April 2021 Newsletter

A Letter From Your WDAA President

Dear Members:

WDAA has just released the prize list for the 2019 WDAA World Championship Show! We have made some changes to make this the most exciting show ever:
We added another day and the show is now five days long, starting with Rail Classes on Wednesday, October 2 and ending with the grand awards ceremony on Sunday, October 6. This is so we can offer all four tests at each level as well as the new Intro. Freestyle competition.

Entries open July 1 and you will want to get them in early to ensure your spot in the freestyle competitions. We accept the first 15 entries in each freestyle class and close it.
Also new for this year are two special awards:
• Silver Spur Award - This is for the highest scoring horse and rider team whose combined age is at least 75 years.
• World Show Greenhorn Award - This is for the amateur or junior rider and horse, both competing at this show, for the first time, with the highest score. Neither horse nor rider may have ever shown at any WDAA Western Dressage World Championship Show.

We still have all the great breed high points and division awards as well!

Katharina Nowotny-Boles will be back with t-shirts and snacks for volunteers. Contact her in advance to get a job assignment. [email protected]

Sponsor a class or a division if you can or advertise in the program if you have a great product or service horse lovers could support. www.wdaaworldshow.org

Plan to come to the welcome party to kick off the WDAA World Championship Show and stay to congratulate all the winners Sunday afternoon. This show is a great time with great people who will become some of the best friends you ever find! Bring a horse or two or a dozen. I hope to see you there!

Cindy Butler, Your President,
Western Dressage Association Of America

P.S. I got a darling new horse and I’m going to post her picture on the Social Corral so you can meet her. Please post pictures of you and your horses there too because it’s fun to get to know each other better and we all love to see more horses!

Attention Western Dressage Trainers!

WDAA is asking for donations, but not the financial kind:

We are looking for video clips 3 minutes or less, demonstrating Western Dressage maneuvers. You can submit as many videos as you like, but each video should address only one maneuver. You may demonstrate how the maneuver is achieved or what it is and is not supposed to look like and add your own special way of helping riders understand the maneuver.

Examples of a maneuver:
Free Walk
Free Jog
Pivot
Shoulder-In
Half Pass
Collected Lope
Lope pirouette
Turn on the forehand
Flying lead change
Simple lead change
Working jog

Choose a maneuver from the list or another one you have a great example of or a great way to teach about it. It can be a simple or complicated maneuver or a helpful hint. Begin the video clip with a shot of yourself and the introduction, “I am (name) from (farm, town, state) (website if you want) and I am going to show you the (maneuver)”. After that, say whatever you want to describe or teach the maneuver. It is our hope, this will give trainers some recognition on a national level and help our members learn about Western Dressage maneuvers.

To submit a video clip just go to WDAA Social Corral on Facebook! You must be a WDAA member to have access to the Social Corral. https://westerndressageassociation.org/wdaa-social-corral/

Please Support Your World Show!
Go to www.wdaaworldshow.org and sponsor a class, division or breed high score.

Nichole Oster the Chairwoman of the sponsorship committee, has a huge goal of having EVERY SINGLE CLASS SPONSORED that is 128 classes, let's help them achieve their goal! Contact Nichole with questions [email protected].

New Awards for the World Show!

In addition to the new Green Horn Award and Silver Spur Award, WDAA is extremely proud to offer a High Score Veterans Award!! Exhibitors can register for these Awards in the secretaries office at check-in.

World Championship Awards Ceremony

Plan to attend the Sunday night Farewell Celebration and Awards Ceremony, it will be held 1 hour following the completion of the show on Sunday night. Over All High Score, Division Buckles, breed high score and special awards will be presented then. NO AWARDS WILL BE HANDED OUT prior to the event. If you can't attend please make sure someone picks up the award for you.

WDAA Honors Dinner

WDAA Honors Dinner
Last years Awards Dinner was such a great success we decided to make it an annual event! The WDAA Honors Dinner will be Wednesday night Oct 6th in the Roper's Cantina. Plan now to attend, invitations will be sent soon!

World Show Gold Cart Rentals
Golf cart reservation information will be included with your entry confirmation.

Connect with us on Facebook!

Follow on Twitter

WDAA Website

WDAA Social Corral

Western Dressage Education!

