Nominations for Member of the Year
Nominations due February 1, 2026
WDEA recognizes Members of the Year at our Educational Conference & Annual Meeting each year. Make sure your deserving members get nominated by sending in a short description of how your nominee has contributed to WDEA. Nominations for Member of the Year should be sent to WDEA Secretary
Mark Your Calendars!
Join us for a Rider-Wellness Based Gathering for the WDEA Annual Meeting: March 14, 2026 at the Osthoff Resort, Elkhart Lake, 800-876-3399 or osthoff.com
Join us for a day focused on Rider Health and Wellness, followed by our Annual Member Meeting, Dinner, and 2025 Awards Banquet. An afternoon of presentations and education on how to improve health for the benefit of your riding followed by dinner and our awards banquet! For those staying until Sunday, join us for a morning Yoga session to start the day off right!
Download the Registration Form here
Also! Save the Date! Eastern Chapter Schooling Show is June 6-7 at the Ozaukee County Fairgrounds. More information will be coming soon!
New Era for WDCTA as it Becomes...WDEA!
After more than a year of planning (starting around May 2024), asking for member input through a survey sent out in July 2024 and numerous board discussions, we made the decision earlier this year to change the name to Wisconsin Dressage & Eventing Association (WDEA).
The reasons for the name change were many, including that we wanted our name to reflect the current state of the eventing discipline, which changed its name from combined training to eventing 24 years ago.
Another reason was our logo was old and very difficult to use because we didn’t have usable logo files (the website, newsletter and any materials we create had to limp along with the poor quality files we have), so we would have had to invest in finding a designer that could recreate our current logo, which would cost us money. Since we would have to put money into updating our logo, we decided to do both things at once.
Sandra Malott and Caryn Vesperman took the lead of working with a designer, and after discussions and minor tweaks, the board selected a logo. Depending upon the medium and/or space, two options are available for the logo: vertical and horizontal. (Please contact the board president or webmaster if you need the logo for a state or chapter activity.) A branding guide has been developed for how to use the logos, the organization’s main color (Pantone 193C—a maroon like you see in this month’s newsletter), and the typeface for all of our materials (Helvetica Neue—again, the typeface used in the newsletter), plus other guidelines. A WDEA Style Guide has also been developed to help with using AP style for reference to age, numbers, capital letters, horse vocabulary. and more. This will be available on the WDEA website.
Work also got underway such as getting the name change approved with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, using the logo “in commerce,” and beginning the update of myriad of WDCTA’s documents, newsletter, website (including the website’s URL), email addresses and Facebook pages with the new name and logo. Other work includes informing our state board and chapter financial institutions about the new name and meeting any requirements they may have. (Thank you to our state treasurer, Morgan, for her guidance and work on this.)
Our goal is to go “live” on Dec. 1. That means, for example, we can’t accept checks or payments with our old name, WDCTA, after that date. Prior to then, you’ll see the changes to the new name and logo in this newsletter, membership form—now available in a fillable PDF. (Thank you, Stephanie Severn, our webmaster for updating the website, working for the next few weeks to update our Facebook pages and making all our forms become fillable PDFs.)
Stay tuned! It’s an exciting time, as we take steps to keep our organization relevant and prepared for the future.
It's Time to Renew!
Now Accepting 2026 New Members & Renewals!

WDEA is now accepting new members and membership renewals for 2026. Be an "early bird" and renew now to ensure uninterrupted membership benefits with WDEA and USDF, and of course delivery of WDEA's eQuester newsletter! WDEA's membership term mirrors that of the United States Dressage Federation: December 1 - November 30 annually.
You may join or renew online and pay with Paypal via our online Membership Form.
Business Members may also renew online or via our online Business Membership form. If you would prefer to mail in your membership with a check, the 2026 Membership form is available for download (for a printable PDF please visit our FORMS page).
Those Members wishing to renew their Stable, Instructor, Breeder, or Business (SIBB) listing may also do so either online or via our printable form. SIBB listings are for WDEA members only. Business Listings are for Retail Businesses such as Feed Stores, Tack Shops, Truck or Trailer sales, Insurance, Fencing companies, and others not covered by our Stable, Instructor, or Breeder listings.
Due to our recent name change, as of December 1, 2025, our bank will no longer process checks written to WDCTA and neither will PayPal. Any checks written to WDCTA will have to be voided and rewritten to Wisconsin Dressage & Eventing Association. If paid online, any mis-named payments must be changed to WDEA by the member-to-be through the payment platform. WDEA can not do this for you. WDEA will process your membership only after your corrected payment is received. If you have questions you may email Diane at
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