David
O’Connor Unanimously Re-elected President of USEF Lexington,
KY – At their semi-annual meeting yesterday, The Board of Directors of the
United States Equestrian Federation unanimously re-elected David O’Connor
as USEF President. His new term will run from January 2005 to January 2009.
O’Connor has served as USEF President since July, 2003. The USEF was created
by the joining of the former USA Equestrian and the  United
States Equestrian Team and O’Connor has been instrumental in the transition
to the new organization. He has an extensive list of international and national
championships to his credit in the sport of Eventing, including the individual
gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. (David is pictured
at the right on Outlawed, the winner of the Foxhall CupCCI***, April, 2004.) USHJA
Selected as New Hunter-Jumper Affiliate Partner The Board of
Directors also voted to designate the United States Hunter Jumper Association
as the partner with which the USEF will strategically plan a new hunter-jumper
affiliate. After presentations from Bill Moroney, President of the USHJA and Gary
Baker, President of the National Hunter Jumper Association, followed by comprehensive
discussion by the Board members, the vote of 21-2 was in favor of the USHJA. The
strategic plan for the new affiliate will be presented at the January, 2005 Board
of Directors meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. President David O’Connor said
after the vote, “That’s a historic step. It’s the first time the
hunter-jumpers from within can look to control their own field and direct it.”
He praised the board for taking a “. . .brave decision, a step to start the
conversation going forward.” “We’re very excited for the
entire hunter-jumper community,” said Bill Moroney. “We look forward
to having a national affiliate of our own and a strong voice in our own destiny.
Our first goal is to work with Gary Baker and the NHJA, and all of the hunter-jumper
groups, to create an organization that represents us all, from high performance
to the grassroots.” Competition
Date Approval Task Force The Board addressed an extensive agenda
that also included a presentation by USEF Chief Executive Officer, John Long,
on the Competition Date Approval Task Force. The task force made recommendations
on how to revise the licensing of dates. The board voted that they should move
forward to the next phase and develop a comprehensive plan to be voted on at the
January, 2005 Board meeting. Bylaws
Ammended The Board also voted on a large number of proposed
Bylaw Amendments and extraordinary rule changes which will be posted on the USEF
website, www.usef.org, under the Rules and Bylaws areas by Monday, July 12th.
ENDS For more information, please contact Maria Partlow, Senior Vice
President of Marketing and Communications on (859) 225-6941 or via email at mpartlow@usef.org.
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