Each year, hundreds of thousands of horses are transitioned from career or ownership. A number of these horses end up at risk of inhumane treatment. The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) Right Horse program was developed to unify horse industry professionals, equine welfare advocates, and the broader horse loving public to improve the lives of horses in transition.

ASPCA Right Horse promotes horse adoption as a trusted method for finding your next horse and operates an equine adoption platform, myrighthorse.org. The Western Dressage Association of America’s partnership with the program commits time, talent, and resources to promote horse adoption through education, training, and public awareness on a national level. Together, alongside over 100 industry partners and equine shelters and rescues, we will work to achieve our shared goal of massively increasing the number of horse adoptions nationwide.

FROM Dini Swanson WDAA Executive Director,

Addressing concerns from participants at the 2023 World Show.

Well, no surprise to you the Ellie Stine-Masek clinic was great! There were traditional dressage riders (up to Prix St. George) as well as several western dressage levels being ridden. Folks came down from Colorado and then continued on to the New Mexico Quarter Horse circuit. It was great fun to visit with folks and get some great instruction. Many thanks go out to the team at Dressage Club of New Mexico and The Dressage Foundation with Lynn Palm’s grant. Super thanks to Vert for sponsoring the rider’s dinner that included a most wonderful evening with clinician Ellie Stine-Masek.

The next thing that is on our calendar is a fundraising trail clinic at the Stanley arena on July 9th. Brigette Honea will be the clinician. Brigette has taken a lot of horses to the AQHA World Show and done very well. For more information, here is the New Mexico Quarter Horse website.

The Pinto Horse Association of America (PtHA) has been one of Western Dressage Association of America’s (WDAA) most cherished partners from the time our association started.  PtHA hosted the first few WDAA World Shows in conjunction with it’s Colorbreed Congress.  Many exhibitors may know that Western Dressage is still offered at Pinto shows.  However, you may not know that almost any horse can be registered as a Pinto. 

Pinto has evolved to become a horse show registry, not a color registry.  Therefore many breeds, colors and types of equines are eligible for registration and subsequently showing at Pinto shows.  To find out if your horse is eligible, you can follow this link:   http://www.pinto.org/index.php/en/association/registration/registration-faq-s

Reading through the latest edition of The Morgan Horse magazine, where the 2022 AMHA Open Competition winners were announced, we noticed that the Morgan stallion Misty Green Cimmaron was the Champion in Western Dressage Levels 2, 3, and 4. WDAA sends their congratulations to Misty Green Cimmaron and his owner Gia Long. Well done!”

The Open Competition Program of the American Morgan Horse Association recognizes Morgans competing in 34 different divisions of equine competition based on 8 core activities: open shows, competitive trail riding and driving, endurance trail riding, dressage, carriage driving and combined driving events, working western, western dressage, and eventing. Registered Morgan horses competing in these competitions earn year-end awards and lifetime medallions.

Dear WDAA members,  

Thank you for your time answering this short survey, as the WDAA board of directors tries to determine how the majority of members feel about Western saddles. Because of the recent debate, we realize the saddle rule needs to be amended or clarified, one way or the other, so that it can be easily understood and consistently enforced. We welcome your opinion. DEADLINE TO RESPOND IS Tuesday, March 21^st at 11:00PM Mountain time. 

Thank you WDAA Family for your many insightful and supportive messages to the WDAA Board of Directors regarding the recent discussion of what constitutes a standard American Western stock saddle.

The WDAA Board of Directors has determined to use the rest of 2023 to evaluate the definition of permitted saddles within the USEF discipline of Western Dressage by conducting research and WDAA member surveys.

If these activities indicate a change should be made, a rule proposal could be developed for implementation no earlier than the 2025 competition season.

We, the WDAA Board of Directors, will find a way forward that continues to uphold the WDAA Mission:
To build an equine community that combines the Western traditions of horse and rider with Classical Dressage.
We honor the horse.
We value the partnership between horse and rider.
We celebrate the legacy of the American West.

Sincerely,
The Western Dressage Association of America Board of Directors

The Dressage Foundation (TDF) is pleased to announce that five grants for Western dressage riders have been awarded from TDF’s Lynn Palm Western Dressage Fund. This Fund was established in 2019 to initially provide grants for Western dressage educational events and was expanded in 2021 to also provide $1,000 grants to riders for their Western dressage education. 

Youth:

With a total of six western dressage tests under Equinox’s (Nox’s) cinch and my belt, we headed to the 10th annual World Western Dressage Show in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Nox is my novice husbands horse that was found on a ranch in Reno, Nevada. He is Clydesdale and quarter-horse cross. He was afraid of everything five years ago. A lot of trail rides, kisses and carrots lead him to trust my husband and I.Exactly one year before Worlds, Nox and I went to our first local horse show in Las Vegas. He could still not be cross tied and we nearly missed our morning classes because he wouldn’t load into the trailer. With Jessie Bonneau’s guidance, training, and friendship, we entered our first western dressage test last Spring. I memorized and practiced the wrong test (2017) and got a bell, but we finished. We decided that Nox was much better fit for WD, still not giving up on local English/western classes to build our relationship and performance.Nox and I have been built from the ground up. We started with my knowledge from 4-H many years ago and his memory of abuse and fear to where we are now, both physically and mentally. We placed third in our first rail class at the World show last week and improved on every test during the week. More importantly, Nox and I learned so much about each other. He was relaxed and confident his week at Worlds, much more than I was. When you say “It’s all about the journey” it really is. I could have bought a horse that was trained and ready to go and win, but I have different goals. I want to build a relationship with the best horse in the whole world, Nox. I want to see what we are made out of as a team. I want to set goals and succeed, growing along the way. I want my “husbands” horse to enjoy this journey as much as I do. So far, Nox and I are feeling amazing and enjoying our journey day by day. I wouldn’t give that up for any trophy or prize in the entire world. See you next year in Guthrie! Nox and I will be working hard and enjoying the journey everyday!

Submitted by Leslie Browder