Julia Krajewski makes history at Tokyo 2020
An impressive list of nominees are in the race for the FEI Awards 2021 as the online public voting opens for the Peden Bloodstock FEI Best Athlete, Longines FEI Rising Star, Cavalor FEI Best Groom, FEI Against All Odds and FEI Solidarity Awards.
Find out more about the nominees in each category with special links to Eventing. The public has until 17th October to cast their votes for their heroes. Make sure you have your say and vote here!
Peden Bloodstock FEI Best Athlete - Julia Krajewski
At 32 years of age, Julia Krajewski carved her name into the equestrian history books by becoming the first woman to win individual gold in Eventing, at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. And it was not a given after her former Olympic horse, Samourai Du Thot, had to be retired at the beginning of the year following a severe infection causing him to lose an eye, and less experienced “Mandy” had to rise to the Olympic occasion, which she brilliantly did.
Krajewski mostly fell into Eventing rather than choosing it. Coming from a non-horsey background it was by coincidence, that the first Pony she got turned out to be made for Eventing rather than Dressage which had been the original idea. She gave Eventing a shot, and as the saying goes, never looked back.
She won double gold at her first pony Europeans in 2001 when she was just 12 years old. At her second pony Europeans she came home with Team gold and Individual silver in 2002.
Her winning streak didn’t stop at Juniors, where she won two European Team golds and an Individual European silver on Leading Edge 2. In her adult career, her previous high before Tokyo would undoubtedly be her Team silver medal at the Olympic Games in Rio 2016, together with winning the prestigious CICO3* in Aachen 2018 and the Luhmühlen CCI5* in 2017.
Cavalor FEI Best Groom - Stephanie Simpson
Stephanie grew up on a dairy farm in Vermont and came to Windurra four years ago to groom the eventing horses and manage the barn of Boyd Martin. Martin explains that he has been lucky enough to have worked with top people in the equestrian industry for the past couple of decades, making it clear to him that Stephanie is in a league of her own.
Stephanie absolutely loves her horses and she is one of the hardest working people Boyd has ever come across. Relentless in the amount of energy she puts into her day-to-day work, at home Stephanie is in charge of managing all of the horses and staff, and it is a real juggling act to make sure all the small details are taken care of.
With the job comes a fair amount of monotonous and grinding work that needs to be done on a daily basis but Stephanie just gets on with it and never loses her impeccable attention to detail in the management of all of the horses.
Stephanie has travelled the world together with Boyd for World Equestrian Games™, Pan American Games, Olympics as well as major five-star events. She can work brilliantly under pressure, especially when things are going wrong. Stephanie always keeps a cool, calm demeanour and nothing seems like a challenge when working alongside her.
Greta Busacker - European Young Rider Champion 2021
Longines FEI Rising Star - Greta Busacker
At 19 years of age, Greta Busacker is the freshly crowned individual and team European Champion in the Eventing young riders category.
One could say that the apple does not fall far from the tree, as the daughter of Eventing legend Ingrid Klimke, is making a name for herself in the sport. The European title was the icing on the cake to what had already been a great season for the young athlete, who won several international events this years and took bronze at the German national championships for young riders.
Besides being a highly successful young Eventing athlete, Greta also competes in Dressage tests, taking wins up to Prix St. George level. When she is not riding, Greta loves to travel the world and discover different cultures and customs.
She has recently spent six months in Africa as a volunteer and also worked for Jumping athlete, Rodrigo Pessoa in the USA. Additionally to all this, she is currently studying business administration and it is fair to say, that for her future career she has more than one string to her bow.
FEI Against All Odds - Laura Collett
Laura Collett was part of the British team winning gold at the Olympic Games in Tokyo this year, the first Olympic team gold for Great Britain in eventing since Munich 1972. What you could not tell, is that she saw nothing through her right eye, a hindrance that makes her story one of the more remarkable of many remarkable comebacks.
Lucky to still be alive, let alone compete, Collett’s Olympic success comes eight years after a terrible accident. While competing at an event, she fell of her horse which then landed on top of her. Suffering multiple injuries including a punctured lung, lacerated liver, a fractured shoulder and two broken ribs, she was put in an induced coma for several days. Collett also lost her vision in her right eye.
Winning team gold in Tokyo was a dream come true for her and a reward to her entire family who support her along the way. Collett is an inspiration and role model to many people who are trying to overcome adversity.
FEI Solidarity Awards - Sue Ockenden
Sue Ockendon's goal has always been to promote the sport of Eventing and, for as many people as possible, to enjoy it in a safe environment. As FEI Eventing Technical Delegate and Organiser at the Bromont Horse Trials (CAN) for many years, she is one of Eventing’s driving forces, not only in Canada but also in South America.
Sue started organising the Bromont Three Day Event in 1987 Bromont hosting multiple international events, Young Rider Championships as well as lower level national competitions.
Her emphasis as an organiser, is always on the excellence of the cross country course, through the fence design and safety, as well as footing quality. To achieve this, Sue has recruited the best and most promising officials from all over the world, whether Course Designers, Judges or the Technical Delegates, several of whom have subsequently held appointments at Olympic or World Equestrian Games™.
Sue’s latest project is the U25 Bromont Rising program to develop talented Young Riders and the future Eventing stars. In parallel, she is also an FEI Level 3 Technical Delegate and has officiated in North America as well as several Central/South American countries (Guatemala, Mexico, Ecuador, Chili), always striving to improve the quality and safety of the cross country courses. This has resulted in several of those nations qualifying for Continental Championships or Games and potentially adding new flags to the global Eventing Family.
