April Newsletter

President's Letter

Dear Members,

I pray everyday that each of you and your families are safe. Here we are, trying to survive a deadly, invisible threat. Our defense is multi-faceted, balancing our financial and physical livelihoods against best health practices. We need each other to survive, but by contact, we could destroy each other. Sometimes it’s hard to understand why some are put out of business while others are working, but exposed to risk everyday, and still others seem to thrive from the consequences of mandatory lockdowns.

I have no doubt that many of you have adapted your daily routines to live safely and outlast the coronavirus crisis without being exposed or exposing others. Horse people are strong and disciplined. However, even the strong need help sometimes. Here is a link with information in the resources section for those who may need help: https://www.usef.org/media/coronavirus-resources

and a link to a pretty good webinar on relief for horse owners and businesses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuLQXCN0Qlw

We are doing things we never thought we would do to make it through challenging times. Online shows are now eligible for WDAA recognition and their exhibitors are eligible for half points in the WDAA Horse Lifetime Points and Awards Program. Also, WDAA has launched the Video Ride A Test Program. Although WDAA cannot solve the problems of the world, we have adopted these new programs to provide opportunities for horse show managers, trainers, judges and horses to work and to allow you to participate in your favorite sport at a safe distance from others. The programs are permanent and will not be discontinued when COVID19 is in the rear view mirror. We hope these programs will allow riders access to shows and judges previously too distant to reach, across the country or across an ocean.

With the implementation of programs based on video submissions, I would like you to keep in mind that watching videos is not the same as watching live performances. There can be distortion or time lags on video and sometimes videos are unclear. Depth and proximity to the letters is hard to assess on videos. Many times I have watched videos of performances that I also watched live and walked away with two different impressions. Therefore, please understand that our judges will do their very best to evaluate video performances. Better quality videos as well as level, consistent footing and precisely measured arenas will allow optimal accuracy in evaluations.

I know some of you may not have access to your horse or a suitable arena during lockdowns and my heart breaks for you. Being with my horses lifts my spirit each day and helps me stay the course. Don’t forget that you have tons of World Show rides on your WDAA member Video Education Portal to help you get a little horse time in your own home.

I don’t know how long our lives will be altered due to COVID19, but I suspect life will never really be the same as it was. We will attend horse shows and we will talk and flash peace signs instead of shake hands. We will not hug each other, but following the advice Ellen DiBella imparted in her speech at the USEF Pegasus Awards, we’ll hug our horses. We’ll treat each other as though we all have red ribbons in our ponytails and keep a one horse length distance between us. Most of all, we’ll be grateful. We won’t complain about the weather or the footing or the noise or any other nit picky thing. We will just be grateful to see each other, to be at a horse show, to have the opportunity to do what we love, every... single... time...

Cindy Butler, Your President

Western Dressage Association of America

Ride-A-Test

For a limited time WDAA Ride a Tests are free of charge! Beginning May 4th the first 20 submissions will be free. The judges for this session are Sharron Sarchet and Joanne Coy, both USEF Western Dressage Large R judges. They will score your ride plus give lot's of extra guidance on how to make your ride more successful.

On April 11th we launched this fun member benefit with Cindy Butler (R) as the first judge and we hope it will become an asset to your training.

All you need to do is submit a video of a ridden test following the guidelines within this link: https://wdaa.memberclicks.net/wdaa-online-ride-a-test-program

These videos will be evaluated by USEF WD licensed judges on a rotating basis so you will be able to get plenty of very valuable feed back and guidance from the most thoroughly educated Western Dressage Judges in the World!

WDAA NOW RECOGNIZES ONLINE SHOWS!

In response to the Covid 19 crisis the WDAA Board of Directors decided to recognize online shows for 1/2 WHLPAP points. All criteria can be found on the new WDAA Show Recognition page, https://westerndressageassociation.org/show-recognition-information/

This will be a permanent program it will not go away after the crisis has passed. Please visit the WDAA calendar for online shows, https://westerndressageassociation.org/event-calendar/

New Ohio Western Dressage Affiliate

WDAA extends a warm welcome to our newest affiliate Ohio. They are known as Ohio Western Dressage Association (OWDA), headed by Samantha Terry of Urbana, OH. They have a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/OWDArider/) and hope to have more people from Ohio and nearby states join the affiliate to participate in events and projects now and when the country begins to open up. Welcome OWDA!

2020 WORLD SHOW Updates

• The prize list will be available soon.
• A fun new addition to our World Show this year will be a special prize and recognition for the trainer who brings the most amateur and junior riders.
• An update to the 2021 World Show qualifications has been posted.
  The 2021 WDAA World Championship Show will require qualification. There are two ways to qualify.
  1 - Show at the 2020 WDAA World Championship Show
  2 - Show in at least one WDAA Recognized show (including online shows) during the 2021 show season leading up to the World Show.

Updated Therapeutic Riding Tests

The updated Therapeutic Riding Tests are now posted on the WDAA tests page, https://westerndressageassociation.org/wdaa-tests/. Guidelines for showing in and judging therapeutic rider classes can also be found on that page.

Therapeutic Test Guidelines

Attention WDAA members!!

Don't forget about the WDAA Video Education Portal! You can access it through your WDAA membership profile page. Lots of great videos live there, including ones like this, that was commentated by the sitting judge for the class, Charlotte Trentelman.

Rider Awards

WDAA State Affiliates now have the exclusive right to offer WDAA approved Rider Awards. Ask your local affiliate if they offer such a program, and if they don't please encourage them to do so. WDAA has had a stunning Gold Medalist Buckle designed and it will only be available to those riders that have achieved their WDAA State Affiliates Gold Medalist status.

WHLPAP report

Congratulations to the following Lifetime Awards Program Participants all awards listed have been earned since August 2019. Great job everyone!

2020 REGISTER OF MERIT

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