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gether supremely to lay claim to the Training Level title with 73.103%. The cold snap took Bowman by surprise. “I’m from Florida, and I’ve


never seen snow,” said Bowman through chattering teeth. “I took


my coat off before the test and I couldn’t feel my fingers, but as soon as I turned on to the center- line, I felt my fingers and I thought ‘Let’s go!’” Bowman used to ride Quar-


ter Horses on the hunter/jumper


Scenes from Sunday at the 2022 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®. Photo by Katie Lewis


Journey to Finals Yields Re- sults


Celsiana William’s move


Former hunter/jumper rider Catherine Bowman — who had never seen snow before — rides Felix to 73.103% to top the leaderboard in the Training Level championship. Photo by SusanJStickle.com


circuit, but decided to switch to dres- sage and imported Felix when he was four.


“It’s really a


Prima Ballerina, whose 70.694% earned the Fourth Level Jr/YR title. Photo by SusanJStickle.com


Moving from California to Florida pays dividends for Celsiana William and


jump going to a big German horse and learning to ride the energy forward,” added the 28-year- old, who works at Publix in the phar- macy but would like to be a professional rider one day. “Felix really tries for me, but I wouldn’t be here — and I wouldn’t have a big ribbon — without my trainers Shelley Van den Neste and her daughter Han- nah Lisec. With a bit more time and miles


I think he’ll be a rockstar.”


William’s Long


Scenes from Sunday at the 2022 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®. Photo by Kevin Reinig


across the country to pursue her dressage dreams proved a good call when she and Prima Balle- rina captured the Fourth Level Jr/YR champion’s sash with 70.694%. The mare by Bon Bravour was awarded a high score of 72.361% from the judge at C thanks to lots of eights. “This was my first time


competing at Finals, and I was nervous,” admitted the 20-year- old. “I’ve never ridden in an arena like that before. I felt the pressure, but Bella was so easy that she gave me confidence. When you get a good mare, it’s the best thing ever. She was very focused but she’s only nine. I wasn’t expecting to win, that’s


for sure. She sometimes gets a lit- tle nervous at big shows and she’s never been to Finals before, so it was a big deal for us to get here.”


William bought the mare


sight unseen after falling in love with the horse on a video when she was a four-year-old. Initially, she produced the mare almost to- tally by herself. “I grew up in a rural part of


California and there weren’t many dressage trainers around, so I worked with Brian Hafner — who is my coach now and has been for 10 years — but I didn’t see him often,” she explained. “It’s been quite a journey. Now we live in Ocala, Florida, and I get to ride with him all the time. We’re going to try to make the Young Rider team next year, as it will be my last year to do it.” In the day’s other two


Scenes from Sunday at the 2022 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®. Photo by Katie Lewis


Scenes from Sunday at the 2022 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®. Photo by Kevin Reinig


young rider classes, Lauren Polk’s score of 72.356% was boosted by a high mark of 76.724% from the judge at M for a charming test in the Training Level championship. She and Diano, a 19-year-old gelding by Don Renoir, topped a class in which the top five combinations all achieved at least 70%. In the Second Level Jr/YR


tussle, Taylor Allen came out on top, riding the 12-year-old mare Fleur De Lis, by Tuschinski. Their score of 69.405% topped the field of 18 starters. Sunday’s classes conclude


competition in the 2022 USDF Finals. Catch up with all the ac- tion via the USDF Facebook page, the US Dressage Finals


New Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission presents first report to FEI members


The Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commis-


sion (EEWB) for the FEI delivered its first report to FEI delegates at the FEI General Assembly (GA) in Cape Town (12 November). The independent EEWB was founded in June


2022 to address equine welfare issues of public and equestrian concern to ensure the welfare of the horse is paramount - and so strengthen horse sport’s ‘social licence’ to operate. The Commis- sion, which meets monthly, immediately commis- sioned two substantial surveys to provide concrete data to help shape its proposals. The surveys were conducted in English,


