FEI 3* Judge Cesar Torrente to Coach Ecuadorian Dressage Team at Bolivarian Games
Bogota, Colombia (November 13, 2013) – FEI 3* judge Cesar Torrente will be the coach for the Ecuadorian dressage team competing November 21-25 at the Bolivarian Games in Lima, Peru. Torrente is well known for his skill as a coach and trainer, and as a resident of South America, is proud to be competing, judging, training and giving back to the region where his riding dreams began.
The Bolivarian Games are an FEI-recognized regional multi-sport event held in honor of Simon Bolívar, known as ‘El Libertador’ (The Liberator) and leader of independence movements in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Venezuela. With Chile, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and others invited for the first time, this year’s Games will present a larger field of South American and Caribbean countries at the Games than ever before.
The Bogota, Colombia-based horseman is no stranger to global attention. In October, he won the Colombian National Championship, riding his PSI Hanoverian son of Londonderry, Louboutin, to high scores of 77% from Canadian 5* judge Cara Witham and 74% from American judge Kristi Wysocky. On November 2 in Bogota, he collected high score (71%) in the Challenge Competition under FEI judges Alison King (Hong Kong) and Janice Bird (New Zealand). When the Games in Peru end, it’s off to London for an FEI Judges refresher course slated during the city’s Olympia Horse Show.
For Torrente, the first judge promoted through the 2013 FEI 3* program, the road to the Games began years earlier: ”I did clinics in Ecuador and now, as part of my judging throughout South America, I was visiting the country when their riders and Federation thought I could help them in this important event. I am very honored by their designation.
”Usually Ecuador has won the Bronze medal,” says Torrente, who is working with four horses and riders who earned squad positions after national selection trials. The Bolivarian Games Organizing Committee has confirmed at least five other nations competing. “We have not had much time but will do our best. We know judges are looking for correct riding and for the training scale. So we will focus on these issues even though we know other countries will bring very important horses and riders.”
Whether as a champion or coach, he knows how to stay busy. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is respected as a ‘rider’s judge’ with empathy for what it is like to be in the judging box as well as the ‘sandbox’ of the dressage arena. Learn more about Cesar Torrente at www.dressagejudge.com.
Photo: The Ecuadorian team for the Bolivarian Games with coach Cesar Torrente. From left to right, Guido Paez, Carolina Espinoza, Martina Falconi, Cesar Torrente, and Maria Jose Granja. (Photo courtesy of Maria Granja)
Contact: Cesar Torrente www.dressagejudge.com +57 310 236 5702 cesartorrenteb@gmail.com
