Columbus, OH — On Tuesday (Oct. 15), USTA District 12 chairperson Jeff Gregory and directors Stacy Chiodo, Christopher McErlean, Jason Settlemoir and Ashley Tetrick hosted the district’s annual meeting via Zoom.
The meeting included a discussion of and voting on the 41 rule and bylaw changes for 2025.
Following are the voting results of the 2025 proposals from the 12 members of District 12 in attendance:
- Corresponding Officer/Ownership Percentages — REJECTED
- Head Numbers Return — REJECTED
- Minimum Requirements to Warm Up Horses — APPROVED
- Judges Report Incident Details to USTA via Equine Health & Wellness Database — APPROVED
- Mandatory Win Photo Purse Deduction — REJECTED
- Minimum Time Between Races for 2-Year-Olds — APPROVED
- Cap on Number of Starts for Older Horses — REJECTED
- Q/F Drivers Must Race Both Gaits — TIED VOTE
- Judges’ Discretion/Race for Purse Money Only — APPROVED
- Sulky Performance Standards — APPROVED
- No Gray/White Outrider Horses — REJECTED
- Saddle Pads Not Counted as Equipment — REJECTED
- Restrictions on Shock Wave Therapy — APPROVED
- Testing Where USTA Has Authority — APPROVED
- Owner/Trainer Present During Sample Collection — APPROVED
- HRMC Screening Thresholds — REJECTED
- Absolute Insurer — APPROVED
- First Year Stallion – Cap of 160 Mares — APPROVED
- Prohibit OPU/ICSI Sperm Injection Procedures — APPROVED
- Electronic Voting for Rule Change Proposals — APPROVED
- Widen Window for District Meeting Scheduling — APPROVED
- Director Elections Not Tied to District Meetings — APPROVED
- Incumbents Declinations Due in July, Not September — APPROVED
- Elections Due to Vacancies Not Tied to District Meetings — APPROVED
- District 2 and 2A Realignment of Directors — APPROVED
- USTA Officers Must Be Directors — TABLED
- Denial of Membership — APPROVED
- Violations — APPROVED
- Person Not in Good Standing — APPROVED
- Failure to Report Fraudulent Proposal — APPROVED
- Conspiracy to Commit Violations of Rules — APPROVED
- Aiding of Abetting Violation of Rules — APPROVED
- Prohibition Against Individuals Not in Good Standing — APPROVED
- Trainer of Horse for Disbarred Person — APPROVED
- False Ownership — APPROVED
- False Trainer of Record — APPROVED
- Effect of Penalty on Horse — APPROVED
- Participation by Person Not in Good Standing — APPROVED
- Fraudulent Transfer — APPROVED
- Failure to Submit Information — APPROVED
- Location of Hearing — APPROVED
Jeff Gregory was re-elected as chairperson for district 12.
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.