About Us

History of Our Club

The Saint Louis Dressage Society was started in 1972 by Sonja Kershaw
and her students, Sherri Johnson, Bobbe Kennedy, Donna Singer, Georgia
Mauk, Marietta Buechner, Nancy Kutta, and Kathy Kottimer. They would
hold the meetings at Sonja's house. The first 6 or 7 years everyone held at
least one office and sometimes two.
Pete Johnson and Ed Kottimer designed and built the first SLADS dressage
arena out of 1X4's, 2X4 stakes with U shaped metal attached to the stakes
to support the 1X4's. The letters were made out of plywood and paint.
Clinics for SLADS members was of most importance in the beginning. The
very first clinic was with Violet Hopkins in December, 1972 at High Trails in
Eureka, Missouri.
The First SLADS show was held at Bridlespur. The members hired only "I"
judges because the members thought these judges would teach everyone
the most. In the beginning the gate to the show arena was closed and
opened for each competitor. The shows were run by 5 or 6 people doing all
of the jobs. At the end of each show these 5 or 6 people would figure up
what SLADS made verses what was spent and many times SLADS owed
money. These few individuals would then pull money out of their own
pockets and donate so SLADS would break even.

***The information above was as recanted in an interview with
Sherri Johnson on June 3, 2007.