Columbus, OH – On Saturday (Nov. 22), Chairperson Gabe Wand and Directors Cathy Dessert and Royal Roland hosted the annual District 4A meeting in Urbandale, Iowa in conjunction with the Iowa Harness Horsemen’s Association Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet.
The meeting included a discussion of and voting on the nine proposed rule and bylaw changes.
Following are the voting results of the 2026 proposals from the 55 District 4A members in attendance:
- Resigning membership while under investigation — Approved
- Horse race fatalities reported to USTA — Approved
- Shoes off/shoes on — Rejected
- Horse retirement contribution from claims — Rejected
- Start caps for 2- and 3-year-olds — Rejected
- Deposit for appeals — Approved
- Stallion cap of 160 mares — Rejected
- Standardbred as embryo transfer recipient mare — Rejected
- Executive committee composition — Approved
The remaining districts will meet over the next few months to discuss specific district topics and to vote on the proposals. The results of each district’s vote will be presented to the entire USTA Board of Directors at the annual meeting in March 2025. The full schedule of district meetings, as well as meeting details and recaps, may be found here.
Members are also encouraged to participate by voting online through their USTA accounts. Full instructions are available via this link.