Lexington, Virginia: Joanie Morris has been hard at work assembling a top panel of judges and technical delegates for the VHC Eventing's May Horse Trials and CCI. The event is fortunate to have secured Italian Olympian, Marina Sciocchetti, who will serve as President of the 3*/1*/A-CT Ground Jury. A native of Somma Lombardo, located in Northern Italy, Sciocchetti will add to an impressive list of other officials at VHC Eventing’s May Horse Trials & CCI before heading to Bromont to judge their June CCI 3-Day Event.

Sciocchetti will be joined in the judge’s box for the CCI 3* and Advanced CT by Bobby Stevenson. This is a rare opportunity for high-performance riders to get in front of a judging panel of this caliber, as both Stevenson and Sciocchetti are members of the Ground Jury for the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile. VHC Eventing will be hosting an Advanced Combined Training division in addition to the CCI 3*, which will also provide spectators with the ability to observe talented athletes at this level of equestrian sport.

Sciocchetti achieved a great level of success during her early riding career, winning the Italian Junior Championships four times in dressage and twice in Eventing, before finishing sixth in the European Junior Championships. Aboard Rohan de Lechereo she was a member of the Italian Team at the European Eventing Championships in Luhmulhen, and the Olympic games in Moscow where they helped Italy achieve a team Silver medal.  

With her younger horse, Master Hunt, Sciocchetti won the International Event in Fontainebleau and placed seventh Individually at the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles. She then began to train young horses and competed in show jumping for several years having good results in the Championships for young horses and Piazza di Siena in the 7-year-old classes.

Sciocchetti has trained the Italian Pony Eventing team for 14 years and was the Chef d’Equipe of the Italian Junior Team in 2012 and 2013. Her resume also includes being a FEI judge in Le Pin, Pratoni del Vivaro, Le Pouget, Montelibretti, Strezgom, Baborowko, Ballindenisk, Avenches and Schwaiganger. Sciocchetti is currently in charge of the Young Horses Department of the Italian Federation for Dressage and Eventing, and works with the Italian Breeding Society in an advisory capacity.

Bobby Stevenson is a Former Canadian Equestrian Team member (Barcelona 1992), Chair, Equestrian Canada Eventing High Performance Advisory Group, a Member (medical) of the FEI Risk Management Steering Group (Eventing) as well as a cardiologist at the New Brunswick Heart Centre.

VHC Eventing is honored to present the following cast of top-level TD’s, judges and staff for the May Horse Trials and CCI:

President Ground Jury 3*/1*/A-CT - Marina Sciocchetti

Member Ground Jury 3*/ and Judge AI - Bobby Stevenson

President Ground Jury 2* L and 2S* - Amanda Miller

Member 2* Ground Jury (and YEH Judge) - Beth Wheeler

President GJ National Divisions - Sara Miller Leary

GJ Member National and 1* - Holly Matt

GJ Member National - Julie Congleton

Technical Delegate (3S/2L/2S) - Gretchen Butts

Technical Delegate (National and 1*) - Rick Caldwell

SJ Judge - Kathy White

FEI Chief Steward - Dana Diemer

FEI Stewards - Shelley Ryan, Manny Diemer, Jeff Legg

Vet Delegate - Jim Hamilton

Associate Vet - Karen Reynolds

Announcers - Brian O’Connor & Mark Combs

Control - Diane Pitts

The VHC Eventing webpage is live, with the full list of committee members, course designers and event staff. Details on vendors and sponsorship, lodging, event entries, volunteer positions, cross-country maps and facility information are being added on a weekly basis. 

Entries open April 11th, so start to make your plans early by visiting VHC Eventing.