Meet the winners!

​NDA is excited to announce the 2020 winners of the NDA Educational Scholarship Program. Since we had no applicants for the "Professional" category, we awarded two winners in the "Adult Amateur" category:

ADULT AMATEUR
Kathy Hanford
"I am so honored receiving the NDA scholarship! I feel that this program is one of the best that NDA offers for encouraging their members to continue their dressage journey.  The Missy Fladland clinic was this past Wednesday and Thursday. I was amazed how much both Gem and I got out of it. Missy has a way of presenting foundational concepts in a different way, so that a couple of light bulbs lit up and I now have concrete tools to use."

ADULT AMATEUR
Dmitri Lombard
"Very honored and excited. I'm really looking forward to this opportunity [to be a working student in South Carolina], and this takes some of the financial weight off my shoulders. Super excited to bring my experience back in a year."

JUNIOR / YOUNG RIDER
Lexie Kment
"Thank you so much! I am so blessed to have this opportunity! This scholarship will give me the ability to continue my equestrian journey with lessons from Katherine Bateson."

Meet the winners!NDA is excited to announce the 2019 winners of the NDA Educational Scholarship Program:

ADULT AMATEUR
Michelle Rohman
"I am very excited to use this scholarship to further my dressage education through riding in a clinic with Michelle Folden. Michelle has been instrumental in helping my horse establish forward-thinking gaits and, as I make the difficult jump to second level, I’m eager for her help in cementing the foundation for collection and the movements that accompany it."

JUNIOR / YOUNG RIDER
Alexa Starner
"Thank you so much to the NDA board for considering my application and awarding me one of the annual NDA scholarships! I plan to use it to attend clinics with Sarah Martin. Of these clinics, I hope to take Sarah's expertise and apply it to my daily rides and lessons to continue to work towards our goal of successfully competing in first level."

PROFESSIONAL
Kate Rawlinson
"I’m so grateful to NDA for this opportunity to pursue a freestyle clinic. It’s a part of our sport that I’ve always wanted to explore but never really had the opportunity to. I’m really excited to be able to work on fitting music to my horse. Many people explain dressage to beginners as 'dancing on horseback' and Image has been ready to really put on his dancing shoes for years!"

Symposium with George Morris and Katherine Bateson-ChandlerThe Dressage Foundation (TDF) is excited to be sponsoring the Showcase Symposium at the International Omaha this year. It will be held on Friday, April 5th and will feature George Morris and Katherine Bateson-Chandler working together to teach dressage and jumping riders. Here's a link for information.

To encourage lots of Region 4 friends to attend, The Dressage Foundation is offering NDA members a very special ticket price—HALF PRICE tickets to the Showcase! Use the Ticketmaster offer code TDFDS, but keep in mind this offer will only work until March 16th. So get your tickets today!

This is a very special price JUST for our local community in Region 4. Enjoy half price tickets and we'll see you in Omaha!

Internationally known dressage rider and trainer, Katherine Bateson-Chandler will be joining forces with legendary show jumping trainer George H. Morris at the 2019 Burlington Capital International Omaha. “The Midwest’s Largest Horse Event” returns to the CHI Health Center arena in Omaha, Nebraska, April 4-7, 2019.

Bateson-Chandler and Morris will be part of the event’s educational “Showcase,” sponsored by The Dressage Foundation, a ticketed clinic that will be held on Friday, April 5 at 4:30 p.m. The pair will also give free demonstrations and mini clinics in the “Horse Discovery Zone” at other times during the four-day event.

“We are delighted that Katherine Bateson-Chandler will be part of our Showcase this year,” said Mike West, CEO of the Omaha Equestrian Foundation (OEF) which hosted the highly acclaimed 2017 FEI World Cup Finals in jumping and dressage. “Her dressage knowledge and years of experience, combined with Morris’s legendary horsemanship skills as the ‘Founding Father’ of hunt seat equitation, will help riders of all skill levels and also give equestrian enthusiasts a memorable experience that is not-to-be-missed!”

Lisa Roskens, founder and chairman of OEF, said the idea of bringing these two stars together is to help, “Build a bridge between the disciplines, to give each something to appreciate/understand from the other.” She said that the whole idea arose when dressage riders attending last year’s Showcase expressed how they were pleasantly surprised with Morris’s flatwork. She thought that the jumper riders could benefit from a greater understanding of dressage and that in turn, dressage riders could also benefit from the different perspective of jumpers.