Find all the WDAA Tests, Guides and lots of great reading materials in our Western Dressage Education Center!

Get More Info

Clinics & Shows
Looking for a Schooling Show or Clinic to brush up on your skills. Stop by the Events Calendar on the WDAA website where you will find lots of events happening all over the USA!

View Calendar

WDAA Social Corral

If you wish to be more informed about the Western Dressage movement, we do have a private Social Corral Facebook Group where members of the Western Dressage Association® of America can interact, discuss various topics, conceive new ideas and generally share all things Western Dressage, including people who are instructors, clinicians and even judges like yourself.

Join the Social Corral

Judges Education Program

The WDAA Western Dressage Judge’s Education Program is open to all licensed Dressage judges, Western, Breed judges and those starting out who want to learn about Western Dressage. This Judges Education Program offers training so that they can accurately evaluate horse rider combinations, score the tests and provide comments.

Learn More

Current USEF Licensed Western Dressage Judges

Find A Professional in Your Area

The Western Dressage Association® of America is proud to offer an ever-growing list of dedicated Western Dressage professionals.

Find A Professional

WDAA General Store

Where You can purchase WDAA Customized Apparel in our Apparel Boutique as well as Books, DVDs and other educational material all about Western Dressage in our Products General Store.

Shop Now

Follow Us on Facebook

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for all of the latest Western Dressage updates from all over the US and Canada.

Find new WD groups, follow your favorite riders, find shows and clinics and connect up with Western Dressage friends in your neck of the woods.

Please Join our rapidly-growing online community...

Follow Us on Facebook

Why Be A WDAA Member?
Ever wondered what it means to be a WDAA member? Sure, you get access to the Social Corral, events, dressage tests, and tons of information on our website; you can participate in high points programs and receive our awesome newsletter each month, but what else?

Learn More

Breed Alliances

Corporate Sponsor

About The Western Dressage Association® of America is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit organization focused on providing a model of horsemanship which optimizes the partnership of horse and rider for their mutual benefit. The mission of the Western Dressage Association® is to honor the horse, to value the partnership between horse and rider and to celebrate the legacy of the American West which it focuses on through its offerings of educational opportunities and events to the equestrian community.

Copyright © Western Dressage Association of America®, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Western Dressage Association^® of America
P.O. Box 2349
Parker, CO 80134

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April 2019 Newsletter

by: Una Schade

Category: Newsletters

Apr

28

Exciting happenings at Western Dressage Association of America... Be sure to check it all out!

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A Letter From Your WDAA President

Dear Members,

Spring cleaning, purging, and organizing helps us keep our lives in order. The same is true for WDAA. We have been working internally to upgrade and streamline our processes so WDAA can achieve the goal of providing members with the best service possible.

First - under upgrading, I am excited to announce that Diana “Dini” Swanson has been named as the new Executive Director for WDAA. Dini has served in a contract role as our Executive Secretary for three years. WDAA and Dini have grown together over that time and both are ready for the next step. So, on May 1, Dini will become WDAA’s first non-contract, full-time employee. She will continue to perform most of her previous duties, but will also be overseeing many of the projects our volunteer board members headed up in the past.

One of Dini’s first new projects involves working to upload an all-in-one membership management software application. WDAA is working with a software company to onboard all components of a new system. We hope this will streamline some of our internal processes so WDAA customer service can be even more efficient. The new system includes a web portal for members where we will post videos and educational material. Onboarding takes several months so I don’t have a good time estimate yet for when the portal will open. You can be sure we will notify you with great fanfare when it is opened.

By now you have had the chance to look over the newly released Intro Level Freestyle requirements. Developing Intro Freestyle was a member request, and the WDAA team worked hard to bring it to fruition quickly so riders could have time to plan and practice performances well before the WDAA World Championship Show. I hope this makes competing in freestyle attainable for everyone. Freestyle is a fun way to celebrate your achievements with your horse in an individual, creative way.

Chris Rushton is updating our corporate sponsorship plan. He will post it on the WDAA website soon.

Kathy Newcomb is working with show managers across the country, and they have almost doubled the number of WDAA recognized shows scheduled from 2018 to 2019. Please, head out and support the shows in your area if you want them to continue. Show managers will give Western Dressage a chance, but you have to support it to keep it as your favorite shows. There has never been a better time to sign up for the WDAA Horse Lifetime Points and Awards Program!

