[h=1][/h] USEF and the American Driving Society Reach Preliminary Agreement to Reinstate ADS as the USEF Driving Affiliate:
This has been an interesting series of events.
What was the disagreement about?
This is how USEF described the issue: [h=2]USEF Board of Directors Removes Recognized Affiliate Designation from the American Driving Society[/h] [h=4]by USEF Communications Department | Jan 20, 2017, 9:00 AM EST[/h]
Lexington, Ky. â The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announces that, effective immediately, The American Driving Society (ADS) will no longer be recognized by the USEF as the affiliate for the driving discipline. The change in recognition results from an inability to reach an agreement as to the responsibilities of the Recognized Affiliate for the driving discipline.
The USEF Board of Directors conducted a thorough review regarding the status of a draft affiliate agreement during the recent USEF Annual Meeting. This included a historical review of the work of ADS to meet its responsibilities as a USEF Recognized Affiliate and the specifics of the draft agreement. After considerable work with the ADS to reach an agreement, the USEF and the ADS remained at an impasse.
USEF CEO Bill Moroney stated, âWe had hoped that over the course of the past year, the discussions would have proven to be successful and regret that we were unable to reach an agreement with the ADS that reflected its responsibilities as the Recognized Affiliate for the driving discipline.â
All responsibilities for the driving discipline under the USEF umbrella, including the fielding of championship teams, will be handled by USEF. The USEF leadership team has developed a comprehensive communication plan and will contact impacted constituencies with additional information. We welcome communication with driving competition organizers, officials, and competitors as we continue to move the sport of driving forward.
And this is from the ADS perspective:
The U.S. Equestrian Federation announced in a press release Jan. 20 that the American Driving Society will no longer be recognized as the driving affiliate.
âThe change in recognition results from an inability to reach an agreement as to the responsibilities of the Recognized Affiliate for the driving discipline,â the release stated. âThe USEF Board of Directors conducted a thorough review regarding the status of a draft affiliate agreement during the recent USEF Annual Meeting. This included a historical review of the work of ADS to meet its responsibilities as a USEF Recognized Affiliate and the specifics of the draft agreement. After considerable work with the ADS to reach an agreement, the USEF and the ADS remained at an impasse.â
Mike Arnold, president of the ADS, said the board of directors made the decision during a closed session, which neither he nor any other member of the ADS was allowed to attend, and that the USEF notified them of the decision in a letter.
âWe were really upset and dismayed that I wasnât able to be in there to represent ourselves and represent the ADS,â said Arnold. âIn the end, [the decision] was about a few people. They somehow left the driver out of it, which is all weâre really concerned about.â
The decision was made after USEF approached the ADS about restructuring the relationship between the two.
"A year ago, the board met and said, âYouâve got a year to work it out and get into compliance with the federation policies and proceduresâespecially around drug testing and licensed officials,â " said USEF President Murray Kessler. "They went through that process and had mediators [Joseph Mattingly, chair of the International Disciplines Council, and Pete Kyle, member of the IDC] involved, but at the end of the day, they were unable to come into a level of compliance that made us feel comfortable with the governance and our responsibilities for governance.
âThis is not a decision that was taken lightly,â Kessler continued, âbut just like how I want the organizers and competitors to operate in a fair and level playing field, we need to do the same as a federation.â
The decision will not impact aspects of driving that already fall under the USEF purview, including the selection of championship teams. Pleasure driving will be unaffected, because there are no joint USEF-licensed/ADS-recognized shows in that division. However, combined driving does have roughly four to eight dual-licensed events per year, which will be affected.
The ADS traditionally has jurisdiction over training, preliminary and intermediate competitions, while USEF is in charge of advanced and any FEI-sanctioned competitions.
âItâs not so much a problem for the lower level, but what does it mean for the upper level?â asked Arnold. âI fear that itâs just not good for the sport. I fear itâs going to further restrict those advanced competitors to the more wealthy, and weâve worked hard to prevent that.â
While Arnold said the ADS was willing to make concessions on certain points of contention, such as drug testing by 2020, they felt strongly that the licensing of officials should be kept under their umbrella.
