Dear USEF Members,

Congratulations to all our members on your accomplishments in 2016, and special congratulations to our Olympic Teams. The United States was one of only two countries to medal in all three equestrian disciplines. Thank you to all the owners, coaches, riders, grooms, support staff, and organizations who assisted in making all your achievements possible.

As our year comes to a close, we thank you for your support of and involvement in US Equestrian and provide you with this brief update. Many of you assisted our staff with testing and implementing numerous new services and benefits to better serve our membership. Many others completed surveys to give us your feedback on numerous topics. Your willingness to be involved in this work has resulted in a much better user experience and ultimately better products.

Our Annual Meeting is just around the corner and the format is evolving into a more interactive and information-based meeting. Current President Chrystine Tauber will provide highlights in a recap of the past year, President-Elect Murray Kessler will present the full version of our Strategic Plan approved by the Board of Directors at their June Mid-Year Meeting, and senior staff will present their implementation plans for the Strategic Plan. Many of the strategic goals have already been achieved, including major marketing initiatives designed to grow our sport. We are pleased to share these with you, plus what comes next, at our Annual Meeting. In addition to general sessions, there will be open meetings of our Councils and Committees, educational presentations on Concussion Safety and Horse Welfare, as well as our 100th Anniversary Celebration, Pegasus Awards Gala, and Horse of the Year Awards Gala and After Party.

We are starting the normal repopulating processes for numerous US Equestrian Committees and Task Forces that occur every four years. As is typical during a transition in leadership, our current and incoming Presidents are working together on the repopulating process. We greatly appreciate the service of our volunteers and their commitment to our organization and sport.

In the area of competitions, our licensing processes are on target and licensing is up to date. The Competition Dashboard continues to prove to be a valuable asset to both organizers and staff. Our Compliance Department has started the competition evaluation process and we are pleased to report that organizers are making the necessary adjustments to their competitions and facilities as a result of our evaluations. Our Regulation Department has amended the tone and approach of communications with members regarding alleged rule violations, and the Hearing Committee has implemented use of the Drugs and Medications penalty guidelines approved by the Board of Directors. We continue to study the reorganization of our Licensed Officials processes and will report on our next steps during the Annual Meeting. Our Affiliate and USEF Committees have been instrumental in providing feedback on the current licensing processes and ideas for efficiency, clarity, and effectiveness going forward.

The NAJYRC plans for 2017 have sparked a tremendous amount of important discussion in the disciplines involved in this event. We have attended the annual meetings of our dressage (USDF), eventing (USEA), and jumping (USHJA) affiliates, where robust discussions have focused on how NAJYRC best fits into each discipline. These discussions have yielded significant feedback identifying many new opportunities for this event.

The Governance Committee was created earlier this year and has done a great job of reviewing all of our policies and procedures. Their work includes the updating of existing policies and procedures and the development of new ones. We will continue the analysis of each function of US Equestrian started earlier this year, and rest assured, the decisions made by volunteer and staff leadership are being done based on careful analysis, review of relevant materials, and in accordance with our policies and procedures.

A tremendous amount of progress has been made over the past year in our efforts to provide a more customer service-based organization. I encourage you to join us at our Annual Meeting in Lexington, Kentucky, January 11-14, 2017, for a full presentation on our efforts and the launch of the "new" US Equestrian.

Best wishes of the Season to you and your families, and we wish you a successful equestrian New Year.

Sincerely,
Bill Moroney