Spanish and French; one designed for horse enthu- siasts, the other for the general public. Almost 28,000 equestrians – including almost 8,000 FEI affiliates - responded to the former from 116 coun- tries, and more than 14,000 people from 14 nations were surveyed in the latter. Full details of the methodology and findings


can be viewed at the EEWB Commission’s new website at https://equinewellbeing.fei.org/key-doc- uments.html. Amongst the key findings were: Clear evidence that both equestrians (75% of


those surveyed) and the general public (65%) have concerns about the welfare of horses in sport 67% of the general public, and 50% of sur-


veyed equestrians, believe horses sometimes or never enjoy being used in sport


78% within the equestrian community and


52% of the public believe welfare standards need to improve The six priority areas amongst equestrians


are: 1) training and riding/tack and equipment; 2) recognizing physical and emotional stress; 3) ac- countability/enforcement/knowledge; 4) the other 23 hours; 5) competitive drive/horses seen as a number 6) not fit to compete/masking health prob- lems.


There is general optimism (77% of equestri-


ans) for horses’ future use in sport, but only with welfare improvements Equestrian stakeholders consider that for


horses’ welfare to be improved: current welfare rules must be better enforced; new welfare rules should be informed by science; and those involved with horses should have a required level of equine welfare knowledge From these findings, the EEWB Commission


has made six initial recommendations which range from tack and equipment issues (eg. double bridles no longer being mandatory in Grand Prix dressage) to education (an Education Focus Group is being established to review and adapt horsemanship teaching as necessary). A list of further sources used by the EEWB in pro- ducing its tack and equipment recommendations is also available on Commission’s new website at


h t t p s : / / e q u i n ewe l l b e i n g . f e i . o rg / k e y - documents.html . Professor Dr Natalie Waran, Chair of the


EEWB, told delegates: “As the Commission, we will be blunt. We will be direct and we will tell you the truth. But in the end we will be here with you. There is change that needs to happen and we are here to develop a strategy, provide objective ad- vice, make recommendations and then see how these recommendations can be put into operation. “I am pleased FEI members recognize that


the data from the surveys is extremely valuable to identify concerns as well as suggested courses of action to mitigate them. While it’s clear that change is needed, I am confident that the FEI, the National Federations and equestrians around the world are committed to the journey. The work of the Com- mission will provide the structure, set the direction and help with navigating the actions that can be taken, but it will be the ongoing leadership of the FEI and work at local level that will help ensure that equine welfare is fully prioritized – and seen to be so – and so help equestrianism maintain its social licence.” She then outlined the EEWB’s strategy to ad-


dress social licence based on six main pillars: evi- dence,


education, engagement,


regulation, enforcement and empowerment. Com- mission member Professor Kathalijne Visser, who


effective


led the analysis of the survey results, presented the key findings and where there were differences in perspectives within equestrian audiences. The Q&A session at the GA enabled open and


positive discussion between delegates and EEWB members for the first time on a wide range of top- ics. The EEWB’s strategic roadmap will now be further developed and consulted on at the FEI Sports Forum in April 2023.


About the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Com- mission The committee was founded in June 2022 to


address societal concerns about the uses of horses in sport. It meets monthly (on Zoom or in person). Its purpose is to find courses of action that


will strengthen equestrianism’s place in society. It will develop an evidence-based welfare strategy to guide FEI regulations, policies and practices, as well as to enable effective advocacy and influence relating to the ethics and wellbeing of horses in sport.


The Commission comprises 10 people, five


of them nominated representatives of the FEI and five who are external to it. It is chaired by Profes- sor Dr. Natalie Waran (NZL), an internationally re- spected equine behaviour and welfare expert. Find


out more equinewellbeing.fei.org. about it


website, and on the USEF Net- work. To learn more about the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, view results and day sheets, and read daily news re- leases, visit the official US Dres- sage Finals event website. Next year’s USDF Finals take place November 9-12, 2023. Mark your calendar!


About USDF Founded in 1973,


the


United States Dressage Federa- tion is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to educa- tion, recognition of achievement, and promotion of dressage. For more information about USDF membership or programs, visit www.usdf.org, email usdres- sage@usdf.org, or call 859-971- 2277.


at


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