Group Member Organizations (GMOs) are the foundation of USDF and integral in bringing dressage and dressage education to the masses. Stay connected with your local dressage community and support dressage at the local level by joining a GMO in your area today! Tell us
USDF GMO Established: 2003
Locality: Region 9, Texas
Website: http://ctdsdressage.org/
How many members does your GMO have annually, on average? 175 members
Tell us about your GMO. Central Texas Dressage Society (CTDS) has been active for over 25 years in Austin, Texas, and surrounding communities. We are very happy to say that we currently have founding members actively supporting the club. As with all membership driven organizations, we have had our ups and downs. Our current board has worked hard to pull CTDS in to the technology age and maintain the highest number of members in the history of the club. We were the first in our region to offer online entries and credit card payments for all our events.
CTDS host ten schooling shows, a free member clinic, a symposium, and two clinics with well-known clinicians, an annual tack swap, our annual banquet, and new for 2018, CTDS will host an L Program.
Does your GMO offer unique classes or activities that cater to youth, adult amateurs, or professionals? If so, please provide a brief description. We have added leadline classes (walk only or walk/ trot) for our younger, inexperienced riders. We also offer, at our schooling shows, all of the eventing dressage tests, western dressage, and Dressage Seat Equitation for AA and open division. CTDS offers a test caller program at all of our schooling shows. Funds raised by the program go to our scholarship program. New for 2018 will be our dressage jackpot class.
Every year CTDS offers a $500 scholarship to three members (AA, Open, and Junior) to use at any event we host.
What type of educational events does your GMO offer? CTDS offers a free, member-only annual clinic. A qualified professional CTDS member donates a day of their time to instruct our AA/Jr members. CTDS also sponsors an annual symposium, with a well-known clinician, such as Anne Gribbons, Betsy Steiner, Kay Meridith, and Sarah Gieke. In conjunction with the CTDS rated shows, we host a clinic with the judge, on the following day, to get immediate feedback. We have been very fortunate to get input from Thomas Poulin, Anne Gribbons, Lilo Fore, and Dr. Chopra.
This year, for the first time, CTDS will be hosting L Program sessions.
What type of “fun” events does your GMO offer? CTDS does a tack swap in the summer, holds working equitation clinics hosted by local working equitation instructors, and has an annual year end banquet, with a silent auction.
Additional Comments: The board members of CTDS are continually exploring opportunities to keep our members involved, make available educational opportunities, and enjoy their dressage four legged partners. CTDS is always aware that many of our members are on a shoe string budget, and routinely subsidize a portion of clinic cost, to make entry fees more affordable for all our members.
CTDS is very active on social media, we have approximately 2,000 members in our FB group. Our CTDS Facebook friends share dressage related educational articles, events, and tack/horses for sale.
