This August, we are celebrating youth riders on YourDressage!
From features on remarkable young dressage enthusiasts across the country, to articles about some of the opportunities USDF offers to youth, we want to hear from the future of our sport!
Here, a USDF Youth Convention Scholarship recipient shares what kickstarted her passion and how she’s dedicated her time to creating more opportunities for youth in dressage.
By Katie Staib
The future of dressage is in each and every one of our hands. Whether you have been in the industry for the last 30 years, are an aspiring professional, or an adult amateur, your contribution to the community matters. As a recipient of the 2024 USDF Youth Convention Scholarship, I was fortunate enough to meet the hard-working and dedicated members behind the governance and success of the sport.
From the start of my dressage journey, I have always been passionate about giving back to the community that has given me so much. After volunteering and competing in many local schooling shows, I became interested in show management and the roles within our local Group Membership Organization (GMO). I recognized how much time and dedication the adult amateurs of our organization put into creating opportunities for us as youth riders, and realized that the future of dressage lies within the youth of today.
This inspired me to propose and run the first-ever completely youth-run show. In 2021, I founded and served as show manager for the now annual Lehigh Valley Dressage Association’s Decades of Dressage Show. After managing the show for three years, and earning the USDF Most Creative GMO Sponsored Program Award in 2021, I decided it was time to pass it on to the next driven youth member(s). It is this very same passion that inspired me to get involved in the governance of the sport and attend the 2024 Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention.
Not only did I get the chance to participate and represent the youth of USDF, but I also learned a great deal from many elite professionals through various educational seminars. From learning about Equine Degenerative Joint Disease to rider biomechanics, virtual teaching tools, training the flying changes with Lilo Fore, and experiencing the technologies of judge education with Janet Foy and Mike Osinski, my time in Houston was incredibly educational. While guest speakers offered a great amount of expertise and knowledge to those listening, every member of the audience contributed valuable experience, ideas, and insights to one another. The nature of the convention allows for a great deal of networking, problem-solving, and collaboration among members of the dressage community that may not occur otherwise.
Each session held its own specific purpose of education, organization, and/or decision-making. Being passionate about the future of the industry through my own newly launched web platform, the Equine Professionals Club, I prioritized attending one of the final sessions with Eliza Sydnor Romm, Reese Koffler-Stanfield, and George Williams. Eliza’s analytical presentation provided an eye-opening view of the current difficulties within the industry. Although data showed that challenges are ever-present and changes are needed, I believe the future of dressage remains bright due to the commitment and dedication of its members, who attend annual conventions such as this. By attending as a youth, I was able to play a part in furthering the sport not only in the present but for the professionals of the future.
One of the greatest benefits of the Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention is the opportunity to brainstorm, discuss, and share one’s ideas with others. The collaboration among members from all over the country was truly inspiring, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to experience such a supportive environment of individuals who care about the future of dressage as much as I do.