Known for her accomplishments both in the U.S. and abroad, Bateson-Chandler was a member of the U.S. Dressage Team at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games™ which placed fourth overall. She has many small tour and FEI grand prix victories on her resume. She recently won the CDI3* Grand Prix Special and took second place in the both the FEI CDI5* Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle with her top horse “Alcazar,” owned by Jane Forbes Clark, at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Florida.

Born in Great Britain, Bateson-Chandler became an American citizen and is now based in Wellington. She currently trains with 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Carl Hester of Great Britain when she’s in Europe and also competes there. At age 16, she started working as a groom for six-time Olympian Robert Dover at his New Jersey and Florida farms. She then worked as Dover’s assistant trainer, gaining a wealth of knowledge and experience, and was Dover’s “wing woman” at two World Championships and two Olympic Games. Bateson-Chandler took over the reins in 2005 when Dover retired from competition and began her own training business in 2008.
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“We are so thrilled to have Katherine join us,” added West. “We really think that she is the perfect complement to George Morris and that everyone who attends the Showcase will come away as a better rider than they were before!”

Upcoming Deadlines

February 28:
Kid's Art Contest: Children ages 8 - 12 are invited to create their best piece of "horsey" art work for the chance to win fabulous prizes

National Anthem Contest: The Omaha Equestrian Foundation is looking for talented high school soloists, duets, and choir groups to enter the Omaha Steaks National Anthem Contest for the opportunity to perform at the opening ceremonies of the International Omaha April 4-7, 2019.  The winning act will receive a $1,000 prize.

March 15:
Ride with George Morris: To apply, simply send a 250-word essay telling us what it means to you to ride for the legendary George Morris.

Omaha Equestrian Foundation Grant: This grant will be awarded annually and shall be used to ward expenses for an educational, competitive or other developmental experience.  The goal of this grant is to further the OEF mission of growing equestrian sport in our region through education.

If you are interested in being a demo rider, please email Margo Hamilton at margoreham@gmail.com or call 402-450-8294 to confirm your availability for these days and specify which test or section you would like to ride. It is advisable to be sure you are quite proficient in your chosen test and all its movements as you may be asked to repeat certain movements a few times for the participants.

Adult Amateurs, Juniors and professionals are all welcome to participate. A range of breeds of horses with different strengths and weaknesses are also welcome. Riding helmet, boots and a well put together clinic outfit is the expected turnout for the all demo riders.

​NDA will keep a list of “alternates” at each level in case of unforeseen circumstances which may prevent riders and horses from being able to participate at Session B. If you are an alternate, you will be notified of this status, please do keep your schedule clear to fill in as necessary.

​Please consider getting involved and feel free to pass this information along to others you would recommend.  If you have any questions, please call or e-mail Jennifer Rawlinson any time.
 
Dates and faculty are listed below and the L Program application (due March 1) is attached.  It’s just a $100 deposit to save your spot!

The USDF Convention is in our Region this year, and we want you to go.

Every year, the USDF holds its Annual Convention in a different city. This year, the convention is in St. Louis, MO, right here in Region 4! It takes place November 30-December 3, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch.

The USDF Annual Convention is an awesome opportunity to get involved with dressage on a national level, get insights into how our national governing organization comes up with the rules and policies we all live by, have your voice heard in committee meetings, and get access to amazing educational sessions with experts from around the country.
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For a recap of how some of our members enjoyed the convention last year, take a look at two first-person articles, "Dressage in the Desert" by Melissa Ward and "A USDF Convention Story" by Laureen Van Norman, in the January/February 2016 issue of The Contact.

Because the convention is such a wonderful opportunity for our members, and it's practically being held in our backyard, we want to make it easier for you to attend. So we are willing to pay your registration fee ($175 for adults, $90 for 21 and younger). This registration will get you into all the educational sessions (except those requiring separate tickets) and all open committee meetings.
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HOW IT WORKS:

We're paying for 5 registrations!

NDA will pay for five (5) USDF Convention registration fees. These five grants are being made available to current members, and 4 winners will be chosen in a random drawing at the October 10th NDA board meeting. The remaining slot will be auctioned off at the NDA Year-End Banquet.

How to enter:

To get your name in our drawing, just send an email to Heidi Helmer (hjhelmer@gmail.com) by 5:00 pm on Monday, October 10. We'll draw names that night and notify the winners by Tuesday, October 11.

If you win:

If your name is drawn as a winner, we will notify you immediately. You have until the following Monday, October 17, to confirm your acceptance of the grant, and register online for the Convention. If you have not confirmed and registered by 10/17, your spot will be forfeited and we will draw another winner.

Hurry—you only have 5 days left to enter the drawing!