Elite judges to travel Down Under for Sydney CDI 3*

The standard of Australian dressage is on the up and up, according to some of the eight elite judges due to travel Down Under for this year’s Sydney CDI 3*.

Australia’s most prestigious dressage competition -­‐ held from May 7 to 9 -­‐ will see more than 200 competitors from across the nation and overseas compete for more than AU$44,000 in prize money at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre, the home of equestrian sport at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Judges from Germany, the USA, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Belgium, South Africa and France will officiate alongside their Australian counterparts during the competition.

The Sydney CDI is one of the few events in Australia that features an international ground jury from Prix St George level right through to Grand Prix, and the feature event – Saturday night’s Grand Prix Freestyle to Music – is shaping up to be a sell-­‐out yet again.

It will be the third visit to Australia for Munich-­‐based five-­‐star judge Katrina Wuest, who judged at Werribee in 2011 and Sydney in 2013.

“Dressage in Australia is continuously getting better and better,” Ms Wuest said from her home in Germany.

“In Australia as well as in New Zealand, you can always feel that people -­‐ riders, trainers and judges colleagues -­‐ have a long tradition as horse people. On the other hand, due to the geographic situation, riders don’t have the same chance to compare with other competitors and “grow” through this competition as riders in Europe have, unless the Australian riders make the effort and move to Europe for some time.

“This means making many sacrifices, not only from the financial point of view.”

It is a sentiment echoed by Senior United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and FEI five star judge, Lilo Fore, who will be officiating in Australia for the fifth time.

“Since I was in Australia the first time there has been a tremendous improvement,” she said from her California base. “Horse and rider quality is 100 per cent better.

“The only way one can improve is to look, watch, learn and try to be surrounded by the best trainers and riders. The more information one has, the more options to improve one has. One can never know enough.”

Ms Wuest has also officiated previously at Young Horse World Championships, Pony World Championships and four World Cup finals. Later this year she will step into the role of ground jury president at the Aachen European Championships, as well as the inaugural European Championships for Children taking place in France.

While the visit to Sydney will be “hop-­‐in, hop-­‐out” for Ms Wuest ahead of a five-­‐star show in Munich, she considers her trip very important as it gives local riders valuable feedback to compare their performance on a world scale.

“The international top judges know what the worldwide standard is and clearly express through their percentages where each rider stands in relation to competitors from other countries,” she said.

Ms Fore, who has judged most international events and Championships bar the Olympics, says the role of the judges is multi-­‐faceted.

“Our role is to make sure that the best rider comes out at the top. Our job is to encourage correct riding, good riding,” she said.

“Our job is to for the welfare of the horse and the encouragement to the riders in front of us and to help them to achieve their goal with good judging.”

NSW judge of more than 30 years’ standing, Jan Geary, will also officiate at the 2015 Sydney CDI for a new FEI Intermediate A competition on May 7, as well as the Advanced Freestyle to Music and Medium Tour Freestyle on May 9.

Jan is a Grand Prix level judge, the current Vice President of Dressage NSW, and responsible for dressage judge education in NSW.

Having judged at the Athens, Sydney and Beijing Paralympic Games, Jan will also preside over the Para-Equestrian championship and team tests on May 8.

Jan has been involved with the Sydney CDI for more than two decades, and said the biggest change she had seen over the years was the level of the competition.

“It’s quality and quantity of competition, and it is the first event to maintain the quality and standard,” she said.

“This year there will be 15 judges who are all FEI [Federation Equestre Internationale, or International Federation for Equestrian sport] five-star, four-star, three-star and two-star. That’s enormous, to bring that number of judges from all over the world.”

The Sydney CDI will feature a packed program of elite dressage riding, five-­‐star shopping, showjumping and entertainment as part of the 2015 event.

Australia’s future equestrian stars will compete in the CDI-Y (for riders 16 to 21 years), or the FEI Under 25 Grand Prix competitions.  In addition, all will be looking for prospective horse champions in the NSW Young Horse  Championships held over two days culminating in an exciting final on Saturday.

The NSW Young Horse Jumping Series Final and the Jumping Accumulator Stakes will also be held on the Saturday.

School Tours are offered on Thursday and Friday, where school children get to go behind the scenes, visit the stables and riders and learn about the sport.

The Sydney CDI will conclude for 2015 with the ever-popular Sydney CDI Apres Party in the indoor arena.

VIP tickets are available daily, and on Saturday night tickets are available for the popular evening dinner where patrons get to watch the jumping and the Grand Prix Freestyle while enjoying a fantastic three course meal with Wild Oats wine.

Tickets are available for the entire event or day tickets are on sale each day at the event entrance. Local pony clubs and adult riding clubs are most welcome to enquire about group bookings.

Book online from the website to ensure a seat on Saturday as a sell out crowd is expected.

The event attracts visitors from around Australia and overseas, and Ms Wuest said she was excited about her visit Down Under.

“I look forward very much to coming to this wonderful country again,” she said.