Dressage and Eventing Club

Please Introduce Yourself

2009-02-01T21:41:17Z

Don't forget to introduce yourself! Thanks!

Projected Timeline/YOUR Action

2009-02-01T20:31:13Z

Your Due Dates

Wednesday, Feb 4th: email or post your desired involvement/postition/project

Friday, February 6th: expect to have an email from me confirming your role, answering any questions, and guiding you to relevant websites/information

Friday, February 13th: Board members meet to discuss progress, vision, and methods for execution, plan kick-off event, apply for funding, advertise and promote club

]]> Exact dates are subject to change, but will fall within this general region
Club Timeline:
February 9th - Bylaws completed and student group registered
February 13th - First meeting with board members; review of grant application with Fundraising Head
February 18th - Grant Application DUE for kick-off event funding
February 25th - Journal Club Meeting

March 20-ish - Kick-Off Event - lecturer, food, general meeting, etc
March 25th - Journal Club Meeting

April
General Meeting
Board Meeting
Lecture
Journal Club
CSDEA clinic audit

May
General Meeting
Board Meeting
Lecture
Journal Club
CSDEA Volunteer op.

Summer Events for In-Towners
CSDEA volunteer
Journal Club
Social Events
Board Meeting prep for Fall

Organizing Our Club

2009-02-01T20:13:36Z

A few committed people can get this club started fairly quickly. I've outlined some specific roles that we need to fill. Please volunteer for something that interests you, and if you would like to change or add a position or project, let me know! Roles marked with a star are necessary for this group to start.

]]> Member Organization/Governing Body
*President - organize, guide, and encourage board members, register student group, write bylaws (which are then verified by members), perform other duties as necessary, including maintenance of this webpage
*Vice President - assist president, take initiatives on other projects
Secretary - arrange meeting rooms, send emails, maintain minutes, create and distribute meeting agendas; this may be filled by president or vice president if necessary
*Fundraising Head- apply for student group funding, lead members in organizing other fundraising opportunities (tshirts /sweatshirts), treasury duties (unless someone else would like treasury duties)
Social Chair - organize activites that allow members to get to know each other and network; this may be organizing food after a meeting, maintaining an online forum or website, or organizing a group outing related to the club

Education Committees
*Lecture Chair- determine topics of interest and book professors and other industry experts
Clinic Chair - find local clinics of interest, arrange auditing for members (paperwoork and carpool options), potentially arrange mounted clinics
*Journal Chair - find scientific articles for discussion, arrange and lead meetings

Competition Committees
IDA Liaison
USDF IMO Liaison
Both Liaisons will manage necessary paperwork to join these competitive groups, find required faculty sponsors/coaches, and organize shows. There are not many dressage shows in our region, but Liasons will be in charge of contacting and encouraging other schools to start groups, and working with Crookston to start a dressage group and host shows. As this sector grows, Liasons will be assisted by other members that take on responsibilities organizing shows.

Please don't be nervous about jumping right in! I can help and answer questions every step of the way (I started the Equestrian Team at the U back in the day), and the work load right now is small because the club is small. As it grows, additional members will be here to help!

I am taking on roles of President (unless there are objections) and Journal Chair. Comment below to indicate your interest in a certain role or project, or email me at gril0024@umn.edu.

My Vision

2009-02-01T19:34:32Z

Hi friends! I'm glad that you have interest in being a part of starting this group at the U of MN! I'll share my vision for the group with you, and then turn it over to you guys - the first members - to help develop that idea.

]]> My vision is to create a community for dressage and event riders at the U that will provide social and professional networking, education, university-level thought, and competitive opportunities. I forsee this happening by coordinated activites of club committees, meetings, events, and work with the CSDEA.

Social networking: Providing a way for UMN students interested in dressage and eventing to meet, and to attract potential UMN students to the college by providing this club

Professional networking: Using resources of members and of the CSDEA to connect dressage and event riders in the Twin Cities community; especially helpful for students that are new to the cities

Riding Education: Sponsoring clincs and/or lectures with area trainers, organizing lessons

Horse Husbandry: Sponsoring lectures by UMN professors and area 'experts' about topics in which the club members indicate interest (saddle fit, breeding, infectious diseases, etc)

University-Level Thought: Reviewing scientific articles concerning equine health and discussing their impact on the horse community at large, and encouraging intelligent thought independent of 'tradition'

Competitive Opportunites: There are two collegiate dressage competition bodies, the USDF Intercollegiate Member Organization (http://www.usdf.org/clubs/imo/) and Intercollegiate Dressage Association (http://www.teamdressage.com/).

As a registered student group, we receive certain benefits that will help us achieve our goals. For example, we can apply for funding, reserve rooms on campus for meetings, be publicly listed on the school site, and more. We can also consider applying for club sport status.

Please comment with other ideas and visions you have for this group!

Katie's Intro

2009-02-01T19:15:03Z

Hi everyone!

Here's a brief history of my experiences with some lovely horses, as a backyard 4H rider to USPC, to professionally starting young horses, to rediscovering horsemanship with my mare, Sicily.

]]> I started riding at 6, and was lucky enough to keep a horse in the backyard at 10. The first horse was Sonny, a 17 year old 14.3 Arabian. For a couple years our rides consisted of him throwing his head up to yank the reins out of my hands and running away with me. After that, we did drill team, trail riding, huntseat riding in 4H, and did one year of dressage. As fiery as he was with me, he was a saint when he and I taught young riders on his back. When he was retired, I was involved in USPC with Reese, a QH/Morgan that was cranky but reliable. He's now a great children's first eventer. For the next several years I spent my time retraining ex-racehorses for new careers and starting young horses for all disciplines by giving them calm, kind, and consistent instruction, and a dressage foundation. I rode IHSA for a semester in college, but my heart is in eventing and dressage, not hunters.

My current horse is a wonderful Anglo-Arab that I got from the U of M vet hospital as an eight month old. For those of you who work at the hospital, her father is Rooster. Working with her has been one hundred times more rewarding than any ribbon could be. Right now we're working on training level dressage, and I'm hoping to start jumping her soon. She is quite the character; she's certainly my dream horse.

Sicily and I ride barefoot and bitless, and you can read some of my views on this at blog.lib.umn.edu/gril0024/bitlesshorse I'm passionate about classical dressage, its beautiful harmony of horse and rider, and I love the thrill of riding cross country with a horse that is just as excited about it as I am. Sicily and I are progressing in this area under a new lens, as I evaluate and critique everything I do with her, not from a traditional horsemanship standpoint, but from that as a college-educated scientist. It is an interesting experience...

I look forward to sharing experiences with other members of this club, and furthering the sports of dressage and eventing in the university community and beyond!