âFor more than 40 years, the ADS has been training and licensing officials for the lower levels, as well as for USEF-licensed competitions,â said former ADS President Natasha Grigg, who was also a member of the working group tasked with negotiations. âAny person who wished to become a USEF official, all they had to do was join USEF and go through the [licensing of officials] USEF requirements. They were encouraged to do so; obviously we need USEF âRâ officials to judge advanced competitions. Itâs never been a problem. There has historically been very little connection between USEF [Licensed Officials Committee] and ADS LOC. Itâs probably everybodyâs fault, but there has been a disconnect.â
All current USEF carriage pleasure or combined driving officials must participate in a USEF Licensed Officials clinic, or take an exam to maintain a license. Any officiating maintenance requirements must now be met with USEF, and USEF liability protection will not cover officials at ADS competitions.
Categories: Driving, News [h=2][/h]
More from ADS. A sticking issue was/is the ADS providing the training and licensing for TDs and judges for ADS Carriage Driving events, as they have done for 40 years. There was disagreement on the licensing of officials for USEF Carriage Driving events, which are higher level competitions.
American Driving Society Baffled By US Equestrian Decision
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1/21/2017 8:58pm
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All Equestrian, Driving Daily
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To the Members of The American Driving Society, Inc.
The Board of Directors of The American Driving Society, Inc. (âADSâ) was saddened and dismayed Thursday night when we read the letter we received from William J. Moroney, CEO of US Equestrian(âUSEâ). The letter announced a precipitous decision taken by the USE Board of Directors in a closed session at their recent meeting in Lexington Kentucky. That decision was to summarily terminate the ADSâs 40-year tenure as the USE Driving Affiliate. We were not allowed an opportunity to attend the secret USE Board meeting or to speak on the matter at any time with the Board, Mr. Moroney or Mr. Kessler (USE President), on this hugely important matter.
The ADS has been the driving affiliate of USE and its several predecessor organizations for more than 40 years. During that time we have worked tirelessly to promote the sport of carriage driving in all of its forms and to ensure the highest standards of sportsmanship and ethical treatment of our equine partners. We are not aware of a single instance of an ADS member being sanctioned for drug or other violations and are proud of the record of competitive and general driving achievement and camaraderie of our members both in the United States and abroad. Indeed, at the recent USE members meeting three members of the ADS family were given major awards by the USE in recognition of their current and long term accomplishments.
The letter from Mr. Moroney states that the ADS and USE had failed to reach agreement on an affiliate agreement and that ADS had requested âexceptionsâ that the USE Board was not prepared to grant. We were not informed of the decision or indeed of the discussion so we are not absolutely certain we know to what the letter refers.
Some time ago, the then USEF requested that ADS craft a new affiliate agreement and that ADS provide a team to work with USEF in drafting such a document. While we were surprised to learn that no template existed, members of our Board worked many hours to bring that process to a conclusion and most recently provided USE with an outline of the major issues that had been addressed during this process. All members of the negotiating team were in agreement on all of these issues save the licensure of officials who act as judges or technical delegates at ADS only (non-USEF) competitions in Combined and Pleasure Driving. The ADS feels strongly that our unblemished record of more than 40 years of providing this function and substantially all the training for both ADS and USEF officials should continue. The discussion document noted that USEF staff had stated a strong preference for the licensure activity to be the sole purview of the USEF. At no time were any lines drawn or ultimatums given by either party, at any forum, to which we were invited by USEF.
We are baffled that the continuation of a 40-year tradition of service could somehow become an unacceptable exception to some unstated rule. We have questions about the lack of due process in this decision â we have not been informed or provided an opportunity to meet with the Board of the USE or its senior officials. Like you, we have been summarily told that we are no longer the driving affiliate.
It is our plan to ensure, to the best of our ability, that no member of the driving community is disadvantaged by this reckless behavior by the USE. We deeply regret the actions of the USE Board with respect to our status as affiliate and the several steps that they have taken today which will negatively impact our members, our organizers and the sport of driving.
We are proud of the traditions of the ADS and pledge to our members and the driving community at large that we will continue to uphold those traditions and to support the driving community with the same level of service, education, competition organization and other activities as we have for the past 40 years. Many of our current Board members have served ADS and the driving community for ALL those years and are eager to continue that service into the future.
Respectfully,
The Board of Directors of The American Driving Society, Inc.
