Dressage enthusiasts are always searching for ways to improve their riding and overall horsemanship. The unfortunate truth, however, is that many of us are too busy with daily life to attend every clinic, conference, and competition that comes along. This common struggle is among the reasons USDF began offering the USDF Virtual Education Series. Read on to find out why our Virtual Education Series is growing in popularity and how it can benefit you, your riding, and your horses’ wellbeing.
Anyone, Anywhere, Has Access
To make the educational content offered in the USDF Virtual Education Series accessible to as many interested individuals as possible, USDF offers open registration. That’s right – no membership or fee is required to register for the sessions. We share a registration link on as many platforms as we can to ensure the opportunity reaches everyone, and since the live sessions are online, they can be accessed from anywhere in the world!
Sessions are Recorded and Posted to the USDF Website
Once a Virtual Education Series session is complete, the recording is posted to the USDF website for on demand viewing. Not only is this helpful to those who may have been unavailable during the live session, but also those who were in attendance for the original presentation. They can revisit the content, pause, rewind, and ensure they get the full value out of the sessions.
Presenters Include Top Industry Professionals and Experts
It’s not always possible for dressage riders to access the best of the best in training, riding, and more limited fields of expertise, especially those in remote areas of the country. In an effort to bring high-caliber education to all, USDF seeks professionals and experts on various topics to present the Virtual Education sessions. An example includes the October 2023 session, “The Purpose of the Movements,” presented by USEF ‘S’ Judge and FEI Level 3 Dressage Judge Sarah Geikie and USEF ‘S’ Judge William McMullin, who used their extensive knowledge and experiences to discuss the whys of dressage training and test movements.
USDF University Credit is Available to Members During and After the Sessions
Members in attendance during the live sessions receive USDF University credit automatically for their time and commitment to their dressage education. We also offer the opportunity to earn more credits once the recordings of Virtual Education Series sessions are posted to the USDF website. Watching the videos themselves applies credit toward University transcripts, and each video is accompanied by a quiz, which offers the chance to earn even more credit.
The List of Topics to be Covered is Always Growing
There is no plan to stop producing the USDF Virtual Education Series, which means we are always looking into areas of interest in the world of classical dressage that we can base our next session on. After each session, a survey is sent to attendees asking for their feedback on the subject matter and presentation style. The feedback we receive often leads us to add another few topics and presenters to the list of future sessions!
Be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming USDF Virtual Education Series sessions, and in the meantime, visit the Virtual Education Series page of the USDF website to catch up on the previous sessions! Registration for upcoming installments is also available on the USDF Virtual Education Series web page.
