All in the Family

By Hannah Brooks

For the Dierks family, dressage is indeed, a family affair. 

Judy Dierks’ love affair with dressage began when she first met her husband-to-be and dressage coach, Clemens Dierks. The Australian dressage scene was just in its infancy when Judy joined the fold.  Impressively, some thirty years on - Judy continues to inspire dressage enthusiasts with her standout performances.

With two international coaches on call and dressage in her DNA, it was almost inevitable that Judy’s and Clemen’s daughter, Daniella would eventually become a gifted rider in her own right.

Supported by the strong equestrian community in Sydney’s Hills district, the C + J Dierks Advanced Dressage Training Centre in Arcadia has become the foundation on which the Dierks family have built their enviable careers.

The Sydney CDI is just around the corner and the local dressage community are eagerly anticipating some exciting performances from the Dierks family.

For many dressage followers it will be their first opportunity to see the outstanding, OEH Frozen Chilli (owned by Michael Procter) in action. Daniella and OEH Frozen Chilli have been dominating the recent young horse classes - including scoring a 9.32 in the February 4YO class at Clarendon.

Given OEH Frozen Chilli’s impressive performances to date, both Judy and Daniella are concerned about the weight of expectations on the horse going into the Sydney CDI. Daniella stresses, “He’s still a young horse…at some point he might start acting like one”.

 Always a crowd favourite, Judy’s supporters will be hoping to cheer her on to back-to-back wins in the Grand Prix Freestyle. Judy took out this prestigious class on Diamond Star, (owned by Vicki and Allan Newham) at the Sydney CDI in 2015.

 You may be surprised to know that, this combination didn’t have an opportunity to practice their test before delivering their 2015 winning performance. According to Judy, they just “winged it” on the night.  Who knows what this combination might be able to achieve with a little more practice under their belts since then?

 Come and see the talented Dierks family in action this April at the Sydney CDI 2016.

 For more information please go to http://www.sydneycdi.com

View - Judy's winning performance at the Sydney CDI 2015

Vicki Newham talks about her horse and the coming Sydney CDI