We have great momentum and our future looks very bright! Thanks to you, WDAA members, who honor the horse and the journey. By bringing your horses and yourselves out to shows, you give us more power to get more support for programs we want to provide to you. You make our jobs at WDAA easier, even the Spring cleaning.

Cindy Butler, Your President
Western Dressage Association Of America

New This Year At the 2019 WDAA Western Dressage World Championship Show

1. The new Silver Spur Award will be awarded to the highest scoring horse/rider team that equals 75 years or more in age combined. This very special new award will be presented Sunday night after the show at the Farewell Celebration and Awards Ceremony.

2. Intro freestyle has been added to the schedule!

3. The World Show will be 5 days 1 full day of rail classes with 4 full days of tests 1-4. The prize list will be out soon!

WHLPAP Update!

New WHLPAP Awards earned since August 2018 are listed below. All awards earned prior to the cut off date in 2018 were presented at the WDAA Honors Dinner held during the World Show. The cut off this year for WHLPAP submissions will be August 1st, 2019, we must set this date so we have time to order, produce and ship the ever-increasing list of awards to be presented at the Honors Dinner, it is quite the display!!! We hope to see you there Wednesday Night October 2nd in the Ropers Cantina for a fun celebration of your horses' accomplishments!

Connect with us on Facebook!

Follow on Twitter

WDAA Website

WDAA Social Corral

Western Dressage Education!

Find all the WDAA Tests, Guides and lots of great reading materials in our Western Dressage Education Center!

Get More Info

Clinics & Shows
Looking for a Schooling Show or Clinic to brush up on your skills. Stop by the Events Calendar on the WDAA website where you will find lots of events happening all over the USA!

View Calendar

WDAA Social Corral

If you wish to be more informed about the Western Dressage movement, we do have a private Social Corral Facebook Group where members of the Western Dressage Association® of America can interact, discuss various topics, conceive new ideas and generally share all things Western Dressage, including people who are instructors, clinicians and even judges like yourself.

Join the Social Corral

Judges Education Program

The WDAA Western Dressage Judge’s Education Program is open to all licensed Dressage judges, Western, Breed judges and those starting out who want to learn about Western Dressage. This Judges Education Program offers training so that they can accurately evaluate horse rider combinations, score the tests and provide comments.

Learn More

Current USEF Licensed Western Dressage Judges

Find A Professional in Your Area

The Western Dressage Association® of America is proud to offer an ever-growing list of dedicated Western Dressage professionals.

Find A Professional

WDAA General Store

Where You can purchase WDAA Customized Apparel in our Apparel Boutique as well as Books, DVDs and other educational material all about Western Dressage in our Products General Store.

Shop Now

Follow Us on Facebook

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for all of the latest Western Dressage updates from all over the US and Canada.

Find new WD groups, follow your favorite riders, find shows and clinics and connect up with Western Dressage friends in your neck of the woods.

Please Join our rapidly-growing online community...

Follow Us on Facebook

Why Be A WDAA Member?
Ever wondered what it means to be a WDAA member? Sure, you get access to the Social Corral, events, dressage tests, and tons of information on our website; you can participate in high points programs and receive our awesome newsletter each month, but what else?

Learn More

Breed Alliances

Corporate Sponsor

About The Western Dressage Association® of America is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit organization focused on providing a model of horsemanship which optimizes the partnership of horse and rider for their mutual benefit. The mission of the Western Dressage Association® is to honor the horse, to value the partnership between horse and rider and to celebrate the legacy of the American West which it focuses on through its offerings of educational opportunities and events to the equestrian community.

Copyright © Western Dressage Association of America®, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Western Dressage Association^® of America
P.O. Box 2349
Parker, CO 80134

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February/March 2019 Newsletter

by: Una Schade

Category: Newsletters

Mar

18

Exciting happenings at Western Dressage Association of America... Be sure to check it all out!

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A Letter From Your WDAA President

The Game of Western Dressage

Dear Members,

One of my Spring time duties for WDAA is to craft rule change proposals we receive from members. So, I have been reviewing requests for changes and preparing them for presentation to our internal rules committee.

