from the USTA Communications Department

Columbus, OH — Members from the United States Trotting Association District 1 met this past Saturday (Jan. 24) at the Columbus Northwest Marriott in Dublin, Ohio, to discuss proposed USTA rule changes and to make recommendations that will be conveyed at the USTA’s annual board of directors meeting in March. The meeting preceded the district’s annual awards dinner, which was held later that evening.

District directors in attendance were Dick Brandt (chairman), Dan Ater, Stacy Cahill, Skip Hoovler, Steve McCoy and Dr. John Mossbarger. Dave Bianconi was absent because of a family commitment.

Brandt was re-elected as district chairman. Hoovler, McCoy, and Mossbarger were unopposed and subsequently were re-elected to three-year terms as district directors.

USTA liaison officer Chip Hastings delivered a report on the USTA activities for 2014 and spoke of the organization’s goals for the next 12 months.

District members reviewed ten proposed rulebook changes for 2015, including four related to potential Racing Under Saddle protocols. Significant discussion was generated by two other submissions, one that sought to clarify language regarding two existing rules pertaining to the removal of a driver’s foot from the stirrups and another that would have allowed a trainer to remove hobbles from race-to-race without having to re-qualify the horse. Both of those proposals were rejected.

A complete summary of the District 1 voting is as follows:
Proposal #1 (Pylons) Rejected
Proposal #2 (Ownership interest) Rejected
Proposal #3 (RUS qualifications) Accepted
Proposal #4 (Foot out of stirrup) Rejected
Proposal #5 (RUS violations) Accepted
Proposal #6 (RUS weigh-in and –out) Rejected
Proposal #7: (Hobbles discretion) Rejected
Proposal #8 (RUS protocols) Accepted
Proposal #9: (Registration, DNA) Rejected
Proposal #10: (Fair membership fee) Accepted