EQUESTRIAN-DRESSAGE: Australian Equestrian-Dressage legend and five-time Olympian Mary Hanna has received one of the FEI’s most prestigious accolades – the Gold Badge of Honour.
This recognises athletes who have been among the 15 best finishers in the Grand Prix in at least 14 CDIO competitions.
Speaking from her base in Germany, Hanna said;
“It is a great honour. Having not started my career until I was 40, I was a bit of a late starter, I had competed and qualified for the World Cup Kur final on five occasions plus qualified for the Special at Atlanta Olympics and the World Equestrian Games in Normandy.”
Hanna is currently busy preparing for the upcoming FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon.
“Boogie Woogie has achieved his qualifying scores, so we are hopeful for a positive outcome at selection time.”
Her other top horse, Calanta, suffered a mishap prior to the FEI World Cup finals but is now back in training.
Hanna made her Olympic debut in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, where she recorded her highest individual Equestrian-Dressage result. At her fifth Olympic Games at Rio 2016, the then 61-year old was the oldest on the Australian Olympic Team.
