President’s Letter
By: Leslie Martien
Dear USAWE Members,
My apologies – the President’s Letter for May was missing – not because I didn’t write it but because of an email snafu on my part. Reaching out to our members is a very important part of the USAWE mission and the monthly newsletter is one of the ways we do that. After all, if it weren’t for our members we wouldn’t exist as an organization!
There’s a part of me that would love to be able to tell you about a momentous occasion or share some exciting working equitation news. What I’m really hoping however, is that you are all creating your own exciting news at shows and clinics. If you are, please share them with your Regional Directors and USAWE – we’d all love to hear from you.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Our committees continue to work quietly behind the scenes. The Awards Committee recently purchased some beautiful medals for year-end awards and are busy keeping track of scores. The Rules Committee recently added a new member to their team, Glynna Hoekstra, in plenty of time to familiarize her with the committee processes before the new season of rule changes begins.
The Coaches Network is pleased to announce three new Working Equitation coaches: Polly Limond in Region 2, Chris Stanko in Region 3, and Emily Kemp in Region 4. If you’re looking for someone to help you get started in Working Equitation or to improve your skills, working with one of these coaches is a great way to start.
The Competitions Committee continues to add more licensed shows to its list – currently there are licensed shows scheduled into November – and the Membership Committee adds new members every day as the excitement and love for this sport continues to grow across the country.
The Marketing Committee has designed a USAWE banner and stickers that are available for purchase for show and event managers and are a great way to promote USAWE. The Ethics Committee is working diligently to develop their policies and procedures with the hope that they never have to implement them.
The Licensed Officials Committee continues to develop their educational programs for both its licensed officials and its members. In case you missed it in your inbox, international judge, António Vicente, is teaching a webinar on June 26th.
While the presentation is geared towards providing our upper level judges with continuing education, our members can join the webinar as silent auditors. Please take advantage of this wonderful opportunity!
We ask for your patience as we continue to establish our committees and do the hard work necessary to put together a new organization from the ground up. We have remarkable, hard-working, intelligent volunteers, who are dedicating hours of their time to making USAWE the best it can be but it takes time and perseverance.
We have committee members with a great deal of experience and others who are very new; all of them are learning to work together, develop new programs, and bring you the best USAWE organization possible.
As always, we’d love to hear from you. Share your stories, ask your burning questions, we’re here for you. Without you, USAWE wouldn’t exist.
Leslie Martien
USAWE President
president@usawe.org
