NHDEA Scholarship Program
As part of NHDEA 's mission to "Promote and Support the Art and Sports of Dressage and Eventing," educational scholarships are made available to NHDEA members who wish to pursue their training and personal goals in dressage or combined training.
This program exists to provide the widest possible range of education to the greatest number of members.
Scholarships must be used to participate in educational programs that include, but are not limited to: Seminars, workshops, clinics and training programs offered by recognized or certified instructors.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent US residents holding a Green Card and members in good standing with NHDEA. To request funding you may apply under one of the following categories: Professional Rider/Trainer, Adult Amateur and Junior/Young rider.
Programs, for which the funding is requested must have a stated objective, must be for the specific purpose of advancing the rider's/official's skills or individual's standing in the dressage community, and must have clear beginning and end dates
This program exists to provide the widest possible range of education to the greatest number of members.
Scholarships must be used to participate in educational programs that include, but are not limited to: Seminars, workshops, clinics and training programs offered by recognized or certified instructors.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent US residents holding a Green Card and members in good standing with NHDEA. To request funding you may apply under one of the following categories: Professional Rider/Trainer, Adult Amateur and Junior/Young rider.
Programs, for which the funding is requested must have a stated objective, must be for the specific purpose of advancing the rider's/official's skills or individual's standing in the dressage community, and must have clear beginning and end dates
Process details:
1) An interested party requests a scholarship application and/or brochure by phone, mail or e-mail at any time of the year.
2) Applications for the current year must be submitted and received by the fourth Sunday in October.
3) The Scholarship Committee consists of approximately three members including the Chairman and Co-Chairman. It is best when the committee consists of a combination of current board members, recognized professionals and NHDEA members who show the ability to be fair, unbiased and understanding of NHDEA’s mission.
4) The Scholarship Committee meets approximately 10 days to two weeks after receiving applications to review all applications and allocate scholarship depending upon availability of funds, the number of qualified applicants, and some other minor considerations.
5) The Committee puts each application through a “grid” that helps determine whether the applicant has obtained even a basic “qualifying score”. All applicants must receive a minimum score of 60% to be considered. The grid consists of a variety of criteria that have been formulated to help fairly rate one candidate against another. A qualifying score does not automatically mean monies will be awarded - it is just a baseline. The Committee attempts at all times to keep focused on how the overall membership can benefit from the educational opportunity our scholarships are providing.
6) The Scholarship Chairman then notifies all applicants of the outcome. Those who did not get scholarships are sent a fairly simple (but pleasant) rejection letter that encourages them to continue their pursuits.
Those who get scholarships are first contacted by telephone and congratulated. They are notified they will be mailed a “Letter of Agreement” that is like a contract that outlines where, when and how the money will be used as well as what the applicant is willing to do for NHDEA in return. Some ways that people give back for their scholarship assistance could be giving a clinic, organizing a clinic, judging, writing articles, be available for publicity, photos, etc. The LOA also instructs them to provide receipts to the Treasurer for all of their expenses related to their scholarship. It also explains that if for some reason they do not complete the program for which they have applied for funding, they must return the unused portion of the funds to NHDEA.
7) Once the recipient has signed the Letter of Agreement, they return it to the Scholarship Director. The Director then makes copies, and sends the original to the Treasurer requesting that she forward the funds to the recipients. Occasionally a recipients program will not be starting for several months, in which case, the money is maintained in NHDEA’s account until the event is close at hand and then the money is disbursed.
8) Copies of the LOA are sent to the appropriate Committee Chairmen so that they are aware services have been offered. Such as…if someone has volunteered a day of their judging services, the Competition Committee Chairman will be notified.
9) It is part of the Scholarship Committee’s job to be sure that proper publicity is maintained throughout the year both to educate the membership about scholarships and who has received them but also to share with the membership the experiences that the recipients had as a result of their scholarships.
10) Fundraising efforts are encouraged as part of the Scholarship Committee’s need to keep the Scholarship fund growing so that future scholarships (and larger scholarships) will be ensured.
1) An interested party requests a scholarship application and/or brochure by phone, mail or e-mail at any time of the year.
2) Applications for the current year must be submitted and received by the fourth Sunday in October.
3) The Scholarship Committee consists of approximately three members including the Chairman and Co-Chairman. It is best when the committee consists of a combination of current board members, recognized professionals and NHDEA members who show the ability to be fair, unbiased and understanding of NHDEA’s mission.
4) The Scholarship Committee meets approximately 10 days to two weeks after receiving applications to review all applications and allocate scholarship depending upon availability of funds, the number of qualified applicants, and some other minor considerations.
5) The Committee puts each application through a “grid” that helps determine whether the applicant has obtained even a basic “qualifying score”. All applicants must receive a minimum score of 60% to be considered. The grid consists of a variety of criteria that have been formulated to help fairly rate one candidate against another. A qualifying score does not automatically mean monies will be awarded - it is just a baseline. The Committee attempts at all times to keep focused on how the overall membership can benefit from the educational opportunity our scholarships are providing.
6) The Scholarship Chairman then notifies all applicants of the outcome. Those who did not get scholarships are sent a fairly simple (but pleasant) rejection letter that encourages them to continue their pursuits.
Those who get scholarships are first contacted by telephone and congratulated. They are notified they will be mailed a “Letter of Agreement” that is like a contract that outlines where, when and how the money will be used as well as what the applicant is willing to do for NHDEA in return. Some ways that people give back for their scholarship assistance could be giving a clinic, organizing a clinic, judging, writing articles, be available for publicity, photos, etc. The LOA also instructs them to provide receipts to the Treasurer for all of their expenses related to their scholarship. It also explains that if for some reason they do not complete the program for which they have applied for funding, they must return the unused portion of the funds to NHDEA.
7) Once the recipient has signed the Letter of Agreement, they return it to the Scholarship Director. The Director then makes copies, and sends the original to the Treasurer requesting that she forward the funds to the recipients. Occasionally a recipients program will not be starting for several months, in which case, the money is maintained in NHDEA’s account until the event is close at hand and then the money is disbursed.
8) Copies of the LOA are sent to the appropriate Committee Chairmen so that they are aware services have been offered. Such as…if someone has volunteered a day of their judging services, the Competition Committee Chairman will be notified.
9) It is part of the Scholarship Committee’s job to be sure that proper publicity is maintained throughout the year both to educate the membership about scholarships and who has received them but also to share with the membership the experiences that the recipients had as a result of their scholarships.
10) Fundraising efforts are encouraged as part of the Scholarship Committee’s need to keep the Scholarship fund growing so that future scholarships (and larger scholarships) will be ensured.