Thanks keysfins. That was very interesting and it isnât clear what will change for the horses and/or drivers.
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It seemed completely unexpected that USE abruptly dropped ADS as the affiliate for carriage driving. (Is there even an alternate group that could serve as the affiliate? CAA, perhaps? ) ADS says they were excluded from meetings, and was working on the points that USE wanted. It also seems obvious that there was poor communication from USE to ADS.
ADS is the body (in the US) that has trained TDs and judges for carriage driving sports. Iâm not sure what USEâs options might be if they try to take over the training and licensing of officials at the lower level events. I think this may be a sort of truce, on USEâs part, which is wise, IMO. Not sure what other pathway there is for TDs and judges getting training and experience, if not by way of ADS, for driving disciplines.
ADS wants to focus on the many competitors at the lower levels, and promote the growth of the sport whether Combined Driving, Pleasure Driving or other fun driving events.
USE wants to focus on the very top competitors in Combined Driving, from what I understand. It sort of makes sense for the USE to put focus on/resources into the national level competitors, much like the High Performance Committee of the USEF.
That group of elite competitors is really very small. And the resources/funds required to field a national driving team has always been extremely daunting. It is just hugely expensive to transport equines, vehicles, coaches and support to international competitions. It will be interesting to see if USE boosts resources to the elite level driving teams.
One of the big competition obstacles (excuse the pun) is the number of higher level competitors and the geography of the US. Many high level teams are located on the east coast, and some on the west coast. Anyone in the middle wanting to dip a toe into the high level competitions has a long haulâvery expensive, and logistically less convenient. (I do hope the Colorado Horse Park might be an option again for the non-coasters.)
If USE does provide more exposure for driving disciplines, in particular Combined Driving, it may help bring newcomers into the driving sports, and that could be a common good between USE and ADS.
These comments are simply my own thoughts, as I have followed this series of events.
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One certainly hopes that this matter can be resolved for the overall survival of the sport.
I admire the top end of the sport, but with no criticism implied, we all canât be as well off as Chester Weber. Itâs definitely an expensive proposition at the upper levels.
I do like the idea of trying to get more people involved at the lower levels. I see some opportunity there especially with the aging baby boomers who want to be active and competitive with horses. Driving can be a good alternative to riding for some people. I know I have made the switch, but showing is another issue. It takes a crew to show and the opportunities are not that frequent and convenient even in horse country. I can haul a horse to a horse trial, dressage show, or jumper show any weekend and have lots of choices. And the OP points out, I am lucky about where I live.
Iâd love to see more opportunities for lower level drivers. I have always believed that horse sports â all of them â have to stick together and build a base. The stronger the base, the more likelihood of having a sustainable sport for future generations. It is sad to see political infighting and closed executive sessions get in the way. I am sorry that USDF and USE staff could not have smoothed some of the issues out. Letâs hope that they can move on in harmony now.
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I agree, IronwoodFarm.
The ADS has been the organization that keeps driving âaliveâ, in sport, along with local clubs. There is more to driving than just the high level events, and I think ADS and local clubs have the key role in recruiting and supporting the majority of carriage drivers. As you point out, people who no longer ride, for whatever reason, can still enjoy horses and sport in carriage driving.
USE would be wise to acknowledge that the base of the sport will eventually produce the high level competitors. A driver new to the sport does not simply jump in to a national level Advanced Pairs division, for example, as their first driving competition.
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This is an interesting state of affairs between the two groups. ADS is going to keep going even if not the FEI affiliate, putting on CDEs, shows and other competitions. People will still attend and compete at the lower levels which include Intermediare that does Advanced level work without the added expense to Organizers to put it on. Personally, I see the USEF being unhappy because they are not controlling ALL the things ADS runs. With the seperation, I have heard a lot of âWell why do we need USEF anyway? They just make everything harder and more expensive to comply. Keep the ADS with their own Rules for our various competitions.â
As mentioned, the costs of being considered for International level Driving are extremely high. Way back in COTH Driving Posts we had a young lady whose father posted here. They went all over, did lessons, improved their vehicles, ponies. He was frank about the high cost of competing, attendant expenses, and that was only ONE animal, not Pairs or Fours. I remember it being over $100,000 for ONE year, of competition costs alone! His daughter was very good, did well, but it was a full-time job hauÄŸing around, staying fit, etc. Daughter also was a high level Dressage rider, successful in that area before driving, and his costs were not even half the Driving expenses to compete Nationally and win. She stopped before reaching her goal, decided at 18, to concentrate on her College education. She did compete for several years before getting out. I have not heard anything about her since then.
