2020 FEI Awards to be Popularity Vote of Past Winners

Dressage

FEI

The FEI has decided that the 2020 FEI Awards will be based on a popularity vote of past winners of these awards between 2009 and 2019.

Due to corona the 2020 FEI General Assembly in Johannesburg has been cancelled and no FEI Awards ceremony, to celebrate the sport's biggest winners of the year, will be held.

As an alternative, FEI will do a "Best of the Best FEI Awards". Fifty-five nominees from 19 nations have been selected for the five Awards: Best Athlete, Rising Star, Best Groom, Against All Odds and Solidarity.

" In a year when our sport has been brought to a standstill by the pandemic, we are looking back through the years and giving YOU the chance to pick the best of the best from the five FEI Awards categories," the FEI stated.

Voting started on 10 November and will close on 22 November. Voting can be done here.

“These Awards are a way to honour the heroes of our sport through their amazing stories of resilience, horsemanship, determination and passion,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “Equestrian is not just a sport, but a way of life for many people and this has been a desperately difficult year for the equestrian community, just as it has been for everyone, in every sector. Now, more than ever, we need to focus on the positives that our sport has to offer and celebrate the fantastic ambassadors that we have, both on the field of play and behind the scenes making a difference.”

The nominees are:

Best Athlete

Isabell Werth - Germany – Dressage
Charlotte Dujardin - Great Britain – Dressage
Adelinde Cornelissen - Netherlands – Dressage
Edward Gal - Netherlands – Dressage
Ingrid Klimke - Germany – Eventing
Simone Blum - Germany – Jumping
Nick Skelton - Great Britain – Jumping
Boyd Exell - Australia – Driving
Jeroen Dubbeldam - Netherlands – Jumping
Michael Jung - Germany – Eventing
Meredith Michaels Beerbaum - Germany – Jumping

Best Groom

Alan Davies - Great Britain – Dressage
Michelle Tipper - Great Britain – Dressage
Jose Eduardo “Eddie” Garcia Luna - United States – Dressage
Madeleine Broek - Netherlands – Jumping
Lee McKeever - United States – Jumping
Mark Beever - Great Britain – Jumping
Jackie Potts - Great Britain – Eventing
Carmen Thiemann - Germany – Eventing
Celia Rijntjes - Netherlands – Jumping
Alice Gaillard - France – Eventing
Michelle Robson - Australia – Eventing

Rising Star

Semmieke Rothenberger - Germany – Dressage
Sönke Rothenberger- Germany – Dressage
Caroline Roffman - United States – Dressage
Victor Levecque - France – Eventing
Harry Allen - Ireland – Jumping
Jessica Mendoza - Great Britain – Jumping
Lambert Leclezio - France – Vaulting
Reed Kessler - United States – Jumping
Thomas McDermott - Australia – Jumping
Nina Lamsam Ligon - Thailand-United States – Eventing
Alex Hua Tian - China – Eventing

Against All Odds

Emma Booth - Australia
Rodolpho Riskalla - Brazil
Courtney King-Dye - /United States
Angelika Trabert - Germany
Sydney Collier - United States
Zhenqiang Li - China
Leila Malki - Palestine
Oriana Ricca Marmissolle - Uruguay
Joann Formosa - Australia
Meg Wade - Australia
Darlene Milord - Haiti

Solidarity

Uno Yxklinten - Sweden
The Horsemanship Charity Programme - China
Retraining of Racehorses - India
Royal Moroccan Federation for Equestrian Sports - Morocco
Les Chevaux qui pansent les plaies (Horses that heal wounds) - Haiti
Equine-Assisted Learning for At Risk Kids - Singapore
National Army Riding School “Grito de Asencio” - Uruguay
Shumbashaba – Horses Helping People - South Africa
Soraya Ourrais - France-Morocco
The Ebony Horse Club - Great Britain
Wendy Gidlow - South Africa