Dressage Canada Announces New Board, Ratifies Committee Chairs

Ottawa, ON — The 2010 Dressage Canada Board met face-to-face for the first time this year at the Equine Canada Convention, held early February, in Montreal, QC. The group welcomed new members Michaela Eisengruber, Courtenay Fraser, and Renee Young, as well as two new athlete representatives — long-time competitors Nancy MacLachlan and Gina Smith. Also new this year is the addition of three committee representatives on the board.

Three integral DC committees can now send one representative each to sit on the DCB to facilitate the smooth operation of the organization as a whole. John Harris of the High Performance Committee and Kristy Nahirniak of Domestic Development fall into this category as does Karen Thompson-Harry who is performing double-duty as both the Officials Committee Representative and the newly elected Chair of the DCB.

Remaining on the board are Kim Goodyear, Lisa Hossack-Scott and Sue Rothgeb. Rothgeb was encouraged by the face-to-face meetings at the Convention noting that, “the first meeting of the new extended board saw a smooth election that put Karen Thompson-Harry in as the new chair.” She remarked further that, “with all committees up and running now, it looks like 2010 will be a good year.”

The Convention also saw the ratification of all DC committee chairs. Heading up the Athlete’s Council is competitor and active volunteer, Victoria Winter. Frances Ribbink is leading the Coaching Committee and FEI Judge Lorraine Stubbs is chair of Competitions. Angela Booth Malleau is staying on as chair of Communications, as is Joanna Crilly of the Rules Committee. Domestic Development will be handled by Kristy Nahirniak and her team; and Officials will be overseen by Joan McCartney with Margaret Murdoch taking on the leadership of the Stewards Sub-Committee.

The High Performance Committee underwent a face-lift this past year when the group re-made their Terms of Reference. The committee now consists of a number of different working groups, each with a group leader who is responsible for their members. These leaders, along with chairs Pauline Bosman and John Harris, will form the High Performance Executive. Groups include: Criteria, Human Resources, Team Management, Public Relations/Promotion, Development and Youth.

With many new volunteers this year and the continued dedication of past members, 2010 will surely be an exciting and rewarding season for all involved in Dressage in Canada.

Additional Way to Support Canadian Riders’ WEG Dreams

There are still a number of WEG ticket packages available. Each package contains tickets directly behind “C” for four dressage events and are $875 (CDN) each. Dressage Canada also has a few select hotel rooms available at the official Canadian hotel — the Griffen Gate Resort and Spa in Lexington, KY. This is the same hotel where all the Canadian athletes will be staying. The room rate is $329/night plus taxes and the hotel rooms are booked for arrival on Sept 26th for 7 nights.

For more information, visit the Dressage Canada website (www.equinecanada.ca/dressage) and click on the “WEG 2010 Ticket Package Special” advertisement.