The Dressage Committee
At the 2008 AGM ten members were elected to the committee and the duties
were defined as follows:
·
Sue Horne Chairman and Technical
matters, SANEF, Website
§
Sally McGrath Vice Chair, Para Dressage,
Judges, Shows
§
Pam Crompton Shows, Team Selection
§
Gill Pater Judges and New Venues
§
Heather Cochraine Catering and Grounds at shows
§
Natasha Brown Grounds
§
Janice Selleck Shows. (Resigned due to
show Jumping commitments)
§
Nadine Parker Newsletter, Shows,
Development, Juniors and Children
§
Jennifer Smith (co-opted) Marketing & Sponsorships
§
Belinda Smithard Resigned at the first meeting
This committee quickly set about their various tasks and kept proactive
through the course of the year. Various new initiatives were started
which are detailed below and some of the programmes already implemented
were modified slightly and brought up to date. It was an absolute
pleasure to work with such energetic and enthusiastic people who rose to
the challenge of committee requirements with alacrity. The committee
adopted the vision and plans set out at the beginning of the year.
However due to the nature of Dressage in KZN one of the most time
consuming tasks was to run the majority of shows in the province.
Shows
Eight affiliated shows were run during the course of the year. These
included the SANEF competition and the KZN Dressage Championships as
well as a number of smaller affiliated shows. Each committee member gave
full support and help with the running of these shows within their
various areas.
Seminars
Several very successful seminars were organised over the year. The first
was run by the committee and presenters were Bev Pendock (Provincal A
Panel Judge)
and Sharon Rhode Nee Walsh (now residing in Germany
and FEI Candidate
Judge). The seminar was extremely well supported and many people gleaned
a lot of information and insight on the various methods of training.
Bev Pendock organised a follow up seminar at the Jockey Academy and the
Dressage committee arranged another
at the Academy which was conducted by Liz Day our own FEI Candidate
judge.
Later in the year the committee took advantage of visiting judge Claire Bailes ( Provincial
A Panel Duge form Gauteng) arranged for one of the smaller shows and
held a further seminar directed more at the
very
novice riders and the judging thereof.
In addition a very informative seminar,
initiated
by Helen Matthews and assisted by Nadine Parker was arranged based on
the popular book. Riding from the inside out. Juli-Ann Riley conducted
the seminar and an insight into the fitness and exercises which help
with correct posture and balance when riding.
Team Selections
Team Selections were conducted and team trials held where necessary. The
pony rider team won in George and the adult team came a close second to
Gauteng in Kimberley. The Junior team has yet to compete
Para Dressage
During the year the Dressage committee incorporated the Para Dressage
tests into many of the shows. This included the ever popular SANEF
competition. This gave more exposure and competition experience to our
Para Dressage riders in KZN. In addition some riders travelled from
other provinces to compete in KZN
Media Coverage
Several articles were published in local newspapers about the KZN
Dressage shows and some of the seminars which were held
KZN
Dressage Committee Shows
The KZN
Dressage Committee held eight shows during the year. These prove to be a
major drain on committee resources.
A very successful SANEF competition was organised during the month of
May and we were pleased to have Caroline Potts (GHS) and Martine Lambert
(KZN) as our visiting judges.
There
were
some
rather
large
discrepancies
in
the
placings
especially
in
the
novice
classes.
One
example
was
one
judge
placed
a
horse
one of our horses 3rd overall in the
country and the other judge placed the same horse 21st. The
committee feels
that
more
seminars
need to be
organized
country
wide, to
bring
the
judging
more on
a
par
throughout
the country
KZN
Championships
was
held
in
July. And Ute Schutz was invited from Gauteng as
visiting judge. The show went off without any hitches. Some sponsorship
was arranged in the form of prizes. There was again some unhappiness in
the discrepancy of marks and placings by the judges.
SA Dressage Championships 2009
Our children’s team won their provincial team championships.
Congratulations to our team members
The Adult team came
second
to
GHS by
0.8%.
The
new
2009 Adult
team
test
was
used
which
proved
to
ride
very
well.
Catherine
Berning
on her horse Livius
won
the
Young
rider
championship
and
Calet
de
Vos
won
the
first Young
horse
championship
to be held at the SA Champs
on
Mossandi
Nikkei
owned
by
Vicky
Mostert.
The Junior rider team will be competing in Cape Town during December.
Children and Junior Development
The Reach for the Stars and reach for the Universe awards have been
introduced this year to encourage our young riders. This awards program
is based on the very successful program introduced in Gauteng several
years ago. It has proved very encouraging for the riders and is already
deemed a successful move. The horse heads and stars were purchased from
GHS and funded by the dressage committee.
Victor Ludorum Awards.
The victor Ludorum calculation of points has been revamped and brought
more in line with the FEI rider rankings method. This has been published
on the website. The method encourages more participation at shows but
also rewarding the best horse and rider combinations.
Communication
The
KZN
dressage
website
www.kzndressage.co.za
has
been
revamped
and
a
results
database
incorporated
giving up to date information on all dressage competitions.
In addition a KZN
Dressage Facebook page has been started. This has proved invaluable in
keeping up to date with our riders who are now living and competing
overseas.
Newsflashes via bulk
emails were consistently sent out through the year as well as bulk sms’s
about important notices.
Newsletters are
informative including items such as feed back on seminars, important
events as well as welcoming new competitors and combinations. Answers to
Frequently asked questions have been addressed by judges and
instructors. The newsletter is currently full of information and news.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to thank the entire dressage committee who
worked tirelessly through the year and were very supportive through
thick and thin. In addition a heartfelt thanks from the committee to all
those very hard workers at the shows. The judges, the scribes, the
auditors, the announcer, the show secretaries, the bit checkers, Durban
Shongweni club where all our shows are held. Thank you to all who make
the dressage sport in KZN Happen. I would particularly like to thank the
companies and individuals who have sponsored classes and events during
the year. We really appreciate your interest and support.
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