President’s Letter

By: Doreen Atkinson

Happy August WE friends,

I hope this letter finds you having a good summer, with good rides good shows and good friendship. I have been beating the heat somehow an still riding daily and have learned a lot at the train to win clinics I have attended. Board business, judging appointments, and grandchildren have kept me on my toes.

It has been brought to my attention that a lot of members are concerned that the lower levels are being forgotten and not promoted, but that is further from the truth. The lower levels have been the focus as long as I’ve been doing working equitation. There have been and still are many clinics, training sessions, online instruction and webinars over the basics of working equitation throughout the USA. I myself am training to become more knowledgeable at the upper levels. What do the international judges want to see, and what is expected at the higher levels so upper level riders like myself can instruct and teach other members. The Professional Development Committee is working on collaborating with the Licensed Officials Committee to be able to educate with clinics and seminars for all the members about training WE and judge expectations.

I appreciate and want to thank all the wonderful affiliate organizations that are holding clinics and shows which are filled primarily of the lower levels. If it were not for the lower level rides, USAWE would struggle to exist.

I want to thank all members and volunteers for your passion of this organization and supporting USAWE with your time, talents and treasures.

By the next newsletter, I will have an update of the European championships in Czech Republic. I will attend as a WAWE judge candidate. The Western Zone Championship will be happening in September in Oregon and is recognized as an WAWE International competition as well, which means international riders are invited to compete. Our first qualifying show for the WAWE international competition in 2026 will be in October in Tennessee.

Elections are coming, and we have several positions opening, so watch for the notice coming from the Elections Committee.

Rule change proposals are due at the end of August so please submit your proposal by August 31. Bylaw change proposals are also ready to be reviewed and we’ll have an updated bylaws by year end.
So much work has been done by so many good hard-working volunteers and I appreciate each and every one of them.

Have a great end of summer. And until next time, I hope to see you at a future event.
Doreen Atkinson, President