Spotlight on NODA’s Treasurer, Dee Liebenthal

By Patty Keim

This article received first place in the 2024 GMO Newsletter Awards for general interest articles for GMOs with 175-499 members. It appeared in the 2024 Issue 3 Northern Ohio Dressage Association newsletter, NODA News.

Dee Liebenthal has been a member of NODA since 1999 and she currently holds the position of Treasurer which is a Board of Directors position. She has been on the Board for approximately 23 years serving in the roles of President, Vice President, and Education Chair. She has served as NODA’s Treasure for 13 years. WOW!

When I asked Dee to tell me about her “horse journey” and how that led to dressage, Dee shared this history with me. “I didn’t grow up riding or being involved with horses. I took it up when I was an adult and my then, 12-year-old daughter wanted to learn to ride. We purchased an Appaloosa named Eagle for $400 in 1977. After that there were horses in our lives until the girls grew up and went off to college.

Over the 80s and 90s I took occasional lessons, went trail riding and for a couple of years exercised some Polo Ponies. I was introduced to Dressage in the early 1980’s when we lived in Western PA. It was very new to our area and not many equestrians had heard of it.

My first personal horse was a three (3) year old Arabian Mare named Amber Gem. I absolutely could not ride her, but I loved her to death. I sent her to a professional for training and then sold her to someone who knew how to ride.

I didn’t own another horse until I started taking lessons with Dale Lappert in the late 1990s. She led me to a young TB/Quarter horse gelding that suited my limited budget and was considered safe for an AA with little experience. I named him Endeavor. He was very green with a calm personality, but I still was not much of a rider and certainly not a trainer. It also turned out he was better suited for jumping.

Owning a couple of young horses didn’t teach me much of a lesson. In 2002 Sherman came into my life. Another 3-year-old, he didn’t have a lot of training but because of a very limited budget, and the fact that it was love at first sight, I brought him home. He was perfect for me and low-er-level dressage. He was a handsome TB Clydesdale cross and very laid back. I was able to have fun learning and showing him at Schooling Shows. Today Sherman enjoys life, retired at my oldest daughter’s small farm in Rootstown.

In 2010 with the help of Janeen Grava, Rens made his entrance into my life. I could finally afford a dressage horse that was experienced from a life of good training and show ex-perience. He was almost 11 and I learned so much with help and lessons from Janeen and Anne McClintock. He is such a special guy. He has been there not just for me but also for others along the way. He is retired at my youngest daughter’s farm and continues to contribute in many ways.”

I next asked Dee how she found her way into the NODA organization and into the role of Treasurer: “Around 1999 I started taking lessons from Dale Lappert at Riverdale Farm. I had sold my Arabian Mare as I clearly was not ac-complished enough to ride her. Dale was President of NODA at that time and she decided I should fill the role of Treasurer. I thought it was a ridiculous idea, as I had just joined the organization. The only thing I could offer was experience in accounting. To this day, I don’t know how it happened. I soon realized how much better edu-cated I would have been about horses and riding if access to educational opportunities offered by organizations such as NODA had been available to me. As my involvement with NODA continued, I only became more convinced of the importance of supporting NODA and its mission.”

I wanted to know why Dee has stayed involved and in-vested in NODA for so many years and her answer was simply this. “I think it is important for me to continue to actively support the educational benefits NODA brings to those interested in and participating in Dressage. It also helps me stay busy now that I have retired from my full-time job. Being an active NODA member comes with an entire group of wonderful like-minded people. I love all the people I have met and built relationships with over these many years. So many of my friends are in the horse community.”

I wanted to know exactly what is involved in the Treasurer position on the NODA board. Dee said that she manages the finances which includes paying the bills, making deposits, balancing the checking account, financial reporting, taxes, board & committee meetings, non-profit status, insurance and all things accounting brings to any organization.

Dee shared her favorite part of the job is the data, spread sheets and reports. She also enjoys the interactions with NODA members and all the friends she has made over the years. Dee said that while NODA is not as important as saving the planet, it does help educate riders and that is VERY important to the welfare of the horse. She just loves knowing that she is supporting the mission of NODA.

And finally, I asked Dee why she felt it was so important to find someone to shadow the Treasurer job and learn about her responsibilities. Dee shared, “I think it is very important to make sure NODA has someone other than the Treasurer educated in the financial functioning of the organization. All board positions are important. Some positions, however, like that of the treasurer, have a lot of processes, data and outside contacts that are needed to keep it running. That functioning shouldn’t be interrupted if the Treasurer is unavailable. I feel it necessary that we plan for the future.”