At our Organizer’s Meeting, we announced several new initiatives that we hope will help support our competition organizers. We will award three deserving competitions with a $500 competition grant to help purchase needed supplies. You can view the grant application here. 

The current president of the ground jury rule has been modified to allow show jump judges to serve as president of the ground jury in the case that an eventing and dressage judge is not hired for dressage. They will fulfill all normal duties of the president of the ground jury and must remain on-site for the duration of the competition. 

Finally, Shelley Ryan introduced our new Safety Coordinator program. Starting in 2024, dressage schooling shows only may hire an MSEDA approved Safety Coordinator in lieu of a Technical Delegate. The role of the safety coordinator is to help management ensure horse and rider safety throughout the duration of the competition. If you are interested in becoming an approved Safety Coordinator, please contact MSEDA. You can view more information here.

Erin Woodall wrapped up this meeting with an interesting inside view into what an MSEDA Technical Delegate does to prepare for a show, and what they do on grounds. She shared her box of supplies, which included many materials that help her easily locate common rules she has to reference, tools that help her do her job efficiently, and items that keep the day running smoothly. Erin’s biggest reminder to potential new officials is that serving as a Technical Delegate is not as overwhelming as it seems, and that you will always have support from other officials if you start the journey. MSEDA is looking for officials, and we encourage you to join! 

MSEDA hopes these efforts help our competitions run well in 2024.