Qualifying

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!