United States Dressage Federation

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Summary of Actions at USDF Spring Executive Board Meeting

May 7-9, 2004
Lexington, Kentucky

The following people attended the meeting: all 13 Executive Board members, Executive Director Stephan Hienzsch, and many USDF office staff members.

Competitions/Annual Convention

Linda Landers made a motion, seconded by Sue Hughes, to post the standardized entry form for USDF/United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) competitions on the USDF Web site. Motion carried.

Kat Kyle made a motion, seconded by Sandi Bishop, to allow only the following three options for submitting competition results, effective immediately: (1) mailed-in paper results, (2) Electronic Results Submission Standard (ERSS), and (3) printer-ready electronic results. As of October 1, 2005, only options 1 and 2 will be permitted. Motion carried. USDF is moving toward entering all competition results electronically, with no hand-entered results in the database. This will save a lot of staff time.

George Williams made a motion, seconded by Linda Landers, that USDF send a response to the USEF Competition Date Approval Task Force stating that: (1) we like the current mileage rules for dressage, and (2) Dressage Competitions with dressage sport horse breeding (DSHB) classes, and Dressage Competitions without DSHB classes, should be considered separately for mileage rule purposes. Motion carried.

Melissa Creswick made a motion, seconded by George Williams, to award up to four youth scholarships, with funding up to $750 each, to the 2004 Annual Convention. Receipts for expenses must be submitted by the awardees. Motion carried.

George Williams made a motion, seconded by Fern Feldman, to ask Linda Mazur (CA) to be the parliamentarian at the Board of Governors meetings at the 2004 Annual Convention. If she accepts the invitation, she must decline her nomination as a Participating Member delegate. Motion carried.

Programs

Fern Feldman made a motion, seconded by George Williams, to (1) hold the 2005 FEI-level Trainers Conference in California, and (2) increase the length of the conference to three days. The first two days will have more relaxed attendance criteria, and the third day will be focused on high performance trainers. Motion carried.

Fern Feldman made a motion, seconded by Linda Landers, to extend invitations to the FEI-level Trainers Conference to two foreign representatives (with an emphasis on developing countries), beginning in 2005. Fees will be waived. Motion carried. This motion was based on a recommendation of the USDF Planning Committee.

Janine Malone made a motion, seconded by Gaye McCabe, to have 12 Advanced Junior/Young Rider clinics in 2005: one in each USDF region, with the remaining three clinics held in geographical areas that will best be served by an additional clinic. Motion carried.

Kat Kyle made a motion, seconded by Sue Hughes, that there be two Region 5 coordinators for the FEI Junior/Young Rider Council. Motion carried. This is because the region is so large, spanning from Canada to Mexico.

Janine Malone made a motion, seconded by George Williams, that clinicians for USDF programs must sign a contract and agree to a non-compete clause. Motion carried. The non-compete agreement should specify a time frame and distance within which the instructor could not conduct clinics. The agreement would depend on the event, the expected audience, and the content of the program.

Publications

Many Executive Board members made motions, which were carried, to approve each of the chapters of the significantly revised and improved USDF Policies and Procedures document, which has been posted on the USDF Web site.

Janine Malone made a motion, seconded by Fern Feldman, to recommend to the editor of the USDF Connection to include a column highlighting high performance riders, horses, owners, breeders, and trainers throughout the year. Motion carried.

Fern Feldman made a motion, seconded by Janine Malone, to approve the "Anatomy of Riding" book proposal. Motion carried. This book is a treatise on the relationship of human anatomy and function as it relates to the sport of dressage. Readers will learn how the anatomy of horse and rider influence each other in riding.

Membership

George Williams made a motion, seconded by Linda Landers, that Janine Malone develop a USEF rule change proposal requiring all dressage licensed officials to be USDF members, to be considered by the USEF Dressage Committee. Motion carried.

George Williams made a motion, seconded by Fern Feldman, that non-renewing Participating Members receive the USDF Connection through the March issue. Motion carried. The membership for these people expires on November 30. The March issue contains the USDF Yearbook.

George Williams made a motion, seconded by Fern Feldman, to discontinue issuing non-member cards, effective January 1, 2005. These cards can be downloaded from the USDF Web site or purchased for $10. Motion carried.

Miscellaneous

Fern Feldman made a motion, seconded by Janine Malone, that USDF develop various business services to offer to Group Member Organizations (GMOs). Motion carried. Such business services could include USDF processing GMO memberships, offering a GMO events calendar or events registration on the USDF Web site, offering joint marketing efforts, and providing consulting services on database development.

George Williams made a motion, seconded by Fern Feldman, that USDF establish a Committee to Evaluate its Council/Committee Structure. Motion carried. This committee was formed on June 11, 2004 with the following members: Margaret Freeman (Chairman, NY), Jayne Ayers (WI), Lisa Gorretta (OH), Loris Henry (CA), Veronica Holt (CO), and Joan Humphrey (FL).

Samuel J. Barish
USDF President

Janine W. Malone
USDF Secretary