Voting for the 2024 FEI Awards opens today, and Germany's Olympic Champion Christian Kukuk is among the riders nominated in the category Peden Bloodstock FEI Best Athlete.
Established in 2009, the FEI Awards celebrate individuals and organisations that are making an outstanding contribution to the progress and excellence of equestrian sport, both in and outside the arena.
Other members of the international showjumping community that have been nominated are Philipp Weishaupt's long-time groom Lisa Fundis in the Cavalor FEI Best Groom-category, and Omar Abdul Aziz Al Marzooqi as well as Mathies Rüder in the Longines FEI Rising Star-category.
The winners will be decided through a system in which 50% of the public’s vote via FEI.org and on the Chinese social media platform WeChat and 50% of the judges’ vote will be combined to give the result. The seven expert judges are:
- Ingmar De Vos – FEI President & Chair of the Judges Panel
- Bernardo Tribolet – Vice President Marketing Longines
- Martin Atock – Peden Bloodstock FEI Best Athlete Award Title Sponsor
- Peter Bollen – Cavalor FEI Best Groom Award Title Sponsor
- HRH Princess Nanda-Dévi Norodom (CAM) – Secretary General of the Cambodian Equestrian Federation
- Mark Samuel (CAN) – FEI Vice President and Chair of Regional Group IV
- Catrin Norinder (SWE) – FEI Eventing & Olympic Director
The public have until 13 October to cast their votes. The winners will be announced at the FEI Awards Gala presented by Longines on 13 November in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
For a full list of nominees, click here.