Dressage Letters May 2020

May 2020 ~ Dressage Letters ~ Page 4 CDS Annual Meeting Freestyle Symposium sponsored by Jennifer Nuckton Carmel Valley Chapter 2019 Report Jennifer Nuckton, Susan Baxter ~ Co-Chairs 2019 was another full year for the Carmel Valley Chapter. We continued several traditional events and added some new ones as well. The Board is very actively involved in chapter events and in fulfilling our mission to provide educational and social activities with the focus on dressage. We’ve held steady at almost 90 members. We’ve continued to enjoy including members from the Gavilan and Santa Cruz Chapters in our events and it is fun getting to know them better. In January three members of the Carmel Valley Chapter attended the annual meeting and symposium near Disneyland. It was exciting to share with other chapters the energy we are creating in Carmel Valley. Our chapter baskets brought in $1,125. Also in January we had our “Post Holiday Party” with Joan Williams coming to present the New Tests. We also had “Top Hat Trivia” where several members told stories about their now retired top hats. It was a lot of fun. In March the chapter held our Annual Tack Swap in conjunction with the Equine Educational Alliance Schooling Show at the Carmel Valley Trail and Saddle Club. We sold 14 tables and earned close to $700. InApril was theAmateur Clinic at Templeton Farm in Paso Robles. The clinician was Lilo Fore and we were able to send two chapter members; Lisa McLean and Debbie Fosmark. May 11th we hosted the first “Ride it Again Clinic” with our very own Paula Langan teaching. The format was so cool. Participants rode the test twice. The first ride they were just judged by Paula and only the audience could hear the scores and comments throughout the ride. Then Paula worked with the rider for a few minutes on areas where they could improve the test. Next they rode the test again and both the rider and the audience could hear the scores and comments. It was so interesting both to audit and to ride! June 1st we held our Awards Party and provided lasagna, drinks and dessert for our members. Members brought appetizers or salads to share. We had a wonderful presentation by artist Chelsea Jordan who presented a behind the scenes look at Cavalia Odysseo where she worked for several years. She also curated a show of her artwork associated with the show and the horses. At the Central RAAC we had great representation from our chapter and had so much fun! The competition and camaraderie was awesome. Six chapter members competed and all were in the honor rounds! We also had great representation at the Championship Show. Seven chapter members competed and we had Caron Frisone as the I-2 Champion, Haley Turner as PSG Champion, Kate Douglas top ten PSG, and Beverley Brown top ten 2nd level, Katie Hoefs at 4th level and I-1 Freestyle, Julie High at 4th level, and Delaney Vaden Champion USDF 2nd level, 4th at CDS 2nd level. In September we had our most fun ever annual BBQ at the Carmel Valley Trail and Saddle Club. It was a Hawaiian Luau theme and the demo was a super fun quadrille demonstration to Hawaiian music with riders in costumes wearing grass skirts and leis. 2019 was a wonderful year of events. We look forward to continuing our traditional annual events next year and look forward to more fun and learning! We’re definitely keeping the “Ride it Again” clinic. We will add a “Pirouette Party” where we will show videos clips of chapter members doing walk or canter pirouettes and Bea diGrazia and Paula Langan will discuss the mechanics of riding a good pirouette. Delta Sierra Chapter 2019 Report Cassey Mello ~ Chapter Chair For a small chapter covering the central valley as well as the Sierra foothills, Delta Sierra had a good year in 2019.  We were able to send riders to the Adult Amateur Clinic as well as the JR/YR clinic.  Both riders were very happy to have the opportunity and had huge learning experiences. On the educational side of things, we hosted aWorking Equitation clinic in February that was very well attended despite the cold, rainy weather. Working Equitation is an excellent mix of dressage and classical training with obstacles.  It was a great way for our chapter to introduce dressage basics to riders who are trained in other disciplines.  It was a financially successful clinic as well as a way to reach out to more riders. A number of our members attended CDS rated shows throughout the year as well as the CDS Championships held at Rancho Murieta. We also had members volunteer for the show who were glad to help and enjoyed the experience. We continue to move the chapter forward with the belief that dressage and classical training are beneficial to all riders and we create opportunities to share that as much as possible. Gavilan Chapter 2019 Report Sarah Borrey ~ Chapter Chair Ride It Again Test Clinic with Tanya Vik held in August 2019 - riders rode a test of their choice, Tanya observed and then provided feedback on the strong and weak points of the test. Tanya coached the horse/rider pair for 15 minutes on the weak spots. Then, the rider / horse pair rode through the test again and Tanya provided final comments.  Holiday Party held early December 2019 at Osierlea and sponsored by Gavilan Chapter and Osierlea - including catered holiday dinner, white elephant gift exchange, Adult Amateur 2020 Clinic drawing, and a LOT of fun! San Luis Obispo Chapter 2019 Report John Rees ~ Chapter Chair 2019 was another great year for the San Luis Obispo Chapter of CDS. The officers for 2019 were as follows: John Rees as Chapter Chair, Katey Katz as Vice Chair, Christine Dietrich as Secretary, Ellen Corob as Treasurer, and Jeanne Boyd as Member at Large. Katey Katz was our newsletter editor and webmaster. Throughout the year we held general meetings every even month at varying locations with an average of 15-20 Reports from the Chapters in the CDS Central Region Each year all the chapters are asked to report on their previous year’s activities in hopes that sharing their successes and innovative ideas will help other chapters offer rewarding activities and informative events. Here is what the Chapters in the Central Region did for 2019.. JOAN WILLIAMS, CDS PRESIDENT