I love reading and working on rules because rules teach you how to play a game (or how to win a horse show). If the game is too simple, it’s not fun for long. It should be challenging and engaging so I want to keep playing. Think of all the video games that you like for a month and then get bored of. Chess is a good game because you can develop skill and strategy while using the rules. Working Cow Horse is a good game because it’s fun and incorporates multiple skills. Western Dressage is a great game, because as the players get better, the game gets more challenging.

I think rules should be clear and easy to follow. There should be enough rules so we know what the game is and how to proceed when something unexpected happens. However, there shouldn’t be so many rules that they are impossible to follow or that beginners just don’t even bother to learn… Rules shouldn’t be so restrictive that all creativity is limited. I remember playing Monopoly with my dad. He was always making side deals with other players, like buying hotels from my sister when she was almost out of money (maybe Monopoly needs an ethics committee…)

Using Dressage methods to train Western horses is not new, but the game of Western Dressage (showing) is pretty new. Therefore, we still have to tweek the rules sometimes as the game evolves.

Luckily, I don’t have to work on rule change proposals by myself. WDAA is fortunate to have a great Rules Committee made up of a diverse group of individuals committed to honoring the horse and providing clear instructions for competition.
Members include:

Ronald Bartholomew
Tori Blankenship
Cindy Butler
Ellen DiBella
Lillian Evaniew-Phelan
Joyce Hamlin
Ann Judge
Lynn Palm
Cindy Reid
Cliff Swanson
Joyce Swanson

Rule change proposals recommended by the rules committee go to the WDAA Board of Directors and then to the USEF Western Dressage Committee for review before they end up with the USEF Legislative Committee. The USEF Legislative Committee allows other USEF committees which may be affected by the proposal have input before sending proposals to the USEF Board of Directors for final approval.

I have received a few requests related to “leveling the playing field” for various types of awards programs through rule change proposals. If your interpretation of the phrase “level the playing field” is to provide all players with the same set of rules so players can make informed choices, then I think WDAA is doing that for the program we manage.
Regarding awards programs, WDAA can only implement rules for WDAA Horse Lifetime Points and Achievements Program (WHLPAP). That program is designed to add value to horses as they progress through the Western Dressage levels over their lifetimes. Our goal is for every horse to be loved for its lifetime. WHLPAP is not a competitive program and there’s no time limit. However, there are really cool prizes along the journey. WHLPAP is a program everyone who plays can win and truly the biggest prize is the harmony you get between the horse and rider just because you played.
Other awards programs Western Dressage riders can participate in include:

USEF Horse of the Year points,
WDAA State affiliate high point programs,
national breed organization high points,
local schooling show circuit awards)

Whatever awards programs you choose or not and whatever games you play, I hope you are still having fun. I know I am whenever my partner is a horse. This morning, I looked out my bedroom window and my horse looked back at me and well, you know how that makes a girl feel….

Cindy Butler, Your President,
Western Dressage Association of America

January 2019 Newsletter

by: Una Schade

Category: Newsletters

Feb

01

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Exciting happenings at Western Dressage Association of America... Be sure to check it all out!

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A Letter From Your WDAA President

As we close the door on 2018, I have the chance to reflect on my first year as WDAA President. I hope I have served you well. I know I have given it my best shot and I still am.
WDAA implemented a few new programs this year. Some worked out better than we could have imagined and we are still learning and working on others.

READ MORE...

2018 Annual Meeting Report

The 2018 WDAA Annual meeting took place on Dec 16^th at 4:00 PM Eastern time for the first time by way of “webinar”. Over 150 registrants attended the meeting online and over 150 people have viewed the meeting on YouTube since the 16^th. The WDAA Board of Directors felt this was the best way to reach as many people as possible at the lowest cost. Members that registered were asked to submit questions for the Board and staff to address during the meeting. Most questions were answered within the 1-hour time frame. WDAA President Cindy Butler gave a very thorough Presidents report, Sharron Sarchet WDAA treasurer presented the WDAA financial report and Dini Swanson WDAA Executive Secretary spoke about the Western Dressage Judges Seminar and other WDAA programs. We were lucky to also have Ellen DiBella the first WDAA Board Member Emeritus on hand to lend insight and historical knowledge of the foundation of WDAA.

