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Wednesday, January 9, 2008

USEF Dressage Proposed Rule Change Dominates Internet Discussions

Leading up to this week’s USEF Annual Convention, supporters and opponents of the USEF proposed rule change have flooded both USEF and USDF officials with emails, as well as posting their views on equestrian blogs and discussion boards. Abigail Cook, USEF Legislative Coordinator who accepts and distributes comments, said yesterday 275-07 “has received more feedback from the membership than any rule change I’ve been involved with.” She is still accepting comments at acook@usef.org, but will have limited email access during the annual convention.

Both supporters and proponents have voiced their views, with opponents appearing to outnumber supporters. Comments by proponents of the proposed rule change have indicated their support of the concept. Said one bulletin board contributor, “I think this is a GREAT IDEA!!!! I love it and think this should have been done a million years ago!”  Another supporter wrote, “To me this rule is about trying to get more attention to correct training basics needed to show at the medium levels. It is about preventing trick riding.”  Someone else notes, “That committee seems to be some very well respected folks.  I would imagine they have the best interests of dressage at heart – and want to do what will be the best for dressage as a whole in this country.”

Opponents have a number of concerns, not least of which is the idea that riders would not have the right to make their own decisions regarding what level to compete. Opposition to the proposed rule change has come from some rather large segments of the dressage community, including the leaders of some USDF Group Member Organizations. In a letter to the USEF Dressage Committee, the California Dressage Society’s executive board stated that it “would like to go on record opposing the USEF Proposed Performance Standards Rule Change for Dressage.” The Potomac Valley Dressage Association, also sent a letter of opposition. 

Marne Martin-Tucker, PVDA President, says, “I am concerned with the lack of transparency on the proposal”.  She further notes “Our GMO members seem to feel that at the USDF levels, the goal should be inclusion and education for largely amateur riders, many of which also show with non-warmblood horses, not perpetuating performance standards and perceived elitist attitudes”. Martin-Tucker also feels that “by establishing a performance standard that sets too high of a bar, I think USEF would do a great disservice to its own self interest and ours as a GMO by seeming to counter increased levels of participation and ground level support for dressage as we experience it on a day to day basis in our GMO.”
 
Opponents also argue that much of the discussion this past year has occurred behind closed doors. As Davenport herself said, “The committee is organized, hard working and well intentioned. They also are guilty of meeting behind closed doors far more than they should and, in my opinion, they do not sufficiently represent all segments of the dressage community.”
Charges of closed-door decisions have been denied by the USEF Dressage Committee and supporters of the proposed rule change and they argue that some sort of qualification system has been under discussion for some time.

For their part, supporters and Dressage Committee members note that this proposal has been under discussion for more than a year. And indeed, it was known about well over a year ago. In an editorial published in the California Dressage Society’s newsletter Dressage Letters, Connie Davenport, who also opposes the rule change, wrote that “CDS did have warning that this proposal was coming. Last year, after the USEF Convention, I reported in Dressage Letters that the United States Equestrian Dressage Committee was working on this proposal. I also reported ‘the Dressage Committee seems intent on working out the mechanics so that the Rule Change proposal, when presented, will not be controversial.’”

At this point, only one thing is certain – this week’s USEF Annual Convention is sure to be interesting.

Rebecca Yount contributed to this article.