Indoor competitions are in trouble in the Covid era, as cancellations pile up. This time, it’s the U.S. Dressage Finals.
The U.S. Dressage Federation’s premier event, scheduled for the Kentucky Horse Park in November, will not be held this year, it was announced today.
Although USDF President Lisa Gorretta explained that the board “considered every scenario and option,” she noted, “we simply could not be confident in our ability to overcome the obstacles beyond our control: the ever-changing picture of the pandemic from state to state, the requirements of the US Equestrian COVID-19 Action Plan to which the Kentucky Horse Park requires strict compliance, the stresses of deep cleaning the premises on the heels of the National Horse Show that would precede the arrival of our dressage horses, and the limitations of what we could provide for competitors, volunteers, and officials with the restrictions placed upon the Park itself.”
USDF plans to hold the finals at the park next year. Any competitor eligible for the 2020 finals, whether by placing or earning a qualifying wild card score, will be allowed to carry over their eligibility to the 2021 event. To be deemed “eligible,” competitors will still be required to complete a declaration and nomination for 2020. Declarations will remain open through the end of the 2020 regional championship season.
Prior to the announcement, trainer Heather Mason of Flying Change Farm in Tewksbury qualified her horse, Lincoln, for the I-2 class at the finals during today’s Region 8 competition. And then came the news.
“It’s disappointing for sure, but I do think it was probably the right move to make, because we don’t want to get down there and then have it cancelled, which happened to the Pony Finals,” said Heather. She pointed out that if the National Horse Show wound up experiencing Covid problems, it could have led to a last-minute cancellation of the dressage if plans were made to have it go ahead at the park.
The National is being allowed to utilize outdoor facilities at the park, but the dressage show is a week later when cold weather could really set in.
“It’s such a wonderful competition, but it’s not one you’d want to have outside,” Heather observed.
“A lot of people were torn about whether they were going or not. At least now people can focus on their Regionals and not be as stressed to try to qualify,” she noted.
Lisa stated, “I know that many of you are deeply disappointed, yet I hope that all of you will keep striving to achieve your riding and training goals. For some of you, perhaps this news will provide opportunities that were thought to be lost in the 2020 mayhem and now might allow you to plan to attend the Finals in 2021.”