Prior to the Annual meeting a small group of WDAA board members and staff met at Ellen’s beautiful home in Parker, CO for a strategic planning weekend. Gail Mathews was an able leader for the important planning meeting where the future of WDAA was envisioned and a map was developed to help us achieve our goals.

USEF Horse of the Year Ceremony

Western Dressage had a HUGE presence at the USEF Annual Meeting this year!

Congratulations go to our own Ellen DiBella, WDAA Past President and now the first WDAA Director Emeritus. USEF added to her vast list of accomplishments at the 2018 Pegasus Awards ceremony and awarded her the Pegasus Medal of Honor! For her tireless work to create and grow the now booming discipline of Western Dressage!

There was also a Western Dressage meeting held during the USEF Annual Meeting which was very well attended and very informational

WDAA Wishes to congratulate Cobra the Three Strikes Mustang and Western Dressage World Champion on being voted USEF National Horse of the Year!!! What an asset he is to the horse community in general, may he enjoy his well-earned retirement!

WDAA wants to also congratulate this year’s USEF Horse of the Year National High Point winners!
Intro Level - SHARIS GEMINI /MANN CZAJA, MONIQUE – FL
Basic Level - AM SWEET VICTORY+++/ /TAYLOR, MARIE – VA
Level 1 - ZIPS BIT OF LUCK /ROSS, TERRI – FL
Level 2 - PROUD TRADITION /CORBETT, MARCIA – FL
Level 3 - TRULY UNSURPASSED /CONLEY, NANCY KAYE – GA
Level 4 - COBRA /HARTFORD-SAPP, MARSHA – FL

US Equestrian's 2019 Annual Meeting: The Take-Home Points

Entering the third year of the Strategic Plan, US Equestrian President Murray Kessler told Annual Meeting attendees that equestrian sport’s national governing body has much to celebrate and more to accomplish

US Equestrian members gathered in sunny West Palm Beach, Fla., in January for the organization’s Annual Meeting, where President Murray Kessler had good news to report and paid glowing tributes to US Equestrian’s many members and volunteers.

READ MORE...

Truly Unsurpassed is an Official Breyer Horse!

Congratulations to this beautiful Western Dressage Multi Titled World Champion horse! She will be representing Western Dressage at Breyerfest in Lexington, KY at the Kentucky Horse Park July 12-14 2019. She and owner, Nancy Conley are so very proud to be able to promote Western Dressage in this way. Next time you see Nancy ask her to sign your own "Calico".

Connect with us on Facebook!

Follow on Twitter

WDAA Website

WDAA Social Corral

Western Dressage Education!

Find all the WDAA Tests, Guides and lots of great reading materials in our Western Dressage Education Center!

Get More Info

Clinics & Shows
Looking for a Schooling Show or Clinic to brush up on your skills. Stop by the Events Calendar on the WDAA website where you will find lots of events happening all over the USA!

View Calendar

WDAA Social Corral

If you wish to be more informed about the Western Dressage movement, we do have a private Social Corral Facebook Group where members of the Western Dressage Association® of America can interact, discuss various topics, conceive new ideas and generally share all things Western Dressage, including people who are instructors, clinicians and even judges like yourself.

Join the Social Corral

Judges Education Program

The WDAA Western Dressage Judge’s Education Program is open to all licensed Dressage judges, Western, Breed judges and those starting out who want to learn about Western Dressage. This Judges Education Program offers training so that they can accurately evaluate horse rider combinations, score the tests and provide comments.

Learn More

Current Licensed WDAA Judges

Find A TTT Graduate

The Western Dressage Association® of America has a list of professionals that have graduated from the past few years of Train The Trainer Clinics. If you are looking for an instructor or trainer in your area..

Find A Graduate

WDAA General Store

Where You can purchase WDAA Customized Apparel in our Apparel Boutique as well as Books, DVDs and other educational material all about Western Dressage in our Products General Store.

Shop Now

Follow Us on Facebook

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for all of the latest Western Dressage updates from all over the US and Canada.

Find new WD groups, follow your favorite riders, find shows and clinics and connect up with Western Dressage friends in your neck of the woods.

Please Join our rapidly-growing online community...

Follow Us on Facebook

Why Be A WDAA Member?
Ever wondered what it means to be a WDAA member? Sure, you get access to the Social Corral, events, dressage tests, and tons of information on our website; you can participate in high points programs and receive our awesome newsletter each month, but what else?

