Equestrian Canada (EC) announced the 2024 Dressage Year-End Award Recipients, as recognized by the EC Dressage Committee, for their impressive achievements and contributions to the growth and success of the Canadian equestrian community.
The 2024 recipients are as follows.
2024 EC Dressage Award Recipients
- Athlete of the Year – Camille Carier Bergeron
- Horse of the Year – Statesman
- Owner of the Year – Gilles Bergeron
- Youth Athlete of the Year – Kiara Williams-Brown
- Volunteer of the Year – Jillian Taylor-Mancusi
Dressage Athlete of the Year: Camille Carier Bergeron
At time of selection Camille Carier Bergeron was the highest ranked Canadian dressage rider on the FEI World Rankings, she made her Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics with her partner, Finnländerin a 14-year-old Oldenburg mare by Fidertanz 2 x Ferna x Donnerhall II and owned by Camille and her father, Gilles Bergeron.
In just their second competition together, in February 2024, Camille and Finnländerin secured victory in the Grand Prix Special at the Global Dressage Festival CDI 3* in Wellington, Florida.
Previously, Camille represented Canada at the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games, with Sound of Silence 4. Her efforts contributed to Canada winning a team bronze medal and qualifying a full dressage team for the Paris Olympics.
Her most impressive success this season was a Freestyle score of 77.28% at the CDI-W Devon.
Dressage Horse of the Year: Statesman
Statesman (Sandro Hit x Bella Italia x Brentano II) is a 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by KML Inc. and Guy Laliberté and competed by Naïma Moreira Laliberté. Statesman is currently ranked 101st in the world and most recently competed with Naima at the CDI3* Toronto this past week achieving an outstanding 75.745% in the freestyle. Statesman and Naima also achieved the highest score for the Canadian team at the Paris Olympic Games this past summer.am competition.
With Naïma, Statesman has twice represented Canada at the Pan American Games. At Lima 2019, they helped Canada win team dressage gold, which qualified Canada for the Tokyo Olympics. At Santiago 2023, the bronze medal won by her and her teammates qualified Canada for team dressage at Paris 2024. They also competed at the FEI World Championships for the first time in 2022.
Statesman’s continuing successes have led to him being recognized as 2024 Dressage Horse of the Year.
Dressage Owner of the Year: Gilles Bergeron
Gilles Bergeron is the proud owner of Finnländerin, the talented 14-year-old Oldenburg chestnut mare who recently competed at the Paris Olympics with his daughter, Camille Carier Bergeron. Currently ranked 118th in the FEI World Rankings, Finnländerin was sired by Fidertanz 2 and is out of the Donnerhall II mare Ferna, a full sister to the Olympic stallion Blue Hors Don Schufro.
In September of 2024, at the CDI-W in Devon, PA, Finnländerin and Camille danced their way to a 77.280% in the Grand Prix freestyle.
Equestrian Canada’s Dressage Committee has named Gilles Bergeron as the 2024 Dressage Owner of the Year.
Dressage Youth Athlete of the Year: Kiara Williams-Brown
Kiara Williams-Brown hails from Ottawa, ON and is a member of Ontario Equestrian’s GRIT (Great Rider Intensive Training) program. Williams-Brown has successfully balanced the demands of attending school full time and training and riding at the FEI Young Rider level through 2024.
A highlight for Kiara this summer, was being selected to represent Canada at the North American Youth Championships (NAYC) for Dressage held in Traverse City, MI. There she earned individual silver and team silver medals. Her consistent top performances have her ranked as the top Canadian athlete on the FEI Young Rider Rankings sitting in 36th place.
Kiara credits her top finishes to Simone Williams, Kiara’s mother and coach. Simone is a successful Grand Prix athlete and NAYC alumni. Queenswood Stables, established by Kiara’s grandparents, is still operated by the family and has given Kiara the opportunity to ride a variety of horses over the years.
Dressage Volunteer of the Year: Jillian Taylor-Mancusi
Jillian Taylor-Mancusi has attended and supported her daughter, Brooke Mancusi at hundreds of CDI classes from FEI-JR to FEI-U25 over the years. It was a natural fit when Jillian volunteered for the Chef d’Equipe role for the 2024 North American Youth Championships (NAYC) for dressage.
The role of Chef d’Equipe requires juggling a multitude of tasks while assisting coaches, parents and athletes. Days often start early in the barns, ensuring that everyone is set for the day’s events, and end late with Chef meetings and night check. Jillian was praised by members of the Team for fostering team spirit, communication and good humor throughout the event.
In recognition of her tremendous volunteer efforts this season in support of NAYC, Equestrian Canada’s Dressage Committee is honored to present Jillian with the 2024 Dressage Volunteer of the Year Award.
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