There really are not that many USEF driving activities in the USA. They are extremely expensive to put on, needing more Officials, following USEF Rules to meet their standards. Not every group has the support, budget, that Live Oak is able to generate. Out here in the Midwest, we donât see many FEI type competitors. They say we are too far to travel to, when they only have to travel a couple hours to other competions. Not worth the effort unless we would be a qualifying event for an FEI catagory to go to Europe.
I do think there is a lot of politics involved, we just are not hearing it. There always are when there are governing bodies and horses. Hope it settles smoothly, but without the ADS having to lose control. The ADS is more human, relates better to Drivers, all levels, than anything I hear about the USEF doing in any discipine they cover. Certainly no governing body can make everyone happy. Just that the USEF appears capricious in many decisions, actions, that get put into effect.
CAA is not set up to be a National governing body for Driving. CAA is more a tradition keeper, reference location for all historical things related to Driving. They have implemented the Driving Proficiency testing, which appears to be a great program. This tests skills and horse knowledge for safer driving from bringing horse out, grooming, harnessing, hitching, getting in and out of vehicle, to rein skills. Over 600 people have passed to be certified at Level 1, with many passing to Levels 2 and 3. There are books from the CAA to help prepare for being tested. But for running CDEs, training Officials, the CAA is not set up for that.
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Thank you goodhors. Your perspective is very interesting.
The CAA isnât interested in competition. Not back when the ADS was organized (from CAA folk that wanted to compete), and not now. Their focus is history, restoration and turnout of antique carriages put to appropriately harnessed and driven horses/ponies, and preservation of the prior centuryâs template of social driving of those same carriages.
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I attended the USEF/ADS meeting at Live Oak where they discussed the press release (about 2 minutes before it was issued, I think) and it was about as short and sweet as the actual press release, but they were also there to give a high performance update and talk about widening the driving membership base (declining, not growing).
The upshot there is it is unlikely that we will field a âteamâ at the Pony World Championships since team is now defined as two 1P, two 2P and one 4P team (and we have no advanced 4 in hand pony teams with FEI WC qualifications at this time) so looks like we will send individual competitors (decided after final selection trials in SoPi).
Also FEI rules have changed to limit the amount of host nation participants in WEG so Tryon 2018 will only allow the core team (about 10 US teams competed in 2010, but most were not on the team), but if anyone heard a rumor about CDE not being represented at Tryon, USEF went out of their way to confirm that the organizers are planning on having CDE, it will be represented, blah blah blah⊠I canât really speak authoritatively about what was going on here since I was generally clueless in this area and mostly heard âthereâs a rumor but itâs not trueâ. Itâs possible the CDE status at Tryon was mixed up with this reduced number of teams from the host nation? (In any event, when clueless people - me - pass on updates, you should definitely do your own due diligence!)
But most importantly, USEF was looking for ways to expand the driving membership base and ways to introduce more people to driving. I am pretty sure the USEF person speaking was Debby Banfield, and if you have any suggestions I would send them to her (please, oh please be the right name, if not, Debby, I apologize in advance). One of the issues with competing internationally is that a lot of USET donations are restricted by the donor and unrestricted funds are going to be divided with an eye to membership (it wasnât said that bluntly, thatâs me reading between the lines). More membership means more funding, not to mention the basic tenet of business - grow or die.
My suggestion was an outreach program to the high school/middle school equestrian teams, maybe if USEF/ADS has designated drivers in states (especially those outside Aiken, SoPi, Ocala, etc.) that would hots teams for learning events, etc.
But Iâm sure there are a 100 better suggestions, so I suggest burning down the USEF inboxes with ideas!
Not what folks want to hear, but trying to recruit âyoung driversâ is not a direction that has proven worthwhile over MANY years of past efforts. The money would be much better spent getting Driving out in front of the âmature adultâ crowd. They have money to spend on hobbies, more freedom to come and go for competing. They often have a friend or partner who can enjoy driving things with the driver, yet never needs a horse of their own. One family horse is enough for both to enjoy. There are so few young drivers around, they stand out in the Driving crowd like a tree in the desert. They are nice, skilled, and still they seem to vanish after high school, even the very good ones. A couple are still driving (And getting older by the minute! Ha ha), doing well, but most notable because of their youth among the older folks.
