On the Scene in San Diego: All Quiet on the Western Front (so far)

There may be some fireworks today, with go/no-go voting slated on a US national dressage championships and election of the three new USDF at-large directors. Yesterday, however, was mostly peaceful in San Diego at the 2011 Adequan/USDF National Convention.

The only contentious moment I heard about was ire voiced by some in USDF Region 3 over the US Equestrian Federation Dressage Committee's announcement that there will be 11 CDIs (FEI dressage competitions) in Florida next year, some in quite close proximity. As the USDF DC members explained in their open forum, they decided to take a free-market approach: Competitors will vote with their entry dollars, and presumably the strong will survive.

Many convention attendees enjoyed last night's USDF University educational session, "Balance in Movement," presented by Dr. Hilary Clayton and by Balance in Movement author Susanne von Dietze. Excellent photos and videos helped illustrate how horses balance and how riders influence their mounts, for better or for worse.

As I write this, discussion on the proposed US dressage national championships is under way and looks to carry on for a good while. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, here are some more photos from this year's convention activities.