Awards

Through the Awards Committee, ODS recognizes the accomplishment of the partnership of horse and rider as well as the outstanding contribution of people and Chapters supporting the sport of dressage.

The mission of the Committee is to make recommendations to the ODS Board of Directors for the development and implementation of award programs to encourage all members of the Dressage Community to strive for excellence and to provide a public venue for recognizing those awards.

The Committee has as its primary purpose to establish the awards to recognize individuals and horses in the following areas to:

• Recognize the contributions to the dressage community with awards for volunteerism, teaching, and support;
• Recognize achievements in sports horse breeding (DSHB);
• Award horses and riders for notable performance, based on the quality of a horse’s performance as demonstrated by earning consistently good scores with a given rider during the competition year, regardless of individual class placements; in addition to rewarding the quality of a horse/rider performance through scores, special recognition awards for achievement are designed to recognize horse and rider quality over the course of time, independent of test scores; and
• Organize the annual Awards Banquet to recognize those who have achieved those special awards.

ODS promotes and encourages a high standard of accomplishment in dressage.  As part of its mission, ODS offers a variety of award programs to recognize achievements in and contributions to the Dressage Community.