to help register and check in auditors. If you volunteer your auditing fee can be comped. Contact Francy Haupt for more information.

On the same weekend at Devonwood the ODS Young Rider show is being held. Lots of help is needed for this show and it is a League show as well. Contact Gaye McCabe if you can help.

The ODS Open and Championship shows are September 12-14 at Devonwood. This is a big weekend with 3 rings, lots of vendors and lots of excitement. Many volunteers are needed to make this show the success it has been for quite a few years. Contact Jennifer Milburn if you can help. There are prizes for volunteers and for the chapter giving the most volunteer time. Admission to the Championship Show is a donation of at least $5.00 for the Oregon Food Bank.

On Saturday September 13 the ODS Annual Awards Banquet will be held at the Holiday Inn in Tualatin. Volunteer opportunities include greeters and registration, help with set up and help with the Silent Auction. Items are needed for the Silent Auction and the Chapter baskets will be auctioned off as well. Please contact Rose Newman if you would like to help with the banquet.

Until next month,

Marsha

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I’ve been so engrossed with my chapter’s (Central Oregon) activities for the past few weeks I nearly missed the deadline for the July issue of Flying Changes. As I write we are in the final hours of preparation for our first 2 day, 2 ring show in many years. The venue is brand new and this is the first big show to be held there. Most of our show committee is new to the show management side of competition. I know it has been a real eye opener for me to paraticipate in this aspect of dressage. The work these people put on to bring these wonderful shows to us as competitors in amazing. The cost to us as competitors is quite reasonable compared to the hours and dedication put in by the show committees. A very small group of people keep the shows going and bring in most of the income for our chapters and for ODS.

Our own Championship show has earned a lot of money for ODS in the past few years. This is due mostly to dedicated volunteers putting in hours and soliciting sponsors, keeping costs down to competitors and making the money that has helped us keep our dues at the same level for several years. The best way to keep showing costs and membership costs down is to volunteer your time at the shows or in the planning and organizing of the shows, soliciting sponsors or providing donations of goods and services needed for the shows. In the face of fuel cost inflation I can’t think of any other way to keep the shows going, especially outside of the Portland Metro area.

We recently formed a committee to oversee our successful League Show program and Championship. Central Oregon Chapter had a League show in May and I volunteered to officiate as what we are calling the “show coordinator”. This is a position sort of like a “TD” but of course with no certification from any organization. Basically the job is to make sure the volunteers all know what their duties are, help the secretary make the show run smoothly, serve as a resource person for any problems or conflicts which may arise during the day and make sure the rules we have are followed and that the safety of spectators, riders and horses is ensured as well as possible. Seemingly small issues like keeping the gate area clear of foot traffic and socializers and making sure there is no one on foot in the warm up ring help to make our shows more safe for everyone. It is not easy to confront people who do not know or choose to not follow the rules. Happily, about 90% of people are understanding and cooperative. The other 10% make volunteers and officials not want to take on these jobs. Happily there were only a few small incidents on this occaision that caused any sort of confrontation. I mention this because we wish for our League Show Program to uphold a consistent standard and quality and I would encourage chapters and others sponsoring league shows to look at having an official on duty during the show. COC is able to make the League Show Secretary and the Show Coordinator both paid positions recently due to the success of the three show series.

August 23 and 24th is the USDF Region VI Adult Clinic at Devonwood. By the time this article is printed the rider application deadline will be passed, but, it will not be too late to plan to attend the clinic as an auditor. It happens to be the same weekend as the Junior-Young Rider Team Championships at Devonwood as well. This busy weekend should be a great chance to audit a clinic with Jane Savoie and watch some of our Junior/Young Riders in action as well. Contact our Region VI Education Coordinator Francy Haupt for information about auditing the clinic. For information about the Junior Young Rider show contact Gaye McCabe.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our wonderful board and committees and our office administrator ODS has run smoothly this past month since our last board meeting. The board will meet next in Newberg, August 9. If you have concerns or suggestions please contact your regional director, directors at large or any executive board member.

