Category: Championships

Qualifying

8/21/2018

I live in USDF Region 7 whose states include California, Nevada, and Hawaii. Nevada doesn't have a Group Member Organization, Hawaii has three, and California has two - the California Dressage Society (CDS) and the Dressage Association of Southern California (DASC). To give you some idea of how big CDS is, I added up the membership from the three Hawaiian chapters and DASC. Together they total 156 members. In contrast, CDS has 3,196 recorded members.

Region 7's Group Member Organizations

The USDF Region 7 Championship is always held in conjunction with the CDS Championship. Every other year the location of the championship changes; one year it's held in Northern California and in the alternating year it's held in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank. Speedy and I competed in the CDS Horse of the Year (HOY) Championship classes in 2014.

For adult amateurs to qualify for CDS HOY at Second Level, the horse and rider team needs 5 scores of 61% or better (any test) from 4 different judges. Each year, whether I intend to go or not, I make it my goal to qualify.

Qualifying in 2018

As of July 31, only 20 riders have qualified for the CDS Championship show at Second Level. I am really proud to have made that list in our first year at Second Level. Additionally, our win at RAAC gives us a "bye" - an automatic qualification for the Championship show.

Go, Speedy G!

Besides being thrilled to have qualified, I was equally excited to see that most of the Bakersfield dressage riders also qualified! We're a pretty small group of ladies, so to see Bakersfield so well represented is something worth cheering for. In total, six Bakersfield riders, including one junior, qualified for the CDS Championships.

The championship show is pretty expensive, and I already spent a lot going to RAAC, so I don't think the championship show is in the cards for us this year. I am happy enough just to have qualified - twice!

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CDS Championship Show

2/22/2018

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With more than 2,300 on its roster, CDS's membership makes up a hunk of USDF's membership. When the California Dressage Society makes big changes, they get noticed. A few weeks ago, I wrote about some changes that the CDS Board had made to the annual championship show. Those changes riled up enough of the membership that the CDS Executive Board held a meeting on February 7 and amended several of the changes.

From the 2014 Championship Show.

Talk about democracy in action. The people spoke, their elected leaders listened. Here's a link to the survey results. While I wasn't upset by any of the changes, a lot of other people were. In the end, a few things remained the same:

1) CDS will not apply to host the USDF Breeders Championships West Coast Final. Not enough people seemed to care about that.

2) The CDS 4, 5, and 6 year old futurity classes will still be combined with Open and Adult Amateurs competing together with a concurrent Adult Amateur Futurity Challenge division. Again, this one didn't cause much of a fuss.

From one of our rides.

3) Horse of the Year (HOY) Classes will once again consist of a warm up ride and two HOY classes with two judges for Adult Amateurs and Juniors. Open riders will also get a warm up ride but they will only get one HOY class with two judges. Apparently the Open riders were split on whether to have two HOY classes or not. The Adult Amateurs were firm on the three ride format.

4) The increase in prize money was deleted. Prize money wasn't as important as the board thought.

5) Qualifying scores for freestyles will still be bumped up from 62% to 64%. I guess the people were okay with that.

6) The added $25 nominating fee for CDS and JR/YR Championships will now only apply to horse and rider teams participating in the CDS Championship show, and those fees will be used to fund the show. I always thought that sounded fair. I guess everyone else saw the logic as well.

So there you have it. Modifications will be made to the Championship Show, but it sounds as though they are being applied in a way that will keep a lot more riders happy, particularly the adult amateurs. And really, I think that's a good thing as we write more checks than anyone else.

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USDF's Group Member Organizations

12/28/2015

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Or, GMOs for short. I've written about this topic before, but the more people I get to know around the country, the more interested I am in learning about their GMOs.

If you want to know more about the various GMOs, USDF has a handy little feature that lets you look at the list of GMOs grouped by region. First, you need to know your region:

USDF Regions - 10 is international

When you know which region you want to look up, click the link here. It's an easy page to navigate. Find your region listed, and select. All of the GMOs in that region will be listed along with the GMO's USDF number - this isn't the number of members. Here is Region 7's list of GMO's.

