New Award From CDS

I've written about my USDF Group Member Organization (GMO) at least 5,000 times already. The California Dressage Society (CDS) really and truly cares about its membership and is always looking for new ways to motivate riders and reward their efforts. Last week, CDS launched a freshly re-designed website AND a new award.

Last year's awards from the CDS Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC)

As of now, the list of CDS awards that riders can already earn include:

• An engraved plate which gets added to a large plaque (I have 6 so far)
• The Gem Awards (I just submitted my application for the Ruby Award)
• The Pony Award (Speedy's too tall)
• The Sport Horse Award (not really my thing)

Now, CDS has introduced the Horse Performance Award which is similar to the award USDF offers.

Facebook photo

Horses may earn the award at Training through Grand Prix. In order to earn the award, the horse must earn 6 scores of 60% or better at Training through Fourth Level. The horse needs 3 scores of 60% or higher for Prix St Georges, Intermediate, or Grand Prix. Of course there is also the requirement that the rider must be a CDS member in good standing, and the horse must be registered with CDS ($10 annually or $100 lifetime). 

Because the award is being announced so late in the season, scores earned earlier this year will count as long as the horse is registered with CDS. I dropped my registration in the mail yesterday. Speedy has five qualifying scores at Second Level already. He just needs one more. I am hopeful that we'll get it this weekend.

Speedy's "Plates" - we'll get our first plate from Second Level when the season is over.

The awards that CDS and USDF offer are a big deal for me. I don't care about ribbons, but I do need something to aim for; it keeps me focused. We might not be earning high scores this season, but we're meeting goals and checking off boxes. I don't know if Speedy needs the proverbial dangling carrot, but I sure do.