USDF’s immediate past president steps down after several noteworthy accomplishments come to fruition
By George Williams, USDF Immediate Past President
Reprinted from the March/April 2025 issue of USDF Connection magazine.
Going into the 2024 Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention, the USDF tried something new because there simply is a lot that gets compressed into the four-day event agenda.
Traditionally, the first of the two USDF Executive Board meetings held during convention takes place on Wednesday, as are the closed USDF council meetings and those of the USDF Judges Committee and the L program faculty. The USDF staff has worked hard to eliminate scheduling conflicts between governance meetings and educational sessions held during the convention. The down side of this approach is that it leaves little time for each of USDF’s 15 committees to hold its own in-person meeting during the convention.
To address this issue, and in an effort to find ways to better enable USDF members to become involved with committees and to learn about their work, each committee held a pre-convention Zoom meeting, a portion of which was open to all USDF members. I see this as a great opportunity for all USDF members who want to ask questions, offer suggestions, or just learn more about any of the committees. The Zoom meetings were well received, and the plan is to hold them again prior to this year’s convention in Lexington, Kentucky.
Participation and the next generation.
Each year as we go into the convention, the Executive Board receives updated USDF statistics: membership numbers, GMO membership numbers, number of rides down the center line, horse registrations—numbers that give us an overall view of the interest and participation in dressage in this country. While they may not be as robust as we’d like, membership numbers have been relatively stable over the last five years. Considering the growing cost of owning horses, the dwindling number of boarding stables, the lack of availability of or access to entry-level riding schools in most parts of the country, the declining number of youth participating in all sports in general, and a whole host of other challenges, this statistic is perhaps to be expected. In fact, the US Department of Health and Human Services has identified many barriers that keep kids from playing sports. At the top of its list are several that will sound familiar to the equestrian community:
- Lack of access to facilities or programs
- Cost
- Social pressure
- Time constraints
- Lack of interest or knowledge.
We in the US are not alone in this problem. Other countries are experiencing similar issues. The challenges are certainly there, and we must work together to address the ones we can. Ultimately, I believe the USDF is in a good place to tackle some of them.
Educational developments.
One way is through the educational initiatives that the USDF has embarked on in recent years. At the 2023 convention, the USDF and The Dressage Foundation announced the Walter and Mary Anne McPhail Judging Education Initiative. As part of his initiative, at the 2024 convention in Houston attendees were able to participate in an open session during which they actively learned about judging and had a chance to try their hand at it. The Judging Education Initiative includes offering opportunities for all USDF members, both judges and non-judges, to learn more about dressage judging.
A second significant initiative is coming out of the USDF Instructor/Trainer Development Program Committee: the Dressage Development Seminars and the Professional Development Program. The Development Seminars provide opportunities for all USDF members, including adult amateurs. They are part of the relatively recent reimagining of the USDF Instructor Trainer Development Program, which includes USDF instructor certification.
The Professional Development Program was launched as a pilot program in 2023. Three programs were offered in 2024, in Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Connecticut. The USDF Education Department has expanded its staff and is continually providing more online educational content as well as offering more webinars. Personally, I see education as an important part of addressing the challenges we face as a dressage community.
Governance happenings.
In other business, the USDF Executive Board reviewed the recommendations from the USDF Rules Advisory Working Group regarding rule change proposals going forward to US Equestrian (USEF). Some of the rule changes were proposed by USEF, and others were submitted by individual USEF members. The Executive Board’s opinion on whether a proposed rule change should be approved or disapproved, along with comments, are then shared with the USEF.
During its Wednesday meeting at the convention, the Executive Board approved two Memorandums of Understanding with the charitable organization The Dressage Foundation (TDF). The first MOU simply memorialized the long-established relationship between the two organizations. The second MOU established a new USDF Education Fund within TDF.
USDF establishes new GMO category.
The USDF Board of Governors approved an addition to the USDF bylaws (Section 2, Article V, regarding USDF group-member organizations), which creates a new category of GMO called a limited group-member organization, for those clubs that do not meet the 25-member requirement for regular GMO status. It was the feeling of the Executive Board that we wanted to be able to keep in the USDF family those GMOs that may have slipped temporarily below the minimum threshold.
USDF becomes para-dressage affiliate.
There is no doubt that the biggest news from the Houston convention was the Board of Governors’ approval, as the final step in the process, of the USDF’s becoming the USEF recognized affiliate for the para-dressage discipline. I think this will be a big step forward for para-dressage on the local, regional, and national levels.
As this was my last convention as president of this fabulous organization, I want to take a moment to reflect on what a unique organization the USDF truly is. What perhaps some people don’t appreciate about the USDF is that it is governed by volunteers through the Board of Governors. The spirit, energy, dedication, and enthusiasm of the volunteers can be felt throughout the organization, from the BOG, to the Executive Board, to the committees and working groups. I have to say that the same spirit and dedication is matched by the USDF staff. I feel very honored to have been a part of it and will continue to support it in any way I can.