Huge area ... few GMOs

If you then select a particular Club Name, like the California Dressage Society, you'll be taken to a page that lists the contact information, the group's website, and the full roster. Here's the page for CDS:

My name comes waaaaay down on the list.

The California Dressage Society's USDF number is 700 with a roster of 1297 recorded members. Central Office's mailing address is shown along with the website. Contact information is also listed. I believe that Pauls's position is a paid one, so I can always reach her when I have a question. She is also very quick to return emails.

The California Dressage Society operates like a mini-USDF. Because of the huge area it covers and its sheer number of members, CDS is divided into thirty-three chapters, similar to GMOs. Each of the chapters operates independently of one another, based on what its members want and are willing to do.

I belong to the Tehachapi Mountain Chapter (TEH).

My own chapter puts on four, CDS-rated shows each summer. They offer cash prizes for Open, AA, and Jr./YR class winners and over-all hight point winners, again divided by division. The chapter also hosts an annual awards banquet where additional year-end ribbons and cash prizes are awarded. Other, larger chapters host clinics, schooling shows, lectures, demonstrations, and so on.

Like USDF, CDS offers rider incentives for earning certain scores and recognizes various levels of achievement. The new Gem Rider Award is one of those, along with Rosettes and other awards. CDS's Championship Show is held in conjunction with the USDF Region 7 Championship Show. Each year, CDS also holds an annual 3-day meeting and symposium for its members.

I have a feeling that for many of California's dressage riders, the member benefits that CDS and its chapters offer are more accessible and user-friendly than what USDF offers. I am sure that CDS is always working to grow its membership, but compared to most GMOs, it's already a colossal organization.

I would love to know more about your own GMO.

Which GMO do you belong to?
How many members does it have? Are there chapters?
Does your GMO offer year end awards, rider incentives, or a championship show?

Big or little, GMOs can be a great place to either get started in the sport of dressage, or they can keep you motivated. What's yours like?

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Championship - Horse of the Year, Test B

10/4/2014

13 Comments

Thankfully, my final test of the show came bright and early on Sunday morning. The day dawned cloudy and cooler, which was a relief as it had been extremely hot all week. In fact, as I was saddling, there was a down pour of rain - typical for all you on the east coast, but for us, it was a rare (and mostly) welcome sight.

My warm-up for the final test went really well. Chemaine coached me through my ride, encouraging me to get Speedy deeper and moving out with a better stride. He was a bit stiff and really wanted to be heavy in my hands, so Chemaine had me do a lot of bending and suppling of his neck.

Surprisingly, I felt really relaxed and wasn't worried about Speedy's stiffness. He was either going to let go and relax, or he wasn't. I was looking forward to the ride and was anxious to get out there and give it another try.

The test rode in nearly slow motion. I felt every stride and was very present. At one point, Speedy got really stiff and was bracing against my hand as we approached C, tracking right. All of a sudden I knew what was meant by having soft hands. I relaxed my shoulders and wrists, and Speedy immediately let go through his neck and poll. It was the first time that I've felt how tension in my body makes him tense.

As I gave my final salute, my eyes filled with tears. I was really proud of our effort. I knew we weren't going to place as high as I had wanted (middle of the pack), but I had worked really hard and ridden to the absolute best of my ability. To most people, especially those in full training with more expensive horses, that might not have been enough. For me, for those few moments anyway, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment.

Our averaged score for this second test was a 62.000%. I think it's interesting that all five of my score sheets (one from the warm-up ride, two from the "A" ride, and two from this test) were all in the 62% range. That says something about our consistency and about the consistency within the field of judges.

Overall, we finished the Horse of the Year Training Level Championship class for Adult Amateurs in 16th place out of a field of 18 riders. We were "only" nine percentage points below the winner and a mere four percent from the middle of the pack. I am sure that's what the losers always say, but for me, knowing that I was somewhat close to the rest of the field encouraged me. We don't have that much farther to go.

Click to enlarge

To help me put the whole thing in perspective, a friend, who also competed, said this to me ...

I call it the "Rarefied Air"....many of the horse and rider teams we compete against at these championships are people who ride every day, have very expensive horses that they keep in professional training, and may or may not even need to work for a living. The judging also gets stricter. Just to be there at all is a major accomplishment, so major congratuations to you and your lovely horse! You guys did a great job!

