United States Dressage Federation

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Summary of Actions at USDF Fall Executive Board Meetings

November 27-28 & December 1, 2006
Kansas City, MO

The following people attended the meeting: 13 Executive Board members (2006), Executive Director Stephan Hienzsch, and many USDF staff members.

Instructor/Trainer

Fern Feldman made a motion, seconded by Sandi Bishop, that an FEI-level Trainers Conference should be held in Florida during the Winter of 2008. Motion carried.

Fern Feldman made a motion, seconded by George Williams, to approve the proposed recommendations from the Instructor/Trainer Council, listed in section 6, page 24 of the Executive Board (EB) book, to have one auditor level and to change the fee structure for USDF Instructor/Trainer workshops. Motion carried. The new auditor fee will be $50 for one day and $75 for two days.

Awards

Kat Kyle made a motion, seconded by Linda Landers, to approve the All Breeds Awards program proposal listed in section 3, pages 4-6 in the EB book. Motion carried. This proposal will improve the process of determining award recipients.

Fern Feldman made a motion, seconded by Gaye McCabe, to approve a policy change to (1) clarify that mistakes in year-end results or award standings will not be corrected after October 15 for any reason, including if the mistakes were either the fault of USDF, the competition, or the competitor; and (2) make October 15 the last day for changes to All Breeds Award standings. Motion carried. This is the same deadline as for other year-end awards.

Hall of Fame/Lifetime Achievement

Linda Landers made a motion, seconded by Kat Kyle, to approve the revised Lifetime Achievement Award criteria as listed in section 7, pages 19-20 in the EB book. Motion carried. The new criteria are listed on the USDF Web site.

Linda Landers made a motion, seconded by Gaye McCabe, to approve the appointment of a Hall of Fame Advisory Subcommittee of the Historical Committee as outlined in section 3, pages 11-13 in the EB book. Motion carried.

Programs

Janine Malone made a motion, seconded by George Williams, to approve a $500 stipend for the USDF youth representative to attend the USEF Youth Council meetings at the 2008 USEF annual meeting. Motion carried. One opposed and one abstention. The stipend will be used to offset travel expenses.

Alison Head made a motion, seconded by Kat Kyle, to "write off" the (Quadrille Video) project. Motion carried. This will clear this item from the balance sheets since no further revenue or expenses are anticipated.

Alison Head made a motion, seconded by Terry Wilson, to decline the Adult Education Grant Proposal (for a portion of the grant to be paid in advance). Motion carried. Two abstentions. The proposal would make the process more complicated and would require more paper work.

Councils/Committees

George Williams made a motion, seconded by Alison Head, to approve a proposal from the Sport Horse Committee to create a power point presentation. Motion carried. The presentation will be on a CD and can be used for USDF Sport Horse Seminars.

Janine Malone made a motion, seconded by Gaye McCabe, to establish an Audit Committee and dissolve the Budget and Finance Committee. The president will appoint the chairman, and members of the committee will be appointed by the chairman, with the approval of the EB. One member must be a financial expert. Motion carried. Establishment of this committee is consistent with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

George Williams made a motion, seconded by Janine Malone, to ask Robert Higgins to chair the Audit Committee. Motion carried.

Sue Hughes made a motion, seconded by Terry Wilson, to dissolve the Marketing Committee, effective January 1, 2007. Motion carried.

Alison Head made a motion, seconded by Janine Malone, to dissolve the Development Committee, effective January 1, 2007. Motion carried. This was recommended by the Development Committee.

USDF National Education Center (NEC)

Linda Landers made a motion, seconded by Terry Wilson, to establish in 2007 an ad hoc committee to recommend the structure of the Educational Endowment Fund. Motion carried.

Sandi Bishop made a motion, seconded by Sue Hughes, to take $250,000 out of the investment portfolio to establish a USDF NEC Maintenance Fund. Motion carried. This fund is required by the contract with the Commonwealth of Kentucky and would be used to pay expenses in case of a catastrophe or a need for major repairs.

Competitions

Linda Landers made a motion, seconded by Fern Feldman, to charge all competitions a $75 recognition fee, effective for the 2008 competition year, which will begin on October 1, 2007. Motion carried. One opposed. The fee is currently $50 for a one-day competition and $65 for a competition that is at least two days.

Alison Head made a motion, seconded by Linda Landers, to raise the lifetime horse registration fee from $65 to $75. Motion carried.

Miscellaneous

Sue Hughes made a motion, seconded by Linda Landers, to offer one type of business membership, effective December 1, 2007. Motion carried. The membership fee will be $175, instead of $100 and $250 currently charged for the two membership types.

Janine Malone made a motion, seconded by George Williams, to join the American Horse Council Unwanted Horse Coalition at the $1000 membership level. Motion carried. Five abstentions. USDF will be listed on their letterhead with other member organizations.

Linda Landers made a motion, seconded by Terry Wilson, to approve the proposed changes in the Policies and Procedures, as amended. Motion carried.

Samuel J. Barish
USDF President

Janine W. Malone
USDF Secretary