Have a great summer!
Marsha

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The May USDF CONNECTION is out with the article about ODS. I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I thought the writer did a good job. There is one correction though and that has to do with the Linda Acheson Education Fund. The author stated the fund was used for two projects listed in the article and that is not true. The Linda Acheson Fund has not been used at all because we are still trying to grow the fund to the level required before any funds can be dispersed. The fund is supported by your donations and the benefit shows which will be 2 days of league shows August 16 and 17 at the Lake Oswego Hunt Club.  Chapters or individuals are welcome to help raise money by putting on shows or other fundraisers.

The ODS spring board meeting was held April 26 in Klamath. There were at least 8 people present from the Cascade Chapter for the meeting. Thanks to the Cascade members for setting up the meeting place. It was fun to meet them and hear what they had to say. A Show Biz and Volunteer training session were also held Saturday evening and Sunday by Rose Newman, Kaye Phaneuf and Corinne Stonier.

Corinne gave the membership report and the main topic of discussion following was how to retain members who do not renew because they sell their horse or don’t show for a period of time. We are trying to brainstorm ideas for retaining these members and making people aware of the other benefits of membership besides competition.

Under the topic of Publications Corinne announced the Test Booklets were mailed. The Omnibus deadline has been moved up to JULY FIRST. Show managers need to be aware of this change and begin preparing for 2009 shows earlier than usual.

Our acting Treasurer John Craven was not able to attend but we discussed the following financial issues:
ODS still owes $7,389 to the USDF Capital Campaign. Some chapters are still contributing amounts they pledged over a 5 year period. The greatest amount of the money (which will total $20,000) has come from the Championship Show. We have had 2 candidates reply for the Assistant Treasurer position. We are still seeking a Treasurer. We also discussed training and support for Chapter Treasurers in preparing their year end reports.

ODS is supporting the USDF Adult Clinic with Jane Savoie as an educational opportunity for members. The clinic is August 23-24. Applications for riders are due June 27 and applications for Auditors are due August 8th. To apply see the USDF website. Contact Education Chairperson Francy Haupt for more information volunteers will be needed to help with this event.

The Show Biz presentation in Sherwood February 23-24 was attended by about 30 people and the supplementary Volunteer training session had 40 participants.This is an ODS sponsored program and it will be presented in 2009.

League show awards have been mailed. The awards are delayed due to shows not reporting in the required format. We do need more volunteers to help with this very large project. There was also discussion about the new awards fee policy which changed this season from $2.00 per show to $1.00 per ride. The reason for the change was that the awards were no longer funding themselves. John made a study and came up with the $1.00 per ride as a solution. According to show managers and secretaries it has been somewhat more difficult to administer when people scratch and add classes. A motion was made, seconded and passed to leave the refunding of award fees up to show management. If they do not refund the award to the competitor it will be returned to ODS to help fund the awards program. This will be clarified on the website and included in the Show Biz training.

In the continueing effort to update policies and procedures (found in the HANDBOOK presently) to agree with the new Bylaws we established the following standing committees:
ODS Awards Committee (includes sub committees of League Show Awards, Licensed Show Awards, Special Awards, Sport Horse Awards and the Awards Banquet)
ODS Education Committee (L program, Clinics, Develope Education Programs)
Financial Committee (Budget, Financial Forcasting, Strategic Planning, Fund Raising, Silent Auction)
ODS owned competitions committee (includes sub committees Dressage for the Ages, League Championships, Licensed Championships, Linda A. Benefit Show, Junior/Young Rider Team Show, ODS Open Show, ODS Adult Team Championships
Sport Horse Committee
Youth Programs (High School, 4 H, Young Riders)
The committee chairpersons will amend and revise the purpose/responsibilities of the committees,there will be a board member and each committee.

