2026 CDS Annual Meeting and Symposium
- lisaellen2
- Feb 5
- 2 min read
It’s 2026, The Year of the Horse, and there was a lot of energy at the CDS Annual Meeting and Symposium in Pasadena this year. Gary Getz is the new President of CDS and educational events are a top priority for CDS this year.
Margaret Fleming and Lisa White attended the Annual Meeting and are pictured here with Central Region Chapter members.
A few of the highlights and salient points from the weekend:
1. Awards were given to the CDS Chapter with the best Event, the best Newsletter and the best Website. The Santa Barbara Chapter won the award for best Newsletter, and a corresponding check for $500.00. Kudos to Nicole Walther, one of our new Board Members for 2026. She has been the wizard behind our newsletter the past few years.
Margaret Fleming, Lisa White and Gary Getz.
2. The CDS scholarship committee funded $3,000 in scholarships this year and the Santa Barbara County Chapter was one of the recipients. Thank-you to Margaret Fleming for her diligence in applying for the $1,000 grant that will support the Janet Jones Masterclass scheduled for March 7, 2026.
3. CDS rolled out a new program called “Dressage Accomplishment Club”, an exciting addition to what CDS already offers. A points system is now in place with year-end awards. The program is open to anyone riding dressage in any form. This includes Schooling shows, Working Equitation, Western dressage, Eventing and Cowboy dressage. Contact the central office for more information and the paperwork to enroll in this program. https://www.california-dressage.org/contact-us
4. Education is a focus and priority for CDS this year, with emphasis on events that serve a large number of members, including webinars, that are relevant to everyone. Gary Getz commented that the Santa Barbara County Chapter hosting Janet Jones for a Masterclass event is a great example of this.
5. Something to be aware of - all horses competing in USEF-licensed or endorsed competitions, including CDS shows, must be microchipped. Originally the effective date was December 1, 2025, but this has been extended to December 1, 2026.
For more information about microchipping, please read here.
6. Reginna Antonioli provided a summary of the USDF annual meeting. One topic at that meeting was “Social license to operate” and the welfare of the horse. It was discussed at length at the CDS annual meeting as well. More on this topic can be found at https://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/what-we-do/sport-and-leisure-horses/what-is-a-social-licence-to-operate
7. The banquet Saturday evening was elegant and memorable as legendary Steffen Peters was inducted into the CDS Honor Roll, joining 2022 honoree Hilda Gurney.
8, On Sunday nearly 400 symposium attendees watched and learned from Steffen Peters as he instructed six riders on horses spanning the levels. His reminder to all of us is: “Not every day with horses is good, but there is something good in every day with horses.” Through his kind and insightful comments, we watched and learned as the horses improved before our eyes.