German 5* dressage judge Dr. Dietrich Plewa has judged his last international competition, the 2019 CDI-W Stuttgart, in November. Plewa will retire from international competition judging.
Plewa Was One of Seven 5* Judges from Germany
Dietrich Plewa is a lawyer by profession, having studied Law at the Universities in Munster and Frankfurt. Since 1976 he runs his own practice with business partner Dr. Schliecker in Germersheim, Germany.
Born in 1947 in Vreden, Germany, "Dieter" comes from a horse family. His father Wilhelm Plewa was an entrepreneur but also a horse trainer who taught both his sons, Dietrich and Martin.
Dieter first started in show jumping and became the 1963 German Junior Show Jumping Champion but his talent was spotted by the German dressage team trainer at the time, Bubi Gunther. He convinced Plewa to come and work for him in Frankfurt on a DOKR stipend. He spent his days riding in the mornings and studying Law in the afternoon.
As a rider he worked at the Gestut Wiesental, got trained by Egon von Neindorff and in the 1970s began riding horses for the Nolte family. He made his debut at Grand Prix level on Norandus. Geronimo followed and the pair became the 1974 German reserve Grand Prix Champions. For twelve years Plewa was the Baden Wurttemberger Regional Team Trainer.
When he quit his active riding career, Dieter took up judging in the 1980s. He became an international judge in the 1990s. He received his 5* (O-) status in 2009.
Third Judge to Quit, Seeking No Extension
Eurodressage contacted Plewa for his reasons for quitting, but he declined to comment.
This is the third high-star level judge after Gustaf Svalling and Bo Jena to retire from duty on 31 December 2019.
The FEI currently lists 26 German FEI level dressage judges in its database. However many of them have retired (Beutler-Bath, Eitel, Frömming, Hermecke, Mechlem, Moritz, Martin Richenhagen, Spenlen, Schüle) or have not officiated in a long time (Lammers). Schüle and Mechlem officiated on the Judging Supervisory Panel.
Germany still has 6 five star judges: Ebert, Eisenhardt, Holler, Lehrmann, Riexinger and Wüst.
Photos © Astrid Appels
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