An Ad hoc committee will be established for nominations for the Director at Large which will be elected in November. Please contact Marsha Williams 541-318-7353 if you are interested in recruiting nominations for this position.

USDF Convention Delegates for 2008 will be: Rose Newman, Francy Haupt, Ed Miller, Marsha Williams and Sally Temple. One person will be an alternate. Corinne Stonier will also attend as Office Manager.

A committee (or sub committee) was formed to continue the project of updating and overseeing League Show Policies. The committee includes Rose Newman, Marsha Williams, Siobhan Barker and Kaye Phaneuf.

The next board meeting is August 9 in Newberg. If you have concerns or input please contact your regional rep, directors at large or officers.

Have a great summer.  Marsha

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I was very disappointed to receive my April edition of the USDF CONNECTION and find that the article on ODS was not there. I contacted the editor and she assured me it would appear in the May issue and that had been the plan all along. So by the time you read this column you will have seen the article most likely. I received the following press release through the USDF GMO Council recently. I think this is good news for members:

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce lower credit accumulations to earn a USDF University Program Diploma. New criteria for the program were approved at the 2007 Adequan/USDF Annual Convention in Orlando, FL, and take effect April 1, 2008.
Certificates for the USDF University Program will now be awarded at the following levels; USDF Certificate (15 credits), USDF Diploma (30 credits), USDF Bronze Diploma (45 credits - reduced from 60), USDF Silver Diploma (60 credits - reduced from 120), USDF Gold Diploma (75 credits - reduced from 180), and the two newly created levels of USDF Platinum Diploma (90 credits) and USDF Diamond Diploma (105 credits).
Under the new program requirements, all pre-registered attendees/auditors at any USDF approved program will receive USDF University Credits. In addition, participants in USDF Adult Clinics, Junior/Young Rider Clinics, Instructor Certification Workshops, “L” Program, and Sport Horse Seminars will now receive four credits for participating as opposed to the previous two.
Attendees at all off-campus university programs will still be required to pay a five dollar processing fee as in the past with credits being awarded as follows: one-half credit for a half-day program, one credit for a one-day program, and one credit for each additional day of a program.
Kathie Robertson, USDF Senior Programs and Education Coordinator, stated, “USDF is very pleased to be able to provide additional opportunities for our members to receive their diplomas and hope these changes within the program motivate them to continue their education and expand their knowledge.
Link to see ” How Many Credits Have I Earned Already”:
http://www.usdf.org/education/university/search.asp

I think it would be fun to know how many people in ODS have credits and diplomas. I checked mine to find I have accumulated 12 hours in the past couple of years so I should have a certificate soon. There are also course available for credit on line and there will be several opportunities this year to earn credits by auditing USDF Programs being held in our area. You can apply to have educational events your chapters put on made eligible for University Credits. For more information on any of this please contact your Region 6 Education Coordinator, Francy Haupt.

The ODS Board of Directors is travelling to Klamath Falls this month for our spring board meeting. There will also be a SHOW BIZ session and a Volunteer Training Session put on the same weekend. The board makes an effort to have at least one meeting (in addition to the annual meeting in Springfield) outside the major metropolitan area. Members are welcome to attend the Board Meetings. This spring our topics include the League Show Program (a continuing effort to improve it), designating and setting up ODS committees, setting goals to complete the updates for the Policy and Procedures Manual to go with the new by laws. I’m sure several other challenges and agenda items will come up before and at the meeting and will be reported to you in the next column.

In the meantime the dressage show season in Oregon is well under way. We in Central Oregon have been limited by weather in attending the early shows. Several of us are heading to Idaho for the first weekend in May. I was sorry to miss the Adult Team Show and the Expo in Albany because of the road conditions in the past few weeks.

We are still seeking people to fill the position of Treasurer (ODS Board Position) and Assistant Treasurer.  Please contact me at 541-318-7353 if you are interested.

