REGION 5
NEWS

Young Rider Qualifying Rules for NAYRC

Exciting news for Region 5! As part of the USDF Advanced Young Rider Program, Conrad Schumacher will be giving a clinic May 3-5 in Colorado. See the accompanying articles for details.

This year the Region 5 Championships will be held at Central Arizona Riding Academy October 18-20 in Chandler, Arizona. Judges will include Stephen Clarke FEI "O" of Great Britain, Gary Rockwell "S", Florida, and Nancy Benton "R", Washington state; Technical Delegate will be Lloyd Landkamer "R", Minnesota, Veronica Holt of Colorado will be the manager. Stephen Clarke will give a clinic following the competition.

Recently, I was the Technical Delegate at a show and found that many individuals do not understand the membership requirements for riding in a qualifying class for the Regional Championships. First, the rider must be a U.S. citizen. The rider must be a USDF Participating Member to enter qualifying classes. THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS THE MEMBERSHIP AS INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP THROUGH YOUR GMO, BUT THROUGH USDF DIRECTLY. The rider must also be a member of USA Equestrian. The horse must be USDF registered (does not need to be breed registered) and USA Equestrian recorded. The owner must be a USDF Participating or Business Member and USA Equestrian member. New this year will be USDF membership affidavits for those who have applied for membership or misplaced cards.

Also new is a special USA Equestrian membership form to join at the show that must be signed by the secretary and technical delegate.

Hot Off the Press!---Plans are in the work to have a Northern Region 5 Breeders Series Championship and a Southern Championships this year. See the USDF website for details.

FREE MONEY! Adult Education grants will again be available this year, a total of $1500 for each region. Please submit your proposals that include instructor/clinician, outline of program, expected audience, budget to me by May 15.

The USDF office is preparing for the move to Kentucky. I am surprised at how much communication takes place among the executive board and the office. Thank goodness for email!

Happy Riding!
Theresa Hunt
Region 5 Director

Young dressage riders are invited to try out for the North American Young Riders Championships (NAYRC), a prestigious international competition for the top equestrians ages 16 through 21. Riders from the United States, Canada, Central America and South America will gather to compete in the Olympic disciplines of dressage, show jumping and eventing on August 6-11, 2002 at Tempel Farms in Wadsworth, Illinois. Qualifying rules and criteria for American dressage riders are available from the United States Dressage Federation (USDF).

Governed by international rules, this championship is a training ground for competitors who may one day ride for their country as senior competitors in international competitions and Olympic Games. American dressage riders will compete in teams representing their USDF regions, and will vie for both team and individual honors.

Riders must submit a Declaration of Intent by March 1st; however declarations postmarked March 2nd through March 15th will be accepted with a $100 late fee, payable to USDF. Riders may enter qualifying competitions prior to submitting the NAYRC Declaration of Intent.

The complete set of Qualifying Rules and Criteria are available by calling USDF at 402/434-8550 or visiting the website at www.usdf.org.