The GDCTA Collegiate Best Score Award Program

The GDCTA Collegiate Best Score Award ProgramBy Amanda Garner

Under the newly created GDCTA Collegiate Best Score Award Program, a year-end award is presented to the best scoring collegiate rider in each of the GDCTA competition levels at the GDCTA Gala in January. This program also encourages GDCTA sanctioned shows to offer the ‘collegiate best score at end of day’ ribbons for the best scoring in dressage, combined training, and/or three-phase collegiate rider at their competitions.

This program is not the same as ‘USEA Collegiate Eventing’. The goal of the Collegiate Best Score Award Program is to target riders at a local level. USEA-sanctioned collegiate eventing has existed for several years, and is a great program for college riders at the rated level, but what has been missing is a program for college students competing only at schooling shows. These are the students who, for various reasons (time, financial status, skill level, horse availability, etc.) are not able to pursue eventing at the rated level, but still enjoy the sport. The GDCTA Collegiate Best Score Award Program has been created to accommodate these riders.

� Riders must join GDCTA as a junior, adult amateur, or professional member and pay the appropriate junior, adult amateur, or professional membership fee.

� The collegiate best score award is a separate award given in addition to any other GDCTA awards won as a junior, adult amateur, or professional.

� All other GDCTA rules regarding membership, fees, and participation in the awards program apply (i.e., riders must be members of GDCTA at the time of competition, et cetera.)

Who is eligible to participate and how do riders sign up?

� All full- and part-time college students at two- or four-year accredited institutions at the time of the competition in which the score is earned are eligible.

� To have their score included, riders must submit a photocopy of their valid student ID along with their rider report form and indicate that they would like their score to count towards the Collegiate Best Score Program.

� In order for scores from competitions taking place during the summer months to count, riders must have been a college student in the preceding spring semester or the immediate following fall semester.

For more information on the collegiate program or to apply for membership, please see the GDCTA website GDCTA.org.