Susie Hoevenaars with Valegro and Charlotte Dujardin at Hartpury, 2019.

© Equestrian Australia

Australian judge Susan Hoevenaars to lead Ground Jury for Grand Prix Special at Tokyo 2020

By Equestrian Life

Five-star judge Susan Hoevenaars will lead the Ground Jury for tonight’s Grand Prix Special medal decider in Tokyo, with the Australian named as the C judge (president).

“You always dream as a young rider of going to the Olympics, and sometimes it works out in a different way and I am going as a judge,” shared Susie at the time of her appointment in August, 2019.

Susie has been judging for more than 20 years, including at many major events such as the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, USA. Back home in Australia, she has been an active member of multiple committees, including both the NDC and ADC, has held the position of the Chair of Selectors, and is an FEI mentor and judge educator.

The popular and prestigious Aachen Challenge, where the winner wins a trip to Aachen, has been running for more than 5 years and was originally initiated by Susie when she was the event director of the Dressage Festival in Victoria. She has also judged at Aachen herself on numerous occasions.

Susie considers the biggest thing for a 5* judge to be responsibility: “You need to stay focussed and judge what you see in the arena; to give not only the first horse in the arena your full attention, but the last horse too. You are responsible for your every decision and your score can make the difference between a gold, silver or bronze medal so you have to be consequent with your marks.”

View the draw for tonight’s Grand Prix Special here.

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