THe
NEWSLETTER OF THE AMERICAN DRIVING SOCIETY, INC.
Representing Carriage Driving in the United States and Canada
IN THIS ISSUE:
NL240
April 2017
ADS NewS
ADS NEWS
• President’s Message ..................1 • USEF and ADS Reach Preliminary Agreement to Reinstate ADS as the USEF Driving Affiliate..................1 • 2017 ADS Licensed Officials (As of March 21, 2017) ........... 2-3 OPINIONS • From Between My Blinders ........4
President’s Message
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A Request o matter how things turn out with our affiliate status, we have a lot of work to do inside the ADS; streamlining our processes, archiving our historical documents, improving the sport, and making it more fun. We have made some progress on the business end (there’s more to go) and have the infrastructure to do even more. I would like to ask each and every member to write me personally (ma@snowcamp.org) to let me know your complaints, priorities, suggestions, and ideas. Feel free to let it all loose and tell it like you see it, I will not be offended. Please try to have your response to me by May 1, 2017 and I will reorganize, summarize, and categorize the combined list and we’ll take it under serious advisement. Our members matter. Affiliate Status If you have not yet seen it, you can read the joint USEF/ADS press release (see below) about the signed letter of intent to reestablish the ADS as the USEF Driving Affiliate. The initial letter of intent listed a series of familiar issues and the federation’s (USEF) executive proposal for how to handle those issues. Except for some very minor changes, they were acceptable to us and I signed the letter. As of this writing, we are still waiting for a proposed affiliate agreement, and as long as that agreement maintains those commitments made in the letter of intent we should be very close to getting this all straightened out. Please send me your feedback as asked above - I will send an acknowledgement for each- if I do not send one within 48 hours, please resend, I get a lot of spam and there some chance that I have accidentally deleted it. Thanks for driving with the ADS, Mike Arnold
ADS NewS Watch for Horsemanship in Hungary in the May issue of
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Photo by Phyllis Murdock.
Articles that appear in The Wheelhorse do not necessarily reflect the opinions or position of The American Driving Society, Inc. (ADS), its Board of Directors or staff, nor does publication of said articles constitute an endorsement of the view they may express. Accuracy of all material is the sole responsibility of the authors. Appearance of an advertisement in The Wheelhorse does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the ADS of the goods and services therein.
USEF and ADS Reach Preliminary Agreement to Reinstate ADS as the USEF Driving Affiliate
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ross Plains, WI & Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and The American Driving Society, Inc. (ADS) have reached a preliminary agreement that resolves the issues pertinent to enabling the restoration of the ADS as the USEF affiliate for the driving discipline. The leadership of both organizations are delighted that progress could be made and that it will be possible to continue their 40+ year relationship to the benefit of all of our driving competitors, officials, competitions, and the driving sport, and to be able to consider the driving affiliate matter to be settled. Murray Kessler, President of the USEF, and Mike Arnold, President of the ADS, jointly issued the following statement: “Together, the USEF and the ADS look forward to utilizing the best of both organizations to further enhance the quality and participation in the driving sport throughout this country and abroad, while at the same time implementing the Safe Sport and Clean Sport policies that are critical to the future of equestrian sports.” Details of the agreement, along with the restoration of the Affiliate Status of the ADS, which are subject to the approval of both the ADS and USEF Boards of Directors, are expected to be released within the next few weeks. 1