Board and Committees
British Dressage is headed by a nine-strong Board of Directors under the leadership of Interim Chairman, Caroline Godfrey. Each Director has a portfolio which they're responsible for with the support of a technical committee.
The Board look at strategy, planning, vision and direction. In turn, the Senior Management Team at Meriden, supported by their teams, put the strategy into motion via an operational plan.
Each of the nine British Dressage (BD) board directors is passionate about dressage and they give their time and expertise without receiving any payment other than expenses. The directors do the job because they have the chance to shape the future of dressage and give something back to the sport which they have enjoyed so much and want others to enjoy too.
Here's our current Board - to see what their role entails, click on the position:
| Interim Chairman* | Caroline Godfrey | Appointed December 2021 |
| Sport Operations Director | Simon Bates | Elected September 2019 |
| Judges Director | Peter Storr | Elected September 2018 |
| Finance Director | Caroline Godfrey | Elected September 2018 - term extended to 2023 |
| Para Director | Tracy Ormrod | Elected October 2021 |
| International Director | Judy Harvey | Elected September 2018 |
| Business Development Director | Suzanne Homewood | Appointed June 2019 |
| Training Director | Harry Payne | Elected October 2021 |
| BD Youth Director | Claire Moir | Elected September 2020 |
*Caroline Godfrey was appointed Interim Chair by the Board in December 2021 following the untimely death of Chairman Linda Whetstone. The Chair role will go forward for election in 2022 along with the Judges and International Directorships.
Director terms of office
A rotation system with a maximum term of service was also introduced in 1998. Each term is four years and directors have to retire at the end of the second term, allowing them to serve a maximum of eight years. However, as all the board members started at the same time, this has been staggered, so that there is continuity and we don’t end up with the whole board made up of new directors.
Any BD member can stand for election. The directors are always on the lookout for potential future directors. An advert will appear in British Dressage magazine early in the year of a vacancy falling, giving details of the position becoming vacant, asking for nominations and someone to second it. Applications are then subject to a Nominations Committee and, if approved, are then put forward for ratification at the AGM if the nominee is unchallenged. If there is more than one candidate, an election will be held in the form of a postal/electronic vote.
Technical committees
Each director is served by a committee of volunteers who are selected for their expertise within a particular field to support the relevant area of BD.
President and vice-president
The president and honorary vice-presidents are not board members. The president is elected by the directors to hold office for three years and is only eligible for re-election for one further period of two years. The board can choose to have up to eight vice-presidents.
Jennie Loriston-Clarke is the president, while former chairman, Desi Dillingham, is vice-president.
Regional Committees
To find out who's who in the regions, visit each of the Regional Pages.
BD HQ staff
Around 30 full and part-time staff work at our headquarters in Meriden with a team of six out in the regions. To find out more about them, their roles and how to contact them, visit Meet Our Team.
