By George Williams
Perhaps more than most people, I’m looking forward to the new year—on many different levels.
Let me start by saying that this is the start of a new quadrennial, in equestrian sport. Now the focus is fully on the 2028 L.A. Olympics. There’s a bit of a reality check that comes with each new quadrennial. Sadly, I know that from personal experience. Like many young people, I, too, had a dream of riding in the Olympics. For years I set aside that dream and immersed myself in the educational aspects of becoming a more knowledgeable and experienced dressage trainer. At the same time, I kept competing on the local, regional and national levels, only occasionally competing in CDIs. But that dream of competing in the Olympics stayed with me until one day, after four of five quadrennials had gone by, I realized that if a dream is to come true, you have to actively pursue it.
At about the same time, I came across a most apropos quote by H. Jackson Browne, Jr.: “Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor.” I bid goodbye to the place where I had been working for nearly 20 years and, with the help of some very generous people, had a terrific journey pursuing my dream. Due to various circumstances, it never did come totally to fruition. Still, I had terrific experiences, learned a lot and feel incredibly lucky to have been able to do what I did.
As we move forward into this next four years it will be interesting to see who comes onto the dance floor, both within the U.S. and in other countries. Our first international preview could be the FEI World Cup Finals in Bern, Switzerland, this April.
For the U.S., the active early CDIs in Florida and California will give us some insight into how the year might play out. The USEF Festival of Champions in August and the inaugural US Equestrian Open of dressage in November should also prove very interesting. There will be U.S. combinations vying to represent the U.S. at CHIO Aachen and other CDIOs in Europe as well.
The European Championships should definitely be on everyone’s list as one of the most important competitions to watch either in person or on livestream. The Europeans will give us a good glimpse of what we will be up against in 2026 at the World Championships in Aachen and two years later in L.A.
Back on this side of the ocean, 2025 is the 50th year of Dressage at Devon! That’s an incredible milestone for a dressage show, especially one that offers a breed show as well as the performance division. It’s always inspiring to see which youngsters in the breed show move on to the Young Horse Championships at the Festival, and if any from previous years will even end up being potential Olympic contenders.
In thinking ahead to quadrennials to come, an FEI Children division has been added to the North American Youth Championships to be held in Traverse City, Michigan, this summer. It’s hard to guess what kind of impact this may have on the development of our sport. Always the optimist, I’m hoping it will inspire more young people to have a dream that stays with them for years. A little side note, the FEI recently approved a rule change that outside of Western Europe, athletes are allowed to ride ponies in FEI Children Championships in dressage.
While the youth development programs that we have in place may not be perfect, in my humble opinion they are pretty fantastic. There’s a good chance as we get closer to the L.A. Olympics that we will see more young faces in the mix of those vying for a spot on the team. Everything from the youth divisions at the Festival of Champions, the NAYC and the European Young Rider & U25 Tours help put our young athletes on a pathway to senior international competition.
Going back to my opening statement for this column, January 1 signified the end of an era for me as I made the decision to not to run for another term as president of the United States Dressage Federation (USDF). It has been a slightly different journey, not one I ever expected to be on as a very shy teenager. However, it has been fascinating, rewarding and, while seemingly very different from training and competing, surprisingly similar.
I have served on the USDF Executive Board for 20 of the last 24 years, the first eight years as vice president and a total of 12 as president. The journey started innocuously enough: Natalie Lamping asked me if I would be willing to chair a small council, the USDF Competitors Council. That was about 36 years ago.
What is interesting is how our sport has grown and matured over the years. One of the first things we did when I became chair was to launch the “Year of the Footing” to draw attention to the need for better footing at dressage competitions. Today, there’s a greater awareness of the importance of good footing. When asked what’s a priority when choosing where to compete, footing is listed first, usually followed by stabling. We now have many more venues around the U.S. where these priorities are taken seriously.
I’m here to say volunteering can be fun, rewarding and definitely life-changing. It has had a huge impact in the direction my life has taken. I highly recommend it and hope the next generation of dressage enthusiasts will pursue the opportunity to reap the rewards of giving back to the sport and community we love.
For 2025 and beyond? I look forward to continuing to pursue my other dreams as I pass the president’s baton on to the next devotee who is elected to lead the next era.
