An enthusiastic group made up of auditors, trainers, amateurs, S judges, judge applicants and USEF licensed Western Dressage judges met for 3 days to continue their education in Western Dressage. Clinicians Joanne Coy, Cindy Butler, Jodi Ely and Gail Matheus presented an engaging program that earned extraordinary praise from attendees.

The judges education seminar is held every February in Denver, all are welcome to attend, don’t miss out ! Plus, it has become a tradition to have a Superbowl party on the last evening, a great way to wind down after an intense 3 days of learning.

Please visit our “The Journey” blog to read about one attendees experience at the seminar, wdaa.memberclicks.net

A word from the WDAA Judges Ed Committee – Joanne Coy

The Judge Education Committee has been very busy these past several months. We have redesigned the process for judges to become licensed, giving applicants and current judges many more options. All of the requirements are listed on the USEF/WDAA websites. A few significant changes to the licensure process include (but are not limited to):

The addition of scribing and sitting hours required of small r applicants, Mandatory sideline apprenticing as well as attending the WDAA World Show Judge Education Training Program and passing that program with a satisfactory rating required of r applicants.

To become eligible to start the process obtaining a small r license, the applicant must either already have a current Federation License, or be a USDF L Graduate or have completed a minimum of three requirements that range from judging experiences at a schooling show to having trained a horse that places in the top 5 at the world show. There are other options that an applicant may choose, these are just some examples.

Requirements for R Applicants now include Sideline Apprenticing as well as attending and passing the WDAA World Show Judge Education Training Program. The Sideline Apprenticing opportunity allows R WD Judges to work with apprentices at live shows (with prior permission from show management, of course) so that apprentices can gain as much knowledge from our
WD experts ringside.

All of these methods, coupled with our Online Judge Seminar and annual in person Judge Seminar in Colorado, help to prepare our current judges and our apprentices to better evaluate
our riders. The consistency in judging that we gain from our very carefully outlined judge education program is so valuable . We want our riders to feel that they are performing for judges who are prepared and compassionate, judges who will recognize their efforts and help them with constructive criticism so they can better educate themselves and their horses. The best gift we can give our horses is an education so they may live a long useful life.

Our Judge Education Committee consists of Gail Matheus, Director, Joanne Coy, Chair, Cindy Butler, WD President, Jodi Ely, and Joyce Swanson. It’s a team of dedicated professionals who value the hard work of all of our WD members, fellow judges and WD Staff.

Western Dressage enthusiasts are looking for education anywhere they can find it, pod casts, clinics, lessons (virtual and in-person) YouTube videos, etc. The easiest place for them to find all of these things is at www.wdaa.org on the member Learning Management System (LMS) and in the WDAA Professionals Directory. It is a free membership benefit for all professionals. If you don’t have a listing, set one up now, if you already have one make sure you have a good profile photo and easy to find contact information with links to all of your educational content and offerings.