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COME ALL RIDERS, VOLUNTEERS AND HORSE OWNERS TO BE A PART OF THE 2022 PVDA RIDE FOR LIFE!

YOU TOO CAN BE PART OF THIS EFFORT

As we draw 2020 to a close, I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season such as it will be this year. The 2021 show season calendar is currently being worked on and will be posted as soon as possible, and we will not be putting out our newsletter again until the Spring, so please do check the website for updates. The year-end awards banquet will not occur in person this year, which I’m sure is not a surprise to anyone. Although we will miss seeing everyone in person, not only is a gathering of that size not allowed right now, the venue where we usually have the dinner is also under renovation. Stay tuned for the announcement of the year-end award winners on the PVDA website and via e-blast. I look forward to the new show season in 2021 and to seeing you all out there riding, volunteering and cheering your friends on next Spring! Stay warm, be well, and make sure your horses have a peppermint or two on your holiday of choice.

Take care,

Lynn

Fall is definitely here to stay; the nights are cool enough for a jacket and the horses are more energetic than ever. For me, this is trail ride weather. I love to ride through the woods with the leaves falling around me as we did last year at Woodstock Park. I wish I’d had a helmet cam for that ride, though I will always be able to picture it in my mind. When I was a college student at UNH this was also when we would hold the Horse Trials on campus. I was involved in cleaning up the cross-country course and finding fall flowers/corn stalks and pumpkins for the stadium course. For me, fall brings great memories of horsey times outside with friends. What memories do you have of riding or just hanging out at the barn in the fall? I would love to hear member stories on this topic and encourage you all to write a short article for the PVDA newsletter and send in pictures! Tell us all about your fall horsey good times.

As I write this, we just concluded another virtual PVDA Board Meeting. During the meeting, I looked at all the faces on the computer, some of which I haven’t seen in person since early March and realized what superheroes these friends are. Why, you might ask? Plain and simple, keeping up the business of PVDA and putting on shows this year has been HARD! So many hours of discussion have occurred on how to do it safely when it would have been easier to just say it can’t be done. Decisions on how to meet USEF standards for rated shows, working with judges and scribes to successfully (mostly) move to online tests. There have been a few hiccups, but when you consider how quickly plans had to be made, perfection was never in the cards. I think things have gone extremely well considering the situation. There was time spent creating contingency plans for shows should a venue close on us. Schooling show managers spending extra hours to figure out ride times that minimize the number of people on the property at any given time, running shows lean on volunteers. Then there was the hour and a half long meeting agonizing over whether we could find a way to do the Chapter Challenge. It was a very sad end to that meeting when we realized it really couldn’t be done the way it should. These people on the computer in front of me look tired, they look frustrated, and I pictured every one of them wearing a cape because they are willing to put in the time and brain power to bring what can be brought to our membership the best they can. I appreciate them and I just wanted to make sure everyone is aware of how dedicated these volunteers are to this organization.

I can’t stop there though, I also must send appreciation to our judges who have agreed to come out and judge, some of them last minute because of oversubscribed shows or other judges having to cancel at the last minute. Same goes to our volunteers and riders who have ventured out to make the shows possible. Everyone has been so flexible to learn new ways of doing things and being understanding when things got a little weird. We have a great community in PVDA, and I appreciate you all.

Happy Fall everyone, I hope you have the opportunity to take a ride through the woods while the leaves are falling!

Until next month,

Lynn

I am happy to be able to say that our show season is underway! Although it has been a challenge meeting the requirements for holding licensed shows, we managed to successfully hold the two-day show at Waredaca at the end of August. Even though the first day was a bit wet, the rings held up and the sun came out in the afternoon. The Sunday show had amazing weather and riders had a chance to compete in front of judges David Schmutz and Beverly Rogers. Everyone did a great job wearing their masks and practicing social distancing. Thank you to all for your patience while we work through the new procedures for keeping everyone as safe as possible. I am looking forward to our Fall Recognized Show at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in November, I hope to see many familiar faces there.

By the time this newsletter is printed we will have had the last three schooling shows of the year: Oak Ridge Park, Schooley Mill Alzheimer’s benefit show, and the Schooley Mill Halloween costume show. I want to express my appreciation for the show managers, who had a tougher job than usual this year, the volunteers, and our fantastic judges for making it possible in these unusual times for us to hold shows. We couldn’t do it without you!

Lastly, I want to wish everyone who qualified for the BLMs and GAIGs this year a safe and successful show. We look forward to printing your achievements in upcoming newsletters, so please send in your photos and stories to the newsletter at: editor@pvda.org.

Take care and enjoy the fall weather!

Lynn

It’s been another interesting month in a year that sometimes feels like a Hollywood movie. We have been holding PVDA Board meetings via Zoom and working hard to bring the show season to life. We had our first schooling show at Southwind Farm thanks to owner Sheri Thornley for graciously offering her farm. New strategies put in place such as no contact picking up of show packets and ribbons, mask wearing, and the separation of scribe and judge worked well! Thirty-nine rides were ridden, and a good time had by all! It was good to be showing again and to see familiar faces in person, if not from a distance. Thanks to Fox Village, we were able to email tests to competitors also. Hard working Carolyn Del Grosso has spearheaded these changes in our shows, and we are grateful for her dedication to making sure the shows go on! We are looking forward to more schooling shows in August and beyond, as well as our first recognized show at Waredaca in August. Hope to see you there.