No sour grapes here, just the reality of competing in a bigger fish pond. It's easy to be the big fish at schooling shows and smaller rated-shows. It's only when you venture out into the big leagues that you get to see how you and your horse truly stack up.

There will always be someone better. I think the trick is to recognize your own success and value what you've managed to achieve while still pushing yourself to do more.

Some bloopers and Oh My!(s) tomorrow ...

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Championship - Horse of the Year, Test A

10/3/2014

8 Comments

My first championship ride was not until 4:14 in the afternoon, which meant I had all day to sit and do whatever I wanted. Right away I knew that Speedy needed to hit the trail again. I focused on everything that Chemaine had talked about. I got him deep and round and worked to get him off my inside leg by leg yielding across the trail and by doing a bit of a shoulder fore as we walked around the bridle path of LAEC.

I spent the rest of the day watching rides (there were nearly 1,500 of them) with my friend, Valerie who is an upper level rider and a great resource for tips and feedback. She actually rides a German Riding Pony to great success. We watched quite a few freestyles in the Equidome which was a lot of fun.

Chemaine met me in the warm-up ring. We again worked on getting Speedy deeper and wiling to go forward. Getting the bend with forward is our challenge right now, but we're getting it. Look at the second photo!

Warming up.

More warm-up: I really like this picture (even though there's still a lot to work on). Speedy really looks like he is stretching over his back, and the connection looks elastic.

What made this championship test so interesting, for me as a rider anyway, was that there was not only a C judge, but a judge at E. I know that's par for the course at CDIs, but for this small-town girl, I was impressed. I worried that having a judge at E would distract me, but just like having someone sitting in the box at C, I never even noticed they were there once I did my around the court trot by. I did make sure to thank the judge at E though as I exited the ring; I figured it couldn't hurt!

Here's the test ...

When we finished our final salute, I knew it wasn't a winning ride, but I knew it was the best that I could do. No matter how much better I may want to ride, the reality is that I can only perform as well as I am trained. Speedy isn't going to walk into the ring and start piaffing because he wants to. So while we didn't hit a home run, I know I worked hard and rode to the very best of my ability.

Not bad … he's actually uphill!

At the RAAC, I let myself feel intimidated by the "better" riders, and I let myself get distracted during my final test. That didn't happen at the championship, and no one would have blamed me had that happened. I was really pleased with how focused I kept myself. I didn't make any mistakes, my transitions were on time, and I was riding in the moment every moment. That's the best I can ask of myself.

We're fourth from the bottom.

Part B Test tomorrow ...

8 Comments

Championship - A Day Off

10/2/2014

7 Comments

Watching and absorbing as much as I could was my plan for day 3; I didn't have a ride scheduled. The truth is, there were no bad horse and rider teams at the championship show. Everyone who was there had already shown that they deserved to be there by qualifying earlier in the season, so watching the best of what California had to offer was a lot of fun.

I had made a list, which included ride times and ring numbers, for all of the riders who I knew personally. Hopping from ring to ring to ring kept me busy for the better part of the day. I also held coats and whips, polished boots, and cheered loudly. Sometimes I was the only one cheering which meant I had to cheer even louder!

The daughter (?) of the owners of DG Bar riding a DG Bar horse.

I also managed to use LAEC’s bridle path, which was a highlight of the day. Speedy was a bit of a stinker; he told me quite emphatically that he DID NOT remember being an endurance horse. The trail was too scary, and he wanted to walk RIGHT NEXT TO LEO (said with quite a lot of hoof stamping). It only took a few minutes of my spur jammed into his belly before he suddenly remembered about being a trail horse.

OH! You mean we're just walking and enjoying the day?

Leo and his mom, Amy

The trail encircles LAEC and is an access point to Griffith Park (and the Hollywood sign). Leo’s rider told me that the loop is about 2 miles in length. We rode it once with her, and then we picked up Cola’s rider as we were nearing the gate. Leo and Amy walked back to the barn while Cola and Speedy rode the loop again. We ended up spending about 45 minutes on the trail, which was a great way for Speedy to spend a non-showing day. It’s hard to be cooped up in a stall all day. Our mid-day ride proved to be an excellent way to use up some excess energy.