Learn More

Breed Alliances

Corporate Sponsor

About The Western Dressage Association® of America is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit organization focused on providing a model of horsemanship which optimizes the partnership of horse and rider for their mutual benefit. The mission of the Western Dressage Association® is to honor the horse, to value the partnership between horse and rider and to celebrate the legacy of the American West which it focuses on through its offerings of educational opportunities and events to the equestrian community.

Copyright © Western Dressage Association of America®, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Western Dressage Association^® of America
P.O. Box 2349
Parker, CO 80134

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

December 2018 Newsletter

by: Una Schade

Category: Newsletters

Dec

31

Exciting happenings at Western Dressage Association of America... Be sure to check it all out!

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A Letter From Your WDAA President

Dear Members,

First, I would like to correct a mistake from my newsletter last month regarding USEF Lite shows. Last month, I said, “A competition may be approved as a Lite Competition for two years instead of only one year before it must graduate to USEF Local or Regular status”. I was given permission by USEF to tell you about the changes to our Lite show program before the formal written agreement between USEF and WDAA was finished because both parties were satisfied with our negotiations. So, I shared. Then, I got the formal agreement to sign and in reading it, found there was no time limit for Lite shows to remain as Lite shows.

I promptly signed the agreement because I feel this is a good thing for WDAA members. Then, I verified with my contacts at USEF that my interpretation of the agreement and what I thought we agreed to on the phone was different and that the written contract is acceptable to both parties. USEF and WDAA are happy with the agreement as it is written. Also, USEF agreed to update the competition comparison chart on their website to reflect what is written in the contract.

There is nothing in the agreement to require Lite shows to ever graduate to USEF Local or Regular status. Previously licensed USEF Regular or Local shows are not eligible to change to Lite shows, but previously licensed USEF Lite shows are eligible to be re-licensed as Lite shows indefinitely. The misunderstanding came in that the formal agreement between USEF and WDAA is to be renegotiated in two years. Therefore, there is a possibility the policy could change, if we agree, in two years.
I am sorry for the miscommunication and I hope we are all on the same page now. Thinking about this issue and browsing around social media, reading Veteran’s Day stories about war horses and stories about brave people who rescued horses from fires in California, got me thinking about another mistake I made:

I remember telling my riding lesson students, “There’s no crying at horse shows”. Boy, was that ever a big mistake!

Everything about horses makes you cry. It doesn’t matter if it’s happy or sad.

You cry when horses are born, when they die, when they get hurt, when they get better, when they come to you, when they run away, when they comply, when they balk, when they win, when they lose, when you buy them, when you sell them, when they’re beautiful, or when they’re suffering... You even cry when you just hear about someone else’s horse doing any of the above and you cry more if horses are neglected or if they’re rescued. So, the whole horse industry is just one big, messy bucket of tears that we engage in because we want to? because we like it? because we can’t help it?....

I guess the point to this is that maybe horse people are hard-wired to be sympathetic to horses and to love them like nothing else. There is just something about horses that makes us feel more deeply about them than we feel about anything else. I don’t really know what it is, but I am happy I was drawn into this lifestyle where I spend all my time and all my money and work all the time and do nothing else, but plan my next equestrian exploits and how to further help the whole horse industry. I guess I like knowing we all feel the same way because it validates my sanity at least somewhat. It’s not crazy to have so much passion for one thing. Horse people are all different in other ways. We can argue for days without resolutions, but when it comes to horses, protecting them, preserving our rights to have them, living in a World with horses, we are united. I like that. Is that how addicts feel? If so, I don’t want to go to rehab. Instead, let’s change the World. Let’s make it a better place for horses and horse people.

Making the World a better place for horses and horse people is what WDAA is all about and has been from its inception. We have a leveled training system to guide us and we are committed to sharing it with Western riders everywhere. We have started a great journey and the WDAA board members have some great ideas for the future. One of our next steps is that WDAA will host a strategic planning meeting in December. Board members will be asked to share their big dreams for WDAA with the group. We will evaluate our current abilities and develop baby steps to move towards the big dreams that we share. So, in preparation for the meeting, if you have big dreams for WDAA, share them with me at [email protected].

