April 2023
Greetings Region 8!
Spring is here, and it’s time to get organized for the season ahead. Omnibuses have been sent out, boots are getting shined up and the new tests are being rehearsed. Have you ditched your white breeches and navy jacket for something new and more colorful?
There are a couple of deadlines coming up that I wanted to highlight. First, the deadline for PM Delegate nominations is April 15. Information is available here: https://www.usdf.org/about/about-usdf/governance/nominating/index.asp. The deadline for USDF Volunteer of the Year is due May 1 and information is available here: https://www.usdf.org/awards/service/voy.asp.
USDF is thrilled to announce that Olympic Silver Medalist Sabine Schut-Kery will be joining George Williams, Lilo Fore, and Anne Gribbons as a clinician for the USDF FEI Youth Clinics. The goal of these clinics is to promote hardworking and talented youth riders, striving to compete in the FEI tests and rise to the top of the discipline. As an internationally acclaimed Grand Prix rider and trainer, with experience up to and including Pan American and Olympic Games, Sabine is a perfect fit to help educate and guide these enthusiastic and talented youth, as they grow in their dressage careers. We in Region 8 are incredibly lucky that Sabine will be our clinician at the Youth Clinic to be held June 10 and 11 at Weatogue Stables in Salisbury CT. The rider information and application can be found at https://www.usdf.org/education/clinics/jryr/riders.asp. This is a fantastic opportunity for all of our young riders. There are also opportunities for auditors (the rates have been reduced this year) and I encourage everyone to think about attending.
The 2023 Region 8 show season kicks off with Mystic Valley Dressage April 29-30. The prize list is at https://www.horseshowoffice.com/info/2023/45-117/prizelist.pdf. May gets very busy all across the region with too many to list individually, so here is the link to the calendar on the USDF website: https://www.usdf.org/calendar/competitions.asp.
News from our region… Central New York Dressage & CTA has hosted the first sessions of their “L” Program, with a fill cohort of attendees, auditors and demo riders, AJ Torelli reports. And a plug for volunteerism… a member contacted me to provide a USDF reference for an application to become an instructor for a therapeutic riding program. Here is what she had to say about the joy she gets from working with these children: “I have a little girl I get to help ride each week. When I’ve been sad, disappointed, run ragged, etc…I get to the center and we get her on a horse. She is non-verbal, some days she can hardly sit up on the horse…but if I get a smile from her (or man, those days I can pull a few out of her) well, THAT is my pay and it is therapy for me.” That’s something to think about.
Some other dates to look forward to include:
4/4/2023-4/8/2023 FEI World Cup in Omaha NE – I will be attending for the Executive Board meeting and hope to see some of you there.
9/21/2023-9/24/2023 Region 8 GAIG/USDF Championships in Saugerties NY
11/9/2023-11/12/2023 USDF Dressage Finals
11/29/2023-12/2/2023 2023 Adequan/USDF Annual Convention in Omaha NE
All the best,
Helen
Vandeh13@gmail.com