Because of the limited number of shows this year, the Board of Directors has voted to decrease the requirements for scores and volunteer hours for year end awards. For the levels below second, you will need 4 scores instead of 7, and for second level and above you will need 3 scores instead of 5. Musical freestyle and pas de deux will require 2 scores. Volunteer hours have been lowered to 4 hours or $50 donation. We will also extend the qualifying shows to the Fall show in November to give everyone an extra chance at getting their scores. As always, keep an eye on the show omnibus on the PVDA webpage for which shows will be running this year.

We had some challenges this year also with the Newsletter, as COVID-19 has affected all aspects of life, including businesses that print and distribute publications. We are back up and running and as always, welcome your submissions! We have had some great articles submitted by members these last few months, thanks to all our writers including the judges that have given their time and wisdom to our new “View from C” column. We also always need photos, so please send us any high-resolution photos you have of you and your horse, or just your horse, and we’ll get them in print! You may even find your horse on the cover.

Thank you all for hanging in there with us, I know it hasn’t been the kind of year we all imagined. I know for me, the horses and the PVDA community help the days feel more normal. Stay safe and stay in the saddle!

I am writing this in a time when we should be well into our 2020 show season, yet due to the global pandemic some of us have just recently been able to get back to riding! It has been a difficult time for us all and cancelling our first schooling shows and the Spring show was quite honestly depressing. It was a great disappointment that the 2020 PVDA Ride for Life, which supports the Johns Hopkins Breast Center, had to be canceled due to Covid-19 restrictions. The PVDA Ride for Life has been a steadfast fundraiser for the Johns Hopkins Breast Center for 17 years.  Every year one physician is selected for a highly competitive one-year fellowship to focus on one very important health issue: breast cancer. For the past 17 years, PVDA has raised an average of $60,000 each year, which helps to pay for that fellowship.  This may seem like a small thing, supporting one fellow. But the beauty of this program is that every year one more doctor is trained that then goes forward to treat patients and train other doctors. The knowledge gained spreads exponentially, and the ripple effect of PVDA’s contribution is unquantifiable. 

To continue the tradition in a slightly different way, this year we are inviting the dressage community to continue their support and donate directly to the Johns Hopkins Breast Center at https://secure.jhu.edu/form/rideforlife. To raise funds, ask your supporters to donate on this site and put in your name as the “rider” they are supporting. To further the goal, PVDA will be matching the first $5000 of donations raised. We will be tracking the progress and posting it on the PVDA website. In addition, to keep the “fun freestyle” alive, we are asking riders to share their musical freestyle with us! With the cancellation of the show itself, we are going virtual! Please upload freestyle videos to the PVDA Ride for Life website at https://go.pvdarideforlife.org/upload. There are no qualifications required to participate although we encourage riders to embrace the theme of the year: “We are in this TOGETHER!”  Videos will be then be linked to social media where they can be shared. We also hope to share the videos at the year end banquet in January 2021.

As an organization, we are also evaluating how to hold shows in the future while minimizing risk as much as possible. Starting June 1, USEF lifted the restriction on licensed shows in areas where state and local restrictions are not in conflict. USEF has also issued guidelines for how to minimize risk at shows. PVDA has evaluated these guidelines and our venues and believe we have a concrete plan to be able to resume schooling and licensed shows. Therefore, PVDA is hosting a schooling show at Southwind Farm in Damascus, MD on June 21, 2020. As the safety of competitors is a top priority, USEF recommendations for minimizing risk will be strictly adhered to at all shows. For example, to limit interactions between competitors/show staff, only complete entries will be accepted. All required forms and payments must be received prior to the closing date of the competition. Participants and show staff/volunteers will be required to wear a facemask or face covering when in any setting where there is a possibility of being within six feet of other individuals, except when not mounted on a horse (no exceptions will be made). The number of people accompanying the rider will be limited to two (trainer and parent if rider is a minor) and spectators will not be allowed on the show grounds. We hope to see you all out at the shows this year. Please keep an eye on the show omnibus on the PVDA website for which shows will be going forward. Be well and enjoy as much time with your horses as you can!

-Lynn

We hope to see you there!

As of Jan 1, 2019 every USEF adult member (18 years of age or older) with a Competing Membership must complete USEF's Safe Sport Training.

A 30 day grace period to complete the SafeSport training will be provided to all members who renew or join on or after December 1, 2018. Members joining prior to December 1, 2018 will have until January 1, 2019 to complete the training. Those who do not complete the training within the grace period will be ineligble to participate in USEF activities, including competitions.

Please view full information including links and phone numbers on the US Equestrian Safe Sport Page here: https://www.usef.org/compete/resources-forms/rules-regulations/safe-sport