Celebrating the accomplishments of 2013 and planning for even more in 2014 – those were the items on the agenda when the Western Dressage Association® of America held its fourth annual meeting Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in Tulsa, Okla.

WDAA President Guy E. Brown welcomed 40+ attendees from 14 States and Canada. Listening to the list of accomplishments in 2013 was a perfect lead in to two days of planning and prioritizing projects for the coming year.

• Adopted and published WDAA Rules and 16 Tests (4 each at 4 levels)
• Helped form 4 New State Affiliates - Georgia, Florida, Ohio, & reorganized California
• Formalized 4 New Breed Alliances - Appaloosa Horse Club, US Lipizzan Federation, the Arabian Horse Association & Missouri Foxtrotting Horse Breed Association
• Formed 2 New International Affiliates - Southern Australia & Western Australia
• See all our accomplishments [… Read More Here …]

Karen Homer Brown, Chairwoman of the WDAA Rules and Education Committee, led several sessions focusing on rule changes and new rules. This is the final step of the rule-change process that WDAA created to implement input from members, State Affiliates and breed Alliance partners. The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) provided general rule-change proposals for input and review.

When will the 2014 Western Dressage Rules be available?

The USEF rules for the new competition year take effect on December 1, 2013.  The new rules for Western Dressage will be available as soon as they are approved by USEF; as a Recognized National Affiliate, we make our own rules but the Board of USEF has to formally vote to adopt them.  Additionally, there are a large number of changes and additions to the USEF General Rules that are being made to incorporate Western Dressage into the rule book.  It has been a huge job for Karen and her committee to undertake and we have had wonderful support from USEF.

Karen also went over the judge's education and testing program and reviewed the equipment booklet that is being prepared to assist stewards, technical delegates and others.

Gil Merrick, newly elected WDAA Executive Board Member, and Bob Harb, Board Convention Chairman, gave excellent presentations focused on leadership and affiliate development. Ellen DiBella, WDAA Board Secretary, spoke about the positive impact of USEF recognition and the opportunities for affiliates for interaction with local breed clubs. Frances Carbonnel and Cliff Swanson, Advisory Board members from the very successful Train the Trainers™ educational program were on hand to talk about that program, riding tests and equitation.

There was plenty of opportunity for attendees to share ideas, successes & mistakes and to brag. Everyone had the chance to meet WDAA staff and board members and to ask questions. It was a very full two days with lots of hard work; the shared enthusiasm for this wonderful new discipline of Western Dressage made the work a pleasure. Everyone left ready for the next part of our journey.

About the WDAA: 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. To discover more about the WDAA and Western Dressage, please visit www.westerndressageassociation.org.