NORTH Dublin’s Bernie Foley (List 1) is the new chairperson of Dressage Ireland’s judges’ committee.

“I would like to acknowledge the great work done by our outgoing chair, Vida Tansey,” Foley stated this week. “Vida has been a wonderful organiser for the judges’ committee. She has brought forward the training and exam system to a really good level, as can be seen by the people at List 1 status.”

Outlining her priorities for the future, Foley commented: “We are constantly trying to improve testing and training and trying to encourage more people to become judges. This is very important for Irish equestrian sport, as many of the horse sport affiliates need judges trained and qualified by Dressage Ireland to officiate at their competitions across the island of Ireland. I’m pleased to say that we now have a mentor system in place and new protocols on how to become a judge, with all the information available on the Dressage Ireland website.

“We will be organising trips abroad for judges’ training and the first one will be to the 5* FEI Dressage World Cup Western European League show in Amsterdam on January 23rd, with a minimum of 12 judges already signed up to attend. They will get to watch Prix St Georges and Grand Prix horses, both in competition and warming up.

“Another training plan in development is an online option, which is the focus for 2025. We now have the software and are just waiting for videos to go live with this training enhancement for judges and trainee judges.

“I’m delighted to confirm that Ann Glynn, Danielle Carey and Yvonne Chisholm will be joining the committee in 2025. In addition, each region has their own judges’ representative, with a full listing on the DI website. It is an exciting time in the development of the judges’ committee.”