Driving is expensive, does need support person or people beyond the driver themselves. It takes a lot to get to shows and have the equipment needed to do well, both Pleasure Driving and doing CDE type things. Just so much much cheaper, easier for young people to play or compete in the riding disciplines, at any level.
Debbie Banfield is a real person, would be qualified to talk on ths topic to the Driving folks at Live Oak. The newest Driving Digest, just out, touches in the split in a couple articles. Printing schedule was probably ahead of news to get back together, so that is not mentioned. Sorry we canât field a full team for pony competition. But if qualified individuals can go I wish them the best of luck in Europe. Perhaps the USEF could help some with finances. This constant fund-raising by individuals to go is draining on them financially and their friends, any sympathetic other drivers. Along with being a lot of mental stress, âWill I have enough money to go? How many expenses can we cut and still make it?â
yes, I know Debby is a real person, Iâm just not a 100% sure that is who I was talking to at the meeting! (hence the caveats).
And I would respectfully disagree about engaging young people. No they are not likely to embrace it that day/week/month/year, for the same reason that the vast majority arenât qualifying for indoors that day either, or going on the young riders tour. Because all of those things take money as well. BUT it might spark an interest to be a volunteer, engage in pleasure driving, make contacts with drivers and be a navigator AND it might just put that spark of interest in them so when they do turn into a middle age adult, it is on their radar. Also, do you know what HS riding team kids almost always have? Middle aged parents. Probably disproportionately with above average income and disproportionate involvement in the equestrian industry.
This is about marketing and brainstorming ideas, and the key points everyone needs to remember is there are NO bad ideas, you stifle creativity when you start talking about the why stuff doesnât work versus working the idea. And equally importantly, you need to think about the long game in marketing every bit as much as the immediate returns!
Case in point, as a young one I drove the family pony (in one of those god awful pipe carts in the 70âs, later mercifully upgraded to a meadowbrook). It was ALWAYS on my list to get back to driving precisely BECAUSE of how much I enjoyed it when I was younger. So what did I do after my retired hunter passed and my younger hunter opted for the early retirement plan? I decided I wasnât getting any younger and my bucket list needed to be worked on. So one fjord later (thanks Ironwood Farm!), a kutzmann and assorted other equipment , guess what new adventure I am embarking on?
Whether I am any good or even remotely competitive remains to be seen, but it probably never would have occurred to me if it hadnât been for my exposure as a child (guess where the inspiration came from? One of those middle aged people I knew who were ⊠driving!). So I may be an outlier and this will nevereverever happen again in the history of the universe, but I kind of doubt it. 
Sorry, did not mean to be shooting down ideas. Just sharing what has not happened in focused campaigns towards young folks. Certainly I agree that driving exposure to all ages is a good goal of getting new drivers involved at any level. I just did the local Horse Expo for our Driving Club and answered many questions about getting started in Driving. Ages were 30âs on up. Many HAD been riders, not riding now and want to use that horse eating his head off behind the barn. Some had purchased trained driving horses, no clues where to learn to drive or finding the suppliers of the equipment needed to âhitch and goâ. Our Club is for helping folks gain driving knowledge and skills to drive safely. Not any kids that stopped to ask questions while I worked.
We do have 4-H, Pony Clubs, High School Equestrian teams in the State, with a lot of kids participating. As you say, maybe some of these kids will eventually make their way to the Driving world. Or their parents, trying to use the kidâs old horse while it lives out itâs days at the farm. I will keep my fingers crossed!
You are right, there are no bad ideas. Sometimes the idea gets a lot of twisting, almost unrecognized in itâs final useful form when it is implemented! I do not want to stifle any creativity in ideas to get more folks driving!
thanks! You are right, there are no bad ideas, only ones who do not have a good ROI for what you are trying to achieve.
Itâs certainly not one I would invest a ton of money on, but until I was challenged to âworkâ the idea, even I had not thought about all those parents who would also be exposed to drivingâŠ