Donna on Cola (Barb's mare)

Leo the redhead, Speedy in gray, and Cola the brunette - parting ways.

Speedy cam!

Jen, the chair of Ventura CDS, was the ring steward for the Equidome, which is where the BIG classes were held. It was also the staging area for all of the awards ceremonies. At the end of the day, I went up to keep her company and ended up with a small volunteer job myself. Some of the riders hadn’t had time to get their ribbons, which were required to be worn during the awards ceremony. I toted the “dummy” ribbons around to loan out to the riders as they did their victory laps. I even had the pleasure of placing neck and bridle ribbons on Hilda Gurney’s horse.

The Equidome

The day ended at the hospitality tent with fried chicken and potato salad. Jen and I enjoyed our dinner on the patio laughing and sharing trail riding stories. There was a lovely breeze, and the sun slowly set while we enjoyed the evening. Isn’t it funny how food tastes so much better at a horse show?

Still more tomorrow ...

7 Comments

Championship - Warm-Up

10/1/2014

8 Comments

The first day’s rides were either USDF Region 7 Championship rides or CDS warm-up rides. The warm-up rides were just that, a warm up for the CDS Horse of the Year (HOY) Championship classes. The scores counted for USDF Rider Performance Awards, USDF Medals, and so on, but they weren’t used to calculate the HOY.

My ride wasn’t a disaster, but it wasn’t up to the caliber of work that we’ve been putting in over the last few months either. I didn’t necessarily feel tense, but a friend who has only ever seen me at clinics, not shows, noted the difference. I was glad she pointed it out because for my next two rides I focused on relaxing and letting go of the tension.

First half.

My tension comes from a very strong desire to do well. I am not out to beat anyone else per se, I simply want to do better than the last test I rode, wherever it was. And yes, I realize that this is a competition and someone has to be the winner, but honestly, my goals are always about improvement. I would rather be dead last with a 69% than win with a 62%.

Somewhere during the second half of the test, I gave myself a hard shake and tossed my tension out the back window. As I trotted away from the judge down the long side, I laughed out loud and told myself to get over the tension and ride my horse like I knew how to do. I wish I could say that my scores improved dramatically at that moment, and maybe they did go up bit, but there was no miraculous recovery. With that said, it was a steady eddy test with nothing lower than a 6.0, which gave me a final score of 62.500%.

Second half.

Collective Marks

Pink is mine.

At first, I was a little disappointed in the score until I realized that I was competing against the best riders in California at the biggest CDS Championship show ever.

There were seven riders in my warm-up class:

1.     68.750%
2.     67.679%
3.     67.143
4.     66.964%
5.     62.500% (me)
6.     Eliminated
7.     Eliminated

So while a 62.500% isn’t worth a huge celebration, it wasn’t completely out of the playing field either. It was a huge show with a level of activity that we’ve never seen before. I went to bed that night pretty pleased with how we’d done. A score in the low 60s might not get us in the ribbons for HOY, but it was still a solid effort.

Official Results

Continued tomorrow ...

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Championship - First Impressions

9/29/2014

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As I pulled through the impressive front entrance of the Los Angeles Equestrian Center and down the tree-lined thoroughfare, the excitement finally started to build. I finally let myself feel the anticipation of being at such a prestigious event.

To my left were huge banners welcoming the CDS Championship and USDF Region 7 riders. Next came the enormous Equidome with its numerous offices, including LA Saddlery, an onsite tack store. At the end of the road, I was met by the traffic coordinators who directed me to my barn. As soon as I pulled in, Chemaine, my out-of-town trainer and coach, one of her clients, and her assistant, greeted me with big smiles.

Symphony Dressage, Chemaine’s barn, had a great spot with three tack stalls, which meant we all had ample storage space for tack, feed, and the million other things that we brought with us. Chemaine has all the coolest toys, which meant I had a permanent spot for my bridle, saddle, pads, and other stuff. There were also hanging baskets and coat hooks for our show coats. (Click images to enlarge and see captions.)