Thanks!
Marsha

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At this writing I am anxiously awaiting the April issue of USDF CONNECTION magazine to see the article written by Coleen Scott on ODS. I would like to thank the board members, Gaye McCabe, Joyce Stride, Corinne Stonier and Mary Cornelius for helping with the article and providing photographs. Also Tory Kelly and Janie Steinbock for sending copies of the ODS videos. After viewing the videos and interviewing our members Coleen said she wanted to come out and visit us.

We are still in need of a few key volunteers. Last month I asked for people to step forward to fill the positions of Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer. If you are interested in either of these jobs and didn’t apply please contact myself or John Craven. We also need a person who is enjoys organizing to help with the education projects that Francy Haupt runs for ODS.

At the regional level we need candidates for the 8 Region VI delegates. The deadline is April 15 and that is when you must have your information into USDF so please contact me right away. You must be a participating member of USDF. It is a one year position and you must attend the Convention which is in Denver this year. I can’t express how interesting and valuable it has been to me personally to participate in the governance of the national organization.

Also for the region we need a volunteer to count votes for one of the regional elections. This job require a few hours in August. Basically you have to enter the votes of people who choose to vote by mail into the USDF website. It is a little bit tedious but a great way to fulfill your volunteer obligation without having to travel or attend meetings and it is a very important service to USDF.

My phone number is 541-318-7353. You don’t even have to look it up! JUST CALL ME!

Here we go again into the show season!  Good Luck. See you there.

Marsha

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!!!

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In January the board, our office manager and other interested people (total of 26) will meet at Silver Falls Convention Center for the annual retreat. This year the topics we plan to discuss are:

• How to increase volunteerism
• Issues for chapters
• ODS Championship and Open show
• ODS League Show Program and Championship
• Insurance compliance and other issues
• Fund raising
• Establishing committees for the year
• ODS Finances and meeting increased costs
• Education projects for the year
• Practice show standards

The purpose of the retreat is to plan for the year, brainstorm about solutions for issues and establish teamwork among the board members and other key volunteers. The March column will report the results of this year’s retreat discussion as well as the board meeting which will occur there also. In the last column you learned of the board restructuring which was passed at the last board meeting. As a result of this we have 3 directors and two of them have accepted executive board positions: Ed Miller who is now our President Elect and was formerly a regional representative and Sally Temple who is entirely new to the board. I would like to give you the opportunity to get acquainted with Sally and asked her if I might include a bio about her in this column. I also asked Ed, our new President elect to introduce himself to the membership as well.

Sally has always been interested in equestrian activities and has shown First Level at both league and recognized shows.  She is particularly interested in promoting quadrille teams and has actively worked toward that end.  Organizing clinics, educational events, and practice shows have also been a focus.

Sally and her husband, Jim, live 25 miles west of Eugene near the small town of Noti. For the last 16 years, they have built a home there on their 13 acres and enjoy a garden and all of the benefits of country living.

The local Springfield/Eugene ODS Twin Rivers Chapter has begun a busy year with many activities.  The club had an organizational meeting this November and has been rejuvenated by over 24 enthusiastic members.  Sally is president of this group for 2007-2008 and with everyone’s hard work and planning will put Twin Rivers “on the map”.

Being on the ODS Board will be a rewarding position for Sally and she
looks forward to assisting ODS members, dressage enthusiasts, and the board reach their goals.

Since moving to Ashland OR from the east coast 10 years ago Ed Miller took up the sport of Dressage seriously.  He joined ODS at that time and have been an active member of the State of Jefferson Chapter of ODS, serving as board Member and President.  Until elected as a Director at Large, he was a Southern Region representative on the ODS  Board of Directors.

Ed currently have three horses at various stages of training from a baby just getting started to one schooling 4th level.  He will be competing a young horse at second level this year.  Besides being a competitor he have been active in the organization and presentation of shows.   He is particularly interested in riding as an art form with emphasis on partnerships and grace.

Until next month,

Marsha