Winter has arrived in Australia, and that means different things in different locations depending on the impact of the season on events and other activities. In contrast, the competition calendar in the Northern Hemisphere is packed, and we are pleased to see so many Aussies doing rather well there. 
For various reasons, it took a little longer this year to make a selection for these awards covering the year 2008. All State winners had been put forward and there had also been 'independent' nominations. The National Board selected the following: Administrator of the Year: Gillian Rolton
Athlete of the Year: Clayton Fredericks
Club of the Year: Toowoomba & Districts Showjumping Club
Coach of the Year: Wayne Roycroft
Event of the Year: 2008 Australian Interschool Championships
Horse of the Year: Ben Along Time
Official of the Year: Maria Schwennesen
Volunteer of the Year: Rod Winchester Congratulations to all. Because the National Forum will not take place until later this year, we will make an effort to find other suitable occasions to hand over these awards. After attending two great weekends of equestrian events in Sydney at the beginning of the month, I had to take some unavoidable leave and have, therefore, not been involved too much in the 'business' of the sport. As a result, this e-news is fairly short. I have left it with a few notes and the usual listing of news items from our web www.equestrian.org.au, so please click on items of interest to find out the detail. - I plan to be back in the office in a week or so and catch up with what could not be dealt with by others during my absence. It has been good, however, to be able to re-focus on things that really matter and not be distracted by petty politics. First some matters not covered in the news section, courtesy Sport Consultant Tracey Lesslie: - We have filled the two positions the National Carriage Driving Committee. Judy Meredith was appointed for a further two-year period and Andrew Marshall was appointed for the first time.
- The National Show Horse Committee met on 18 May. A review committee was formed to liaise with National Education Manager on the development of the Show Horse Coach syllabus. There will also be a review of the NJAS rules for Show Horse Judges. If you are interested in becoming a show horse judge please contact Tracey Lesslie in the National Office.
At the recent AGM of the Australian Olympic Committee, Russ Withers was re-elected to the AOC Executive. Congratulations, Russ! During the AGM, AOC President John Coates AC told the meeting that the joint AOP/APC submission for additional funding was not to be considered as part of the Federal budget deliberations. The Federal Government will review all sport funding after the 'Crawford Inquiry' into the structure of Australian sport has submitted its report later this year. For details of the AGM including the Annual Report and the President's address, go to the AOC web. Talking about elections and positions, our President and Chair of the National Board Mary Seefried and fellow Director Kerry Brydon will have to retire at this year's AGM and take a one-year break before they are eligible for re-appointment again. This means that there will be two vacancies. If you are interested in finding out more, keep your eye on our web www.equestrian.org.au, as we will be 'advertising' these vacancies in July. I should mention that for the first time since the 2008 Olympic Games, the number of 'page views' on our web system, which integrates the National, Branch and Club webs - about 40 altogether, has exceeded the magic figure of 2 million. National's share is decreasing, but only on the surface, because National news accessed on Branch or Club webs counts towards the respective Branch or Club web, not towards EA National statistics. Para-Equestrian UpdateBy High Performance Manager Brett Mace Equestrian Australia, through the Para-Equestrian High Performance Program and in partnership with the Orana Dressage Club, will conduct the 2009 Para-Equestrian National Championships in Dubbo from 1 - 3 October. This
will be the first Para-Equestrian National Championships since Equestrian Australia assumed management of the Para-Equestrian Program in January this year. We anticipate that riders from all States will attend these Championships which for the first time, will be incorporated with an Equestrian Australia Dressage competition. While the National Championships will not be a qualifier or selection event for WEG, this year's event will be an important first step for riders aiming towards WEG in Kentucky next year where Para-Equestrian will make it's debut. An important aspect of the Para-Equestrian High Performance Program is to the 'mainstream' the sport with Dressage competition. Apart from the National Championships in Dubbo, another significant step in this 'mainstreaming' will come in December where the major qualification event for Australian riders to qualify for WEG, the CPEDI3*, will be held in conjunction with the Dressage Festival at Werribee. Further details on the Para-Equestrian WEG Selection process will be announced later this month. The Para-Equestrian Program is supported by the Australian Sports Commission through the Australian Paralympic Committee, and like our other Olympic sports, this is a very strong and productive partnership. ICDF Applications are due nowJust a reminder for event organisers and others wishing to apply for grants from the International Competition & Development Fund: Applications for events taking place between 01 July 2009 and 31 December 2009 are due right now. For events in the first half of 2010, we need expressions of interest now, followed up with full applications by 01 December 2009. You can find more details of the application process and the forms to be used on our web. You may have seen the call for donations to ensure that the Adelaide International Three-Day Event can run again this year. The National Office has been financially supporting the event from its inception and made an especially huge contribution last year, after the previous year's event had to be cancelled due to Equine Influenza. Unfortunately, we do not have the money to continue at last year's level of support but will maintain the comparatively generous subsidies the event has been receiving in 'normal' years. Please help the the event if you can. Details are contained in the news item below. Supporters and Sponsors Before I close, though, I would like to thank our funding agencies, sponsors and supporters for their continued assistance. The Australian Sports Commission is our Principal Sponsor and we hope that High Performance funding and other grants will continue beyond the next funding cycle.
 Many thanks also to the Australian Olympic Committee, who apart from organising the Australian Delegation to go to the Games is also involved in securing more funding to guarantee Australia's medal success at future Games.
 We are also looking forward to a continued good working relationship with the Australian Paralympic Committee in the management of the Para-Equestrian high performance program.
We hope our partnerships with our commercial sponsors can be strengthened further in the next Olympiad. So in summary, we would like to mention  
 
For more news and other information, please visit our 'new' web www.equestrian.org.au or your 'new' State Branch web (www.[state].equestrian.org.au). Make it a good day! Franz Venhaus
Chief Executive Officer | 
