The Midsouth Eventing and Dressage Association has a unique requirement for membership in addition to paying dues: members must volunteer at events to be eligible for year-end honors.
While this may seem onerous to some, the number of hours to volunteer is not a burden: Members must donate 8 hours of their time total, over the course of the competition year (December 1 through the end of the Hagyard Midsouth Three-Day Event in October as it is the last horse show in the area). Four of these volunteer hours can be at any MSEDA-sanctioned show, but the other four hours must be at either MSEDA Dressage in the Park or Hagyard Midsouth Team Challenge. Members can obtain hours by fence judging, stewarding, bit checking, scoring and jump crewing, to name just a few possibilities. Riders, too, are eligible for these awards in the division in which they compete. For example; a rider who competes in Preliminary Eventing is eligible for awards at that level. If the same rider competes at Preliminary Combined Tests and First Level Dressage, they will be eligible in those categories as well. If they garner the most points of all of the competitors in a given discipline (Eventing, Dressage or Combined Tests), they are eligible for overall High Point Rider, Overall High Point Horse or Mare of the Year, Master Rider (for adults over the age of 50), Junior/Young Rider (for anyone under the age of 21), or special awards such as the Grasshopper Award, for the High Point Thoroughbred, or the Pony Club Award for active Pony Club members who are also MSEDA members, to name a few.
New for 2020
Starting in 2020 if you attend a regularly sanctioned MSEDA show (one the show sanctions, not an individual person) - the volunteer coordinator/show secretary will turn in the volunteer hours for you. No need to get a signed copy and send in. It’s still a good idea to keep checking individual hours and contact the Board Administrator if they seem wrong.
Secondly, ALL JUNIOR MEMBERS ONLY! Junior members only can get ALL of their hours at any regularly sanctioned MSEDA show. We have taken off the rule where half has to be at MSEDA at the Park or Hagyard Team Challenge. This is for Juniors only.
If a member is interested in a special award such as the Pony Club Award, the Grasshopper Award, the Adult Amateur Award, or the Hall of Distinction they must notify Anthony (Administrator) in writing at MSEDA, P.O.Box 338, Georgetown, KY 40324 that they would like to be considered. Points for those awards will not start accruing until Anthony is notified directly in writing.
In addition to being eligible for year-end ridden awards, there are also year-end awards that recognize the people who accrue the most volunteer hours during the competition year called the Volunteer Awards. Twenty five people who accumulate the most hours are recognized at the MSEDA banquet.
If you for some reason need the volunteer form still it can be downloaded here.
Unfortunately screenshots from the USEA VIP website are not acceptable for reporting.
VOLUNTEER COORDINATORS should send information directly to MSEDA in Excel, Word or similar format
just the following information: Volunteer first and last name, total number of hours.
Updated November 18, 2024
Deadline has passed for 2024 awards. Click here for annual general meeting and awards information.