WWLA’s Principal Contaminated Land Consultant and Company Director Wendi Williamson has just returned from two weeks of incredible success in the sport of Dressage, which is an Olympic Equestrian event.
The Bates Saddles National Dressage Championships were held in Taupō from 21 to 23 March 2024. This is the pinnacle Dressage event on the New Zealand Dressage calendar, with 190 horses competed by 160 riders representing the cream of the crop in New Zealand from mid-Canterbury to the Far North.
The major prize, the Burkner Medal for the Grand Prix Championship was won by Wendi riding her 11 year old Hannovarian gelding Don Vito MH. This is the third time Wendi has won the Burkner since 2017 and her fourth time winning the Tironui Trophy for the Grand Prix Freestyle – the first rider since 1976 when the trophy was first presented.
Taupo was also an Olympic qualifying event – with Williamson scoring a stunning 77.94% in the C Pack FEI Grand Prix Freestyle to Music CDI 3* on Don Vito MH. The pair came oh-so-close to securing another qualifying score with 73.362% in the Grand Prix Special tracking for potential selection for the one Paris Olympics spot allocated to NZL. The Sydney CDI to be held on 1-4 May will be her next target Olympic Qualifying event.
Wendi continues to bask in success after the Land Rover Horse of the Year show held between 5 to 10 March 2024, where she won the Grand Prix Championship and picked up an Olympic qualifying score of 74.4% in the Grand Prix Special test. Wendi also received the Lowry Medallion for 2024 Rider of the Year won with her horses Don Vito MH, Fugato SW, Ducati MH and Danseur MH. This is a points prize for the rider gaining the most points at the Horse of the Year show across ALL disciplines.
The team at WWLA are constantly in awe of Wendi and how she manages to achieve such great success in dressage and her professional career. Working with someone like Wendi inspires the team and drives them to do the best they can.
A few of Wendi’s colleagues wanted to share what it means to work with Wendi:
“Wendi's sharp intelligence, combined with incredible work ethic and positive attitude make her an excellent colleague. It is easy to see that she is driven to use her skills to produce excellence in any endeavour she undertakes; but nonetheless amazing that she is able to sustain a career as a top level consultant while also excelling as a world-class equestrian.” – Jake Scherberg (Senior Hydrogeologist).
“I find it inspirational that someone can compete as a sportsperson and at the same time perform at their best as a technical expert in their field of science. Being an equestrian event, not only does Wendi need to be at her peak, but she must also work tirelessly to train her horses for them to operate at an international level. Equestrian, trainer, geologist and parent certainly amounts to more than one full-time job IMO.” – Chris Simpson (Principal Hydrogeologist).
"Working alongside Wendi is truly inspirational and she is a great example to me of how you can be successful at balancing both a high-performing career and passion outside of work". – Laila Alkamil (Planner).
“When you know someone strives for such success in their personal life, you know it translates to their professional work too. That's motivating as it encourages the team to also strive to deliver beyond the 'average' and push themselves to do that bit extra for our clients.” – Lauren Windross (Senior Contaminated Land Advisor).
