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!
USDF GMO Established: 1974
Locality: USDF Region 3, Georgia
Website: www.gdcta.org
How many members does your GMO have annually, on average?
750
Tell us about your GMO.
Georgia Dressage and Combined Training Association (GDCTA) is one of the most dynamic equestrian organizations in the region, offering a year-round slate of dressage and eventing activities. Regardless of discipline, GDCTA seeks to inspire and empower our most curious and passionate equestrians.
Does your GMO offer unique classes or activities that cater to youth, adult amateurs, or professionals? If so, please provide a brief description.
GDCTA strongly believes the future success of the industry is in the hands of our youth. We offer youth programs to educate and introduce our young riders to the diversity of horses and equine disciplines. A few of our youth events include:
- Dressage Seat Equitation- 13 & under and 14 & up
- Youth Festival including Lendon Gray’s D4K program
- Letterman Jacket Program
- Youth Scholarships for training, travel and more
- Collegiate Best Score Awards in Dressage and Eventing
What type of educational events does your GMO offer?
We offer education, competition, awards, grants, and fun!
- Clinics: dressage, eventing, and scribing, as well as USDF programs such as judging education and adult clinics.
- Shows: There are 3 USEF-licensed/USDF-recognized shows scheduled annually, plus the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 3 Championships when awarded to GDCTA. In addition, GDCTA hosts the Summer Finals Schooling Show where the Dressage Seat Equitation and Lisa Seger Insurance Adult Amateur Medal championship classes are held.
- In celebration of our year-end award winners, there’s an annual awards gala. More than a banquet, the Awards Gala is a cocktail and dinner party to beat all parties with hundreds of silent auction items, a Barn Basket Raffle and competition, games, and dancing, oh, and AWARDS many, many awards! The Awards Program is restricted to those members who have signed up, but all members and their people are invited to the Awards Gala and about 450 show up to support their trainers, students, friends, and family, as well as to support the cause or to congregate with other members whom they may only see once a year. The Awards Gala helps support the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.
- Members-only programs:
- The low-cost Kudzu Klinics are scheduled with various topics with some mounted and others unmounted,
- The Summer Finals Dressage Seat Equitation and Lisa Seger Adult Amateur Medal Championship classes
- Year-end Awards
What type of “fun” events does your GMO offer?
We are proud of all these activities and programs, but we don’t sit on our laurels. We are always looking for new ways to engage our members. Our recent venture into hosting a multi-clinician dressage symposium was most thrilling! The next one is scheduled for November, featuring Anne Gribbons and Charlotte Bredahl-Baker. The richness of the resources that these world-class trainers have gathered through their vast experiences is beyond measure. The instruction will close the gap in the audience’s ability to grasp something, or speed up what they’re already on track to see. We can’t wait!
Additional Comments:
In addition to being a great way to get plugged into the local dressage and eventing community, becoming a GDCTA member is one way to find and begin to build meaningful riding associations. On any given weekend, you will find GDCTA members providing educational opportunities, organizational assistance and volunteer support, while encouraging new event organizers, new riders, and cheering on competitors.
