Celebrating 50 Years

27 Jan Celebrating 50 Years

Video created by Judi Dauterive and Marie Cobb

In 1975, the Louisiana-Mississippi Dressage and Combined Training Association (LMDCTA) was formed. The club focused on the disciplines of dressage and combined training, bringing together a variety of riders and horses
from across the area.

In December of 2001, the name of the club was changed to Southern Eventing and Dressage Association (SEDA). This name change accommodated membership extending beyond Louisiana and Mississippi into Texas and Arkansas and a shift from what was traditionally called ‘combined training’ to ‘eventing’.

In the early years, there were not a lot of barns offering clinics and educational opportunities. SEDA filled that gap by offering a variety of educational events, such as: ride-a-test; Dressage Through the Levels symposium; braiding and grooming; how to scribe; how to do a freestyle; adult workshop riding weekend; Pilates for riders; teacher’s certification training clinic, and many riding clinics.

The club grew from its original small, grass-roots base in 1975 to its current membership of almost 175 people. We are fortunate to still have some of the early members active in our horse community.

A lot of people helped SEDA remain active and effective over the past 50 years. Most importantly, those who stepped into the positions of leadership which helped the club to grow and thrive. We are grateful for the shoulders we stand on! We invited as many as we were able to contact to join us for this celebration, and are honored by those who made the commitment to come. The list of Board members we were able to compile from dusty records and rusty memories includes the following people:

Pauline Appleby
Danielle Aymond
Fifi Baldwin
David Banister
Allison Barca
Lee Binnings
Gerlinde Beckers
Joan Bergmann
Mona Bourgeois
Christy Sanantonio (Bridges)
Vicky Busch
Priscilla Bush
Sue Casey
Arthur Chalona
Lydia Chiasson
Diana Christensen – deceased
Beth Anne Clay
Marie Cobb
Sue Cohen
Aryelle Stafford Collins
Lisette Constantin
Watson Copeland
Maria Cowan Dupuis
Jeanne Daigle – deceased
Cameron Dauterive
Judi Dauterive
Anna deBlanc
Eric Dent
Joseph Denny
Debbie Durant
Denette Farwell
Natasha Fernandez
Todd Flettrich
Patricia Fox
Laura Freeman
Loni Gaudet
Judi Gerhardt
Debbie Gordon
Paula Gregory
Veni Harlan
Elaine Harmon
Katie Hebert
Anne Hornbeak
Lynda Hurd
Emily Jackson
Ashley Jamison
Jeff Kaston
Kimberly Keller
Stacy Horn Koch
Marilyn Kulifay
Laura Lester
Vicki Macgowan
Janel Martin
Jerry Mayer
Sherryl McIntosh
Patty Meringer
Nicole Miller
Antonette Morlas
Leslie Morris
Ginger Morvant (Schell)
Ann Parker
Greta Peterson
Genita Poole – deceased
Lynn Quast
Mimi Quillman
Sally Richards
Jennie Robicheaux
Isabella Rodwig
Betty Schermann – deceased
Betty Shortle
Elizabeth Simmons
Inger Sjostrom
Joel Somers
Rebecca Smedley
Wayman Smith
Rebecca Stewart
Gwen Swanbom
Morgan Vaughn
Chrissy West
Greg Williams

In its 50 year history, SEDA has hosted many schooling and licensed dressage shows and horse trials. Le Bon Temps has been the staple licensed dressage show sponsored by the club. Its current form is two separate shows – one in fall and one in spring. Our licensed horse trials started life as Watershed. Hurricane Katrina put it on hiatus until we were able to facilitate course improvements with the help of Lagniappe Equestrian Center and many generous sponsors and build up our competitor base. When the show came back, it was christened Fleur de Leap. Numerous course improvements and many man hours have resulted in a course which meets the needs of many levels of competitors and is something we should be greatly proud of.

As a USDF Group Member Organization (GMO), SEDA has excelled, winning multiple USDF GMO Awards. We share here the years we were able to locate in which we won awards.

• 1997 GMO Newsletter Award (Best Layout and Design), First Place.
• 2002 GMO Newsletter Award (Best Layout and Design), First Place.
• 2004 GMO Newsletter Award (Best Layout and Design), First Place.
• 2006 GMO Newsletter & Website Award (Best Layout and Design), First Place.
• 2007 GMO Newsletter & Website Award (Best Layout and Design), First Place.
• 2008 GMO Newsletter & Website Award (Best Layout and Design), First Place.
• 2009 GMO GMO Newsletter Award (Best Layout and Design), First Place and Honorable Mention; GMO Website Award, Honorable Mention.
• 2010 GMO Newsletter Award (Best Layout and Design), First Place.
• 2011 GMO Newsletter & Website Award (Best Layout and Design), First Place.
• 2012 GMO Photography Award, First Place – Nicole Miller. Website Award (Best User Experience), Honorable Mention.
• 2013 GMO Photography Award, First Place – Anthony Landreneau. 
• 2014 GMO Photography Award (Best Amateur Photograph), First Place – Nicole Miller. GMO Newsletter Award (General Interest Article), Honorable Mention – Stacy Palowsky. GMO Website Award (Best User Experience), First Place.
• 2015 GMO Website Award (Best User Experience), Honorable Mention. 
• 2016 GMO Photography Award (Best Amateur Photograph), First Place – Nicole Miller. GMO Newsletter Award (First Person Article), Honorable Mention – Morgan Vaughn. GMO Website Award (Best User Experience), First Place.
• 2017 Region 9 GMO Volunteer of the Year – Kelley Varisco. GMO Newsletter Award (First Person Experience Article) Honorable Mention – Sally Richards. GMO Website Award (Best User Experience), Honorable Mention.
• 2018 Region 9 GMO Volunteer of the Year – Judi Dauterive. GMO Photography Award (Best Amateur Photograph), First Place – Nicole Miller. GMO Website Award (Best User Experience), Honorable Mention.
• 2019 GMO Photography Award (Best Amateur Photograph), First Place – Nicole Miller. GMO Newsletter Award (First Person Experience Article), First Place – Nicole Miller. 
• 2020 GMO Photography Award (Best Amateur Photograph), Honorable Mention – Nicole Miller. GMO Newsletter Award (First Person Experience Article), First Place – Aryelle Collins. 
• 2021 GMO Website Award (Best User Experience), First Place. 
• 2022 GMO Newsletter Award (First Person Experience Article), First Place – Nicole Miller. GMO Website Award (Best User Experience), First Place. 
• 2023 Region 9 GMO Volunteer of the Year – Meredith Hunter. GMO Newsletter Award (First Person Experience Article), First Place – Nicole Miller. 
• 2024 GMO Newsletter Award (First Person Experience Article), First Place – Danielle Aymond. GMO Website Award (Best User Experience), First Place.
• 2025 Region 9 GMO Volunteer of the Year – Claire Womack. GMO Newsletter Award (First Person Experience Article), Honorable Mention – Danielle Aymond. GMO Newsletter Award (General Interest Article), Honorable Mention – Judi Dauterive. GMO Website Award (Best User Experience), First Place. 

It’s been an exciting 50-year run and we are looking forward to the next 50! Come along for the ride!