At the 2021 British Dressage National Convention, four British dressage personalities were bestowed with the "Medal of Honour" in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the sport or given distinguished and long service.
There were four worthy recipients: David Trott, Waveney Luke, Carolyn Gardiner, and Elizabeth Walters.
David Trott
David, or Trotty as most know him, has been a mainstay of British dressage’s international endeavours for some five decades. He joined the British Dressage Board of Directors in 2001 and he’s continued to have an involvement ever since. Selector, Chef d’Equipe, Performance Manager – David has served in every role.
He started on British Dressage’s Junior Selection Panel in 1998 and served as Senior Selector Chairman from 2001 to 2008. He was then reappointed to the BD Board in 2012 as International Teams Director until he stood down in 2019. His services were retained on the Senior Selection Panel until he finally retired after the Tokyo Games this year. Over 20 years served as a volunteer and key player in selecting our teams.
David’s loyalty, dedication and integrity over his years of service to the sport of dressage are commendable. He has given the sport a great deal, helping to mentor and develop athletes, contributed to laying the foundations for a successful team environment and been a leader throughout.
Luke, Gardiner, Walters
The other three recipients are Waveney Luke, Carolyn Gardiner, and Elizabeth Walters.
Waveney has enjoyed horses all her life but dressage and para dressage have always been her main love. She’s had a close involvement with the Riding for the Disabled, firstly as a coach and more latterly committee level and was made an Honorary Life Vice President.
List 2A judge Carolyn Gardiner retires this year from her role as Para Selector after an outstanding 12 years of service. She joined the panel in 2010 and brought a great deal of knowledge and expertise to the group. In 2016, she took on the role of Chief Selector and has headed the team through changing landscape as competition for medals in para dressage become more and more fierce.
Elizabeth Walters headed up and has been part of scoring teams at every major dressage event since BD’s inception in 1998, largely as a volunteer. She’s scored at every National and Winter Championships under the BD banner but also been a key at major events such as Olympia, Horse of the Year Show, Royal Windsor – dating back to when the dressage was on grass, Hartpury Festival of Dressage and Addington Manor.
Source: British Dressage
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