A History of the Central Oregon Chapter
By Kimry Jelen
The
purpose of the Central Oregon Chapter of the Oregon Dressage Society is
to promote the art of dressage through education, competition &
recognition. We are open to all equine enthusiasts & sponsors
whether or not you ride. We invite you to join us!
We
live in beautiful sunny Central Oregon (CO) surrounded by the Cascade
Mountains & High Desert. Many dressage horses here double as trail,
endurance, eventers & cow ponies. It takes only minutes to haul to
Forest Service or BLM lands. Even though CO is somewhat independent from
the more populated NW side, our chapter has had an impact on ODS early
on in its history. Monique Davis, one of our long time members explains,
"it started out to be the Central Oregon Dressage & Eventing Club.
Back then ('70-’80’s) if you did one you probably did the other. Later
as hunters became more popular, the eventers started drifting to doing
more dressage (we were all getting older!!) it started to become more
discipline specific. So today you have a Dressage group, an Eventing
group, & a Hunter/Jumper group."
Dagmar
Fancher (r), a sport horse breeder & one of our founding
members (1998 Teresa Dunlap Award winner), went to Europe & bought
Prompt, a Hanoverian gelding. Kathy Casey (r) a trainer in CO for 3
decades (2010 Instructor of the Year) says Dagmar was the first person
in Oregon to import warmbloods. CO hosted recognized shows back in the
80's at Alice (R) & Lynn Loomis' lovely ranch (also founders and the
2001 T.D. Award winners) - Barb Doherty, a past COC president,
recalls they were "the hostesses with the mostest, they put on quite the
show". Alice's horse Rufus, Horse Ambassador of the Year 1991,
inspired the local "Rufus Award". Alice & Dagmar were strong
influences in those years, along with Linda Landre who won the 1997 T.D.
Award. Many of the Grand Prix or upper level riders in ODS were from CO
back in the 80-90's. Joren Traveller competed in the Olympic 3-day
Event Selection Trials. Dagmar
& Stephanie Maulin (Boise, Idaho) bought the Hanoverian stallion
Ostwind. His offspring, long time member Susan Marcoux's Oz & Omen
owned by Deb Wagner-Kane (a COC treasurer for a decade) are still going
strong. Her husband, Dave Kane was awarded 2010 Support Person
Extraordinaire. Iberians have a strong showing in CO, Piloto Ranch with
their Lusitanos, Linda & Jay Butler's Andalusians & the Knapp
Friesians. We also have Sequel Farm's, Heart B Porter Creek, a champion
mule & 2011 Horse AmbASSador of the Year!
There
have been many dedicated members in our chapter, Gene Hall, past
president & show secretary was instrumental in reviving the chapter
along with the news letter started by Danika Rawlins that won the 2003
Chapter News Letter Award. It kept people in touch & the membership
tripled to 100+ members. Carol Nuckton (our Century Club Member #52,
2008 on Zeb, 27) became editor in 2004 & for the next 3 years won
the ODS Newsletter of the Year Award from 2005-07! Our website, www.centraloregondressage.com
managed by Kristi Marshall, 2009 Support Person Extraordinaire keeps us
in touch now. Marsha Williams became president in 2003 & organized
COC more like ODS, then served as ODS president from 06-08 & is
currently on the USDF nominations council. We now have Swing into
Spring, Summer Sizzler & Fall Fling league shows. Nancy Stearns of
Stonepony Dressage manages an enjoyable schooling show. We included the
Healing Reins Theraputic Riding Center recently & Sandy Klein
organized educational opportunities for the CO OHSET riders.
We
have had several successful Quadrille teams - the famous Knapp
Friesians, The “Glitter Girls” sponsored by Twinkle & a colorful
foursome "the Tropical Riders" who won the 2007 ODS League Championship
Show in Salem. Donna Thayer, instrumental in starting the local "Halt,
Salute, Donate" program that benefits Neighborhood Impact, remembers
being treasurer with "an account of $11 way back when!" Donna received
the 2010 T.D. Award for her efforts in rewriting the chapter bylaws,
next the ODS bylaws & then she took on the task of leading the ODS
board in creating a strategic plan! Our stellar show committee produces
the “Central Oregon Dressage Classic I&II” Recognized Shows hosted
by Brasada Ranch at the Rimrock Riders facility with sought after judges
and offering qualifying classes for ODS and USDF regional
Championships. Brasada Ranch is a beautiful place to visit, it's like
taking a vacation while showing with something to offer non-riders too! The
Central Oregon Chapter is a well rounded group, our members host a
variety of dressage clinics including Freestyle, Quadrille, Pilates,
Centered Riding, Educational Lectures, not to mention the Central Oregon
Adult Camp organized by Lisa Koch (L) a successful AA 4th level
competitor. Many people have been instrumental through the years & so many volunteers - we thank them all!
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