2024

Irene Bakels-Noreen

Irene Bakels-Noreen has made a remarkable and lasting impact on the equestrian community, with over 40 years of dedicated service to the sport. Her achievements include earning FEI 3* dressage judge status and FEI level 2 steward accreditation. Nationally, Irene holds the prestigious positions of Equestrian Australia (EA) National A Level Judge and Judge Educator, EA Level 2 Coach and Coach Educator, and EA National Steward.

Her influence extends far beyond her credentials; Irene has judged and coached both domestically and internationally, sharing her expertise and passion with equestrian enthusiasts worldwide. As the Chair of the Dressage Queensland Officials Sub Committee (DQOSC), she plays a pivotal role in developing and supporting dressage judges in Australia. Her contributions as a National Judge Educator and active A-level judge have significantly advanced the standard of dressage judging and education.

Irene’s dedication to grassroots equestrian sport is especially commendable. She has tirelessly worked to nurture and educate emerging riders, judges, and officials, spanning multiple disciplines such as dressage, para-equestrian, and driving. Her commitment to fostering growth at all levels of the sport exemplifies her unwavering passion and service.

Her exceptional contributions have had a profound and lasting influence, and her dedication to horse and rider ensures her legacy will endure in the equestrian community for years to come.

2024

Derek & Rita Dobson

The legacy of Derek and Rita Dobson is deeply embedded in Queensland's vibrant equestrian culture, particularly in showjumping and eventing. Their unwavering commitment to advancing the sport, mentoring riders, and establishing sustainable frameworks for competitions continues to inspire generations of participants and officials. Their contributions include: 

• Establishing Toowoomba Showjumping Club and creating a platform for improved training and competition, contributing to the sport’s growth in the region.

• Hosting and managing the Australian Show Jumping Championships at the Toowoomba Royal Show in the mid-1980s.

• Facilitating FEI events at prominent venues, including Carrara, Kooralbyn, Pine Lodge, Brisbane, and Toowoomba.

• Rita played a pivotal role in fostering young talent by coaching and managing riders as part of the Interschools Equestrian Programme, ensuring the next generation's active involvement in the sport.

• They both travelled across Queensland as EFA-accredited judges, stewards, and course builders, contributing expertise to numerous events.

• They served on EFA committees, consistently demonstrating dedication by traveling significant distances to attend meetings and contributing to strategic planning and governance.

• Judging and stewarding at notable events such as the Brisbane Exhibition, Toowoomba Royal Show, and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, showcasing their expertise on national and international stages.

 Derek and Rita’s enduring impact is seen in the thriving equestrian disciplines across Queensland and they have left an indelible mark on Australian equestrian history.

2022

Diane Jenkyn

2020

Mary Seefried

Mary has over 40 years of contribution to equestrian sports.  Firstly Mary was a competitor in Dressage, Eventing and Jumping events in the 1970s and at this time she was, and still is, one of the few Australians to have completed the endurance event, the Tevis Cup – a 160km course in Nevada, USA.  In the 1980s,  Mary decided to specialise in dressage, competing successfully at state and national level.  But it is in her judging, education and administrative work that Mary has contributed most to the sport of dressage in Australia and internationally.  Mary started her national judging career in the 1980s and in 1985 was upgraded to an A level Judge.   After attending FEI judge courses in Europe, she was appointed as an

• FEI 3* judge in 1986,
• FEI 4* judge in 1983,  

And in 1998 was appointed as one of only 30 Olympic level (5*) judges in the World and the First Australian to be appointed to this level.  Mary was the Australian judge for dressage at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and over the past 20 years has held official positions at many international events including the multiple World Equestrian Games, the FEI  Dressage World Cup Finals, the European Championships, the Asian and SE Asian Games, the Pan American Games.  Mary has held official roles at the 2012 London Olympic Games and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.  Mary has two other roles – firstly she was appointed as an FEI Dressage Judge Educator and now is also a Technical Delegate and will be working as Dressage TD at 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  During all of this time Mary has used her experience to mentor and support others.  Mary conducts judge education clinics at all levels throughout Australia and prepares national education materials  for EA.  She is passionate about educating Australian Dressage and Young Horse judges to the world best standards.  On top of all this Mary has been committed to supporting the administration and governance of equestrian sport she been a valuable member of many Boards and Committees. This included;

• Being the first woman appointed to the FEI Dressage Committee in 1996
• The EA Board in March 2004. 
• Chair of the EA National Dressage Committee.
• Serving 12 years on the Board of Equestrian Queensland including two years as Chair.

Mary is also a current member of the Dressage Queensland Officials Sub Committee and the Equestrian Australia Dressage Judges Committee.  To summarise, Mary Seefried has given a lifetime of service to the sport of equestrian and in particular Dressage. 

2020 

Chris 
Burton

Chris Burton’s journey started with a love of horses from a very early age on a grain farm on the Darling Downs, 45-minutes’ drive north-west of Toowoomba which his proud parents Ken and Ruth Burton call home.  We are delighted to have Ken and Ruth here with us tonight.  Like so many country kids, ponies and horses were an essential element of Chris’s childhood.  

Chris’s first EFA event was at the tender age of 13 on ‘Just Joshin’ in 1994, which belonged to his mum Ruth.  In his teenage years Chris began riding a talented thoroughbred called, Deo Juvante, which took him from interschool to  4* eventing (which is now 5*).  Chris was a Queensland representative for Pony Club and competed in Interschool events in Dressage, Combined Training and Jumping.  Chris’s early career has several highlights including winning Adelaide 4* (now 5*) in 2008 with ‘Newsprint’.  His talent soon caught the eye of the Australian High Performance team who selected him for the squad.  His first Australian national team appearance was in 2010 at the Equestrian Games in Kentucky USA.  This was followed by some exceptional results in Australia and Internationally.  In 2011, Chris made the move to England so that he could compete on the world stage at the biggest events. Chris has not been left off a Championships Team since.  Chris like any other athlete has suffered a number of set-backs along the way but always pulled himself back up. He has shown that hard work and determination gets you where you want to go.  Chris was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 London Olympic Games placing 6th in team eventing and 16th individually.  Chris was again selected to represent Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympics where he won a team bronze and placed 5th individually.   

Other career highlights just to name a few include;

• 1^st place at the 2013 Australian International Three Day Event riding TS Jamaimo an extraordinary achievement seeing as the duo only had days to form a partnership leading into the event.
• 1^st place at the 2016 Burghley Horse Trials in 2016 becoming the first Australian winner at Burghley 4* since 2006.
• 1^st place at the 2016 World Young Horse Championships
• 3^rd place at the 2019 Badminton Horse Trails

Chris is currently placed 3^rd on the FEI Eventing World Athlete Rankings in the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.   Chris travels to Australia once a year to spend time with his family and during his time at home he makes time to deliver clinics and present workshops.  Chris is extremely giving of his time and hopes to inspire the younger generation of riders through his clinics. 

2018

Guy Creighton

On Top of several Eurpean Tours, Olympic representations and multiple Australian Championships to his name, Guy Creighton has won 13 World Cup Jumping Qualifiers and placed second at a further 7. The 13 wins were all around Australia including Brisbane, Werribee VIC, Gosford NSW, Canberra, Melbourne, Wanneroo WA, Perth, Sydney, Dapto NSW and Brigadoon WA. Guy has competed in every royal show around Australia including Hobart and Darwin and received leading rider at every royal, being the only rider to do so. Guy spent more than 20 years at the top of the sport as a rider, he spent a further 15 years as the Australian Young Rider Team Coach and still continues to be a highly sought after coach, judge and coursebuilder.