I hope there’s no crying in planning meetings, but you never know. The conversation will eventually turn from changing the World to horses… It’s only logical… Someone will need Kleenex...

Announcing the 1st WDAA Annual Member Meeting via webinar.

November 2018 Newsletter

by: Una Schade

Category: Newsletters

Nov

05

Exciting happenings at Western Dressage Association of America... Be sure to check it all out!

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A Letter From Your WDAA President

Dear Members,

By now, you have received the email about our annual membership rate increase. Deciding to implement this increase was a difficult decision for the board because we want to keep Western Dressage affordable for all, but we cannot maintain operations on our current budget. The modest rate increase will help. We will still rely mostly on volunteers like myself and the other board members to do as much as possible. We appreciate every one of you and we take seriously our obligation to be good stewards of your organization and your funds directed to it.

In the last newsletter, I promised you an update to policy regarding USEF Lite Shows. WDAA and USEF have agreed that beginning with the 2019 competition season, there will be two changes to Western Dressage Competition Lite:

1. Half points for Horse of the Year (HOTY) Awards will only be awarded for tests judged by USEF-licensed Western Dressage judges judging levels for which they are licensed. Individuals who have attended the WDAA judges’ seminar in the past two years will still be eligible to judge Lite shows, but HOTY points will only be awarded when licensed Western Dressage judges officiate. Dressage judges who are not also Licensed Western Dressage judges and who have not attended the judges seminar in the past two years will not be eligible to judge Lite shows. We have implemented this change to ensure our members will be evaluated by the best trained Western Dressage judges.

2. A competition may be approved as a Lite Competition for two years instead of only one year before it must graduate to USEF Local or Regular status.

This month, we say goodbye to one board member and hello to a new one.

Lisa Blackstone has been a valued board member for WDAA. She has stood up for Western Dressage and taken on any challenge as our Vice President. Lisa is leaving the board because her other obligations demand more of her time now. Lisa will remain on our Risk Management Committee and continue to advise us as needed, but we will miss having her involved on a daily basis.

Mike Corcoran is joining us as the newest board member. He was a unanimous choice and we are all excited to have him on our board. Many of you know Mike as a saddle maker who produces outstanding Western Dressage saddles, or as the guy who rides the gorgeous Haflingers or maybe as the President of Western Dressage Association of Oklahoma. Any way you know him, we are sure you will agree he is a great horseman, leader, and promoter of Western Dressage. Welcome aboard the board, Mike!

I could go on and on about how great the 2018 World Show was, but for now, I would just like to congratulate all our exhibitors, our fabulous show committee chairman, Ellen DiBella, and the team of amazing contractors and volunteers who came together to celebrate Western Dressage as only WDAA does it. You all make me so proud!!!

Enjoy the Journey,

Cindy Butler, your President
Western Dressage Association Of America

Looking Back On A Successful Show

Competition with camaraderie: That’s what summed up the sixth annual Western Dressage World Championship Show, held Sept. 27-30 at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Okla. There was camaraderie between fellow exhibitors, amongst the cadre of volunteers who showed up to make things happen, and most especially between horses and their riders – the most important beneficiaries of this sport that fosters that essential partnership.

Final numbers showed nearly 900 rides, 202 exhibitors and 178 horses, hailing from 32 states from coast to coast, as well as Canada. Forty breeds of horses were represented, everything from stock breeds to gaited horses to POAs and ponies – and even one mule.

Competitors were vying for 77 world championships, more than 30 breed high-score awards and 20 divisional championship belt buckles. Full results are available here: http://www.showsecretary.com/rs.asp?Show_ID=715. World Show judges were Ronald Bartholomew (Martville, N.Y.), Donna Longacre (Longview, Wash.), Fatima Pawlenko-Kranz (Algonquin, Ill.), and Charlotte Trentelman (Anthony, Fla.).

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About The Western Dressage Association® of America is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit organization focused on providing a model of horsemanship which optimizes the partnership of horse and rider for their mutual benefit. The mission of the Western Dressage Association® is to honor the horse, to value the partnership between horse and rider and to celebrate the legacy of the American West which it focuses on through its offerings of educational opportunities and events to the equestrian community.

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WDAA Social Corral

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Find A Professional in Your Area

WDAA General Store

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Western Dressage Education!

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