2019 Landkamer Competition Management Development Fund Grant Recipient: Kathy Mucha

I am extremely grateful to TDF’s Lloyd Landkamer Show Management Development Fund for contributing to my competition management training.  The funds gave me the ability to attend and arrive early to the Region 4 Championships, which allowed more time for learning and growing in competition management development.

When I arrived on Wednesday morning, I was immediately tasked with helping to finish setting up the show office.  Most of the pre-work had already been completed, but most of the set-up that can only occur at the show grounds still needed to take place.  A few hours into set up, the office opened for check-in.  The task of checking-in competitors can be a daunting task to say the least, so I was glad to see how many entries fell into the “perfect” pile (with a little help from the show secretary to make them “perfect”).  After about 6 hours of a steady flow of competitors, it was time to get ready for Thursday, day 1 of showing.

Thursday through Sunday were your typical show days.  We continued to check-in competitors as well as work the show.  One of my main tasks for the weekend was scoring.  As Debbie Landon always says, “We are only as fast as our runners.”  I want to thank all the volunteers for braving the elements (wind, rain, and sunshine) to ensure we had our tests in a reasonable amount of time.

I would encourage anyone who wants to either start or advance their role in competition management to apply for this grant.  I hear from many competition management veterans that new people need to start learning the ropes, so I am grateful for The Dressage Foundation for providing this opportunity to learn.