NDA Schooling Show Championships—Sep. 22
Prize list has been posted!

The official prize list has been posted on the NDA website for the NDA Schooling Show Championships, which will be held at the Lancaster Event Center on September 22. Register soon—closing date for this show is Sunday, September 15, 2019. Opening date is August 7, so get your entry organized now so you can enter right away!

How do championships work?If you and your horse have earned qualifying scores in two NDA-recognized schooling shows this year, you are eligible to compete in the championship classes at the NDA Schooling Show Championships. Be sure to check out the full qualifying rules, and then make sure you get entered into the appropriate championship class. Don't forget to provide copies of your qualifying tests along with your entry!

Championship classes for each level are the highest test of the level (i.e. Training 3, First 3, etc.) and unlike regular schooling shows, test readers and whips are not allowed. So make sure you memorize those tests!
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Not interested in championship classes?No problem! In addition to the championships, we're also offering an open schooling show with no prior qualifications necessary. Take this opportunity to ride in the last schooling show of the NDA season. Both championship and open classes count toward NDA year-end awards.

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!

Nebraska Dressage Association is now a part of AmazonSmile! Just click here to set NDA as your charity of choice, and then start all your purchases from smile.amazon.com. Shop as usual, and Amazon will donate a portion of all your purchases to NDA. It's that easy!

AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when customers shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers.

​There is no cost to NDA, and there is no cost to you!

​All you have to do is to remember to start your shopping at smile.amazon.com (instead of amazon.com). THANK YOU!

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.

Congratulations to our newly elected 2018 NDA Board members! Welcome new member Angie McClelland to the board, and welcome back returning board members Heidi Helmer, Gracia Huenefeld, and Miya Higgins.


Your 2018 NDA Board:


Jane Fucinaro—President
Heidi Helmer—Vice President
Margo Hamilton—Secretary
Kathy Hanford—Treasurer
Miya Higgins—Junior Representative
Gracia Huenefeld—Board member at large
Kathy Lewis—Board member at large
Angie McClelland—Board member at large
Judy Seward—Board member at large

The first meeting of the 2018 board will be January 8, 2018, at 7:30 pm, at Misty's Steakhouse (Havelock) in Lincoln, NE. All NDA members are welcome to attend. 

We look forward to serving you!