Once I had everything unloaded and Speedy was tucked into his stall, I went up to the show office to check in. As I turned up the road towards the Equidome, I was met by the site of a small village! The path to the show office was lined with vendors and barns displaying their most elegant show set-ups. More than one trainer’s tent had gurgling fountains and patio furniture that was nicer than what I have at home. The fancier tents had tile floors, wine bars, and Keurigs.

This photo doesn't do the "village" justice.

Seriously.

Right?!

Checking in was easy, and I was thanked for having a perfect entry. On the side table was lemon and cucumber ice water with small treats and snacks for the riders. I was handed my packet, which included a lovely ceramic stall marker verifying that I was indeed a 2014 CDS Championship Qualified Rider.

Inside the packet was a thick schedule of events that also included a small write-up of each rider. There were also tickets to the various hospitality events and a detailed awards schedule. I knew it was going to be a very competitive show, but I held onto the awards schedule … just in case!

Pretty fancy!

Schedule of Events

There we are!

Later that evening, I took a lesson with Chemaine. Normally the lessons that I take with her are more about building my confidence and keeping Speedy happy. This time, Chemaine grabbed the bull by the horns and rocked my little world. She called me on my lack of inside bend and worked on my equitation. She insisted that I get the inside bend quicker and with more authority. Wiggling and jiggling the rein only wags Speedy’s head and doesn’t achieve what I want.

As we warmed up, she had me start by getting Speedy’s neck rounder and lower with lots of half halts. Once he was soft and low, she had me ask for a bigger stride. We rode the bigger stride and then half halted to rebalance, and I asked for bigger again. All the while, she kept at me about getting that inside bend.

We then worked on the canter departure. The trouble I have is that I don’t get enough activity behind which means that Speedy has to hoist himself into the canter. Chemaine had me use the half halt at every corner to get him back a bit on his haunches and help him rebalance. Then, I asked for a bigger, more active trot, and once I had that, I asked for the canter. By the time we were finished, Speedy was looking was pretty darned good.

Surprisingly, I didn’t feel at all intimidated by the quality of horses and riders at the show. This far into my dressage journey, I’ve leaned that there are always going to be better horses than mine, better riders than me, and better horse and rider teams. That doesn’t mean that I don’t wish that I was part of one those better teams, but all I can do is the very best that I can with the horse that I have.

He was a very good boy!

More tomorrow ...

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About the
Writer & Rider

I am a lifetime rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
Welcome to my dressage journey.

Photo by Lori Ovanessian

Email Karen

About Speedy G

Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. We're currently schooling Third Level in preparation for the 2019 show season. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.

August 2018

About Izzy

Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are schooling the dressage basics. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.

March 2019

Bakersfield Dressage approved!

National Awards

USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018
USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015
USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013

State Awards

CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018
CDS Second Level Horse Performance Award - 2018

Ruby Rider Award, 2018

2019 Show Season

Show Rating
(***) CDS/USDF/USEF
(*) CDS
(s) Schooling
(c) Clinic
(t) Ride-a-Test Clinic
(Q) Must Qualify

2019 Pending …

5/11-12/19 - Cavaletti Clinic (c)
5/26/19 - TMC (*)
6/15-16/19 - El Sueno (***)
6/22-23/19 - SCEC (***)
6/23/19 - TMC (*)
7/13-14/19 - El Sueno (***)
7/28/19 - TMC (*)
8/10/19 - RAAC (Q) (***)
8/25/19 - TMC (*)
10/26-27/19 SCEC (***)

2019 Completed …

Qualifying Scores for 2019

Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Scores
Third Level Scores:
Score 1:
Score 2:
Score 3:

CDS Championship Third Level Scores:
Score 1:
Score 2:
Score 3:
Score 4:
Score 5:

Working Towards:

CDS Sapphire Rider Award
Third Level:
Third Level:
Fourth Level:
Fourth Level:

USDF Bronze Medal
First Level - 70.179%
First Level - 72.600%
Second Level - 62.879%
Second Level - 61.970%
Third Level -
Third Level -

Qualifying

CDS Championship Show

USDF's Group Member Organizations

Championship - Horse of the Year, Test B

Championship - Horse of the Year, Test A

Championship - A Day Off

Championship - Warm-Up

Championship - First Impressions

About the
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About Speedy G

About Izzy

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About the Writer & Rider

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