From Your WDAGA President ….
Dear Members,
Three years ago I was elected as President of this great group of people here in Georgia who have a passion for their horses and the harmonious relationship we can all share. It has been my honor and privilege to serve you. In January 2019, new officers will be elected for the next 3 year term and I am excited to see what they will do! Watching this club grow has brought me tremendous joy and I am so thankful to all of those who have been a part of the journey. But I especially want to thank my fellow officers Nancy Conley, Nicole Parks and Betsy Moles-Rengifo for their tireless efforts, their ideas, and most of all, their passion for this discipline. Nancy, Nicole and I will be stepping out of our current roles and making way for a new President, Vice-President and Secretary. Betsy still has another year as Treasurer. It is important for you all to know that our By-Laws do allow current officers to be re-elected, just not to the same office. That being said, I do hope others will step up and bring their talents and ideas to our club so we can continue to grow and share this amazing journey with others.
So what exactly have we accomplished in the last three years? I am proud to say that it exceeded my expectations!! Here are the highlights:
- Our membership grew 18% (but we can do better!!)
- We created a GA High Point and Rookie program, and appointed the amazing Kim Depp to coordinate and run the program
- We’ve held two Annual Awards Banquets every January giving out some awesome awards
- The first “WDAGA Discovery Weekend” educational clinic at Brandreth Farms in January 2018 was a huge hit with 3 trainers, educational seminars and so much fun! Huge thank you’s to our trainers Nancy Conley, Betsy Moles-Rengifo and Kristin DeLibero, and to all our volunteers who helped make it happen. (Don’t worry, we are already planning another one for 2019!)
- In 2015, we only had 4 shows offering WD and now we have over 20 options in Georgia including our first USEF/WDAA “Lite” show that was this past June! Huge thank you’s to Newton County Saddle Club, Revelation Farm, North Atlanta Equestrian, Foxberry Farm, Poplar Place, AYDC, GDCTA and The Welcome Farm for offering WD classes!! Plus, we now offer 8-10 shows that are WDAA Recognized for our riders competing in the Lifetime Awards program with WDAA.
- Our Georgia horses are exceptional! Georgia has 12 horses on the Top 100 Lifetime WDAA including the number one spot with Truly Unsurpassed. Wow! We have World Champions right here in GA and more to come. The World Championship show has featured Nancy and Truly Unsurpassed, Kristin Delibero with Valentine (owned by Nicole Parks) and Ironworks Pike (owned by Kim Stayton), Randy Conley with Texas Barcode and Betsy Moles-Rengifo with Bravado.
I am so proud of what we have accomplished here in Georgia with Western Dressage, but, there is more work to be done! Here is my “wishlist” for this group:
- Membership drive to bring our total to 75 people or more
- Renew our official Affiliation status with WDAA- this takes money folks! We need to rally more members and more participants in our clinic for next year
- Host at least TWO USEF/WDAA shows
- Create an educational grant program to help 1-2 people with their WD journey (Florida has a very successful model we can follow)
- Create and host a Georgia State Championship show (this is a massive undertaking to put on so we need YOU!)
- Create a Youth program with Junior Officers and opportunities to lead and serve the WD community
In closing, let me just say “thank you”. This has been an amazing three years and I look forward to continuing to serve in other ways. WDAGA is a wonderful organization with incredible people and horses. I have made so many new friends and I truly enjoy watching each person’s journey. I cheer for each and every one of you whether it’s at a schooling show or watching Nancy Conley and Truly Unsurpassed reaching the pinnacle Gold Medal in WD. So, enjoy the ride everyone…I look forward to 2019!
Kim Stayton
