In an effort to help the development of dressage in the Latin American Region, Cesar Torrente recently organized and conducted his second Latin American Webinar. This web-based seminar had participants from several countries including Chile, Puerto Rico, and Mexico and was created for judges, riders, trainers and any other individuals interested in the sport.
Torrente wants to share with Latin American countries the knowledge that he acquired in Europe and the United States in preparation of becoming an FEI Judge. In sharing this knowledge, he hopes to close the existing gap between Latin American dressage riders and those in North America and Europe. “We are still doing our Regional Championships at the Junior Level, but the Pan Am Games will be at the Prix St George Level and soon at the Grand Prix Level,” says Torrente. “This requires not only better horses, but also education and correct training. Therefore, it is necessary that everybody interested in the sport understands the importance of the basics and that we all work towards higher levels of training in our region.”
In this webinar, in addition to the Training Scale, Torrente commented about the figures, the movements on two tracks, and the freestyles. He also showed videos from outstanding 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old horses in the World Championships in Verden, in order to share with the audience the exceptional quality of young horses in Europe.
The core of the presentation was Stephen Clarke´s videos “How to Judge a Test”, that were translated into Spanish by Torrente, in order to share the expertise of one of the best judges of the world. This segment also allowed some discussions among the participants that enlightened the webinar. Additionally,
Torrente was very grateful for the support of the Colombian Equestrian Federation and Chilean FEI Judge Max Piraino who helped to promote the course. “We hope that we can do this webinar at least twice a year and that each time we have more participants from all different Spanish speaking countries,” said Torrente, clearly thrilled with the outcome of the web-based seminar.
This time, the webinar also had welcoming remarks from Peruvian FEI Judge Marian Cunningham that were very charismatic and impressed the audience. “Marian was able to record her remarks from her home in the USA and this shows how versatile this technology can be,” commented Torrente. He also hopes to have, for the next webinar, a 5* Judge from Europe or North America commenting live, as the possibilities are endless with this technology.
Torrente says that webinars are the most cost-effective method of communicating to mass audiences in the business world and its advantages should now be used to further the education of our dressage judges worldwide. It is no secret that the participation of judges, trainers and riders in seminars and clinics is expensive and frequently many of them cannot afford to attend such events due to the cost of airfare and hotels.
Torrente believes this is a first step to open up dressage education worldwide and hopes that this idea may enhance all continuous dressage educational programs around the world.
A native of Colombia, Cesar Torrente is an international dressage judge and an FEI level dressage competitor. He is the first judge to be promoted through the 2013 FEI 3* program. Cesar has had the honor of standing on medal podium to receive the team gold medal two times in the South American Games and the Central American Games.
A corporate lawyer by profession, he travels the globe to judge worldwide, while maintaining the precarious balance between his career and his passion for horses. He’s known in the dressage world as a “rider’s judge,” because he knows what it’s like to be in the judge’s box as well as competing in the arena. He has great compassion for riders and always makes an effort to provide value comments to help them improve their scores and enjoy their journey in the world of competitive dressage.
For more information, contact Cesar Torrente at cesartorrenteb@gmail.com.
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