What is your committee’s mission?
To strengthen and support the current USDF membership base, while promoting USDF membership to all dressage enthusiasts.
How long have you been on this committee?
Over 12 years
How long have you been the committee chair?
2 years
How did you get involved in the sport of dressage?
Luckily started my preteen years in Michigan with Violet Hopkins. Also had the opportunity to train with Major Anders Lindgren when he came to California.
How did you get involved with USDF?
Through my GMO that was a founding member of USDF. One of the California Dressage Society members was the first USDF President, so our GMO was closely involved with everything when USDF was forming.
How did you get involved in the committee?
My GMO encouraged me to get involved since I am very active in my GMO and connect with so many members through the GMO’s central office that I run for them.
What is your favorite part of being involved with this committee?
Meeting and working with people across the country. It is fascinating to hear all the differences and then all the similarities we all share. Always good problem solving possibilities.
What unique qualifications made you an expert in the committee’s area?
I manage the Central Office for the California Dressage Society. I communicate with 3,000 members on all topics of membership, clinics, competing, and awards.
What has been your committee’s greatest accomplishment, or what do you hope to accomplish during your tenure?
We are focused on mostly research and surveys to discover what members value most about USDF so we can help the Executive Board make good decisions based on that feedback from the members.
Please share a little bit about yourself and your background.
I was born in Lincoln NE, birthplace of USDF. My parents actually rented horses from Lowell Boomer when attending the University of Nebraska! We moved to Michigan where I trained with Violet Hopkins and then moved on to California to train with Sandy Howard and Major Anders Lindgren. I went to Art Center College of Design in southern California but moved to central California when I married my husband. It was there I got involved with the local dressage chapter of the California Dressage Society and then started volunteering at dressage shows as a scribe. I have even scribed at the World Cup.
Do you currently compete in dressage, or have you competed in the past?
I have ridden horses since I was 2. I have competed six horses in dressage over the last 40 years, Training Level to Grand Prix. I received my USDF Gold Medal in 2016.
Please share a favorite dressage-related memory.
They are all my favorite memories. Volunteering, showing, and clinics.
What horse impacted your love for the sport the most?
All of my horses have taught me so much but my current horse allowed me to bring him from 4 years old to Grand Prix and that was something I thought I could only dream of. One of my earliest loves that has stayed with me forever was watching Reiner Klimke and Alherich at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
