United States Eventing Association

MidSouth Eventing and Dressage Association Annual Meeting and Awards Recap

The MidSouth Eventing and Dressage Association's (MSEDA) Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner took place on February 3, 2024, at the Embassy Suites in Lexington, Kentucky.

The day's activities kicked off with the Annual Business Meeting where each committee Chair summarized the year. These MSEDA committees include the Annual Meeting Committee, Awards Committee, Business and Finance Committee, Communication Committee, Competitions Committee, Education Committee, Membership Committee, Juniors Committee, and Nominating Committee. MSEDA Board Administrator, Anthony Trollope, also shared many updates with attendees. The 2023 season showed a large growth in membership for the MSEDA, plentiful educational opportunities, and great attendance at competitions with respect to both competitors and volunteers. The MSEDA encourages all members to get involved through participation in a committee that sparks your interest!

Following the Annual Business Meeting was the yearly Organizer's Meeting. Several new initiatives were announced at this year's Organizer's Meeting with the goal of supporting MSEDA competition organizers. Three deserving competitions will be awarded a $500 competition grant to help purchase needed supplies. Potential applicants may view the MSEDA Competition Grant application here.

There was discussion around the modification of the rule XI.2 in the MidSouth Eventing and Dressage Rules and Guidelines. This modification allows show jump judges to serve as president of the ground jury in the case that an eventing and dressage judge is not hired for dressage.

Finally, Shelley Ryan introduced the new Safety Coordinator Program and Erin Woodall wrapped up the meeting with an interesting inside view into what an MSEDA Technical Delegate does to prepare for a show, and what they do on grounds.

Following that, MSEDA members Laura Muller and Karen Winn shared their experiences competing in Western Dressage and provided helpful education on the discipline to our members. Members who are interested in giving Western Dressage a try can check out the shows offered locally by MSEDA and KDA with Western Dressage classes or check out the Western Dressage Association of America’s website.

Another popular session amongst MSEDA members was Dr. Ashley Samson’s Sports Psychology discussion. Dr. Samson is a professor at the University of Kentucky who specializes in Sports Psychology. As an amateur equestrian herself, she shared some tips on how equestrians can utilize her tools in their everyday rides and at competitions. Samson shared that under stressful moments there are two angled approaches you can look at the situation, the “Zoom Out” or the “ Zoom In” methods.

The educational sessions were concluded with a conversation with David O’Connor. Amongst many achievements, including being named USEF's Equestrian of the Year twice, David O’Connor is an Olympic gold medalist, with the best score in Olympic history won at the Sydney Olympic Games. O'Connor was also the former USEF President and now serves as USEF Chief of Sport. O’Connor led his discussion at the MSEDA Annual Meeting with a presentation on Social Licensing and then wrapped up his conversation with his thoughts on developing the young event horse. MSEDA thanks David O’Connor for taking the time to educate our members on these interesting topics and further encourage our riders during the Awards Banquet.

At the end of the evening, the MSEDA hosted its annual Awards Banquet, where 141 awards were given to MSEDA members. MSEDA grant recipients for the 2024 season were also announced during the banquet and the MSEDA congratulates the following members: Katharine Coleman, Julia Bursten, Laura Corsentino, and Dory Tuohey.

The MSEDA is looking forward to a successful year! You can read more about the MSEDA and the Annual Meeting here.

About the USEA Affiliate Program

The USEA Affiliate Program was created with the intent of offering a safe, fun, fair, affordable environment for eventing related Associations with an emphasis on education, while also fostering a working relationship between organizations, serving to strengthen both groups. The continued mission of the program is to create and promote a vision of the United States Eventing Association (USEA) as a friendly and supportive advocate of the local Eventing Associations. Join as an Affiliate with the USEA today and become a part of this important network of local associations connecting to create a strong voice in the eventing community. Interested organizations may contact Jennifer Hardwick at [email protected] or (703) 669-9993.