Lexington, Ky. – The FEI has announced the opening of the voting period for the 2022 FEI Awards, and US Equestrian is pleased to congratulate the two members of the American equestrian community who have been named finalists.

In the FEI Best Groom category, Sue Schlegel (Cazenovia, N.Y.) has been nominated for her role as groom for Olympic jumping athlete Beezie Madden. Schlegel has partnered with John and Beezie Madden for 30 years at John

Madden Sales, Inc., serving a vital role in the success of the program at home and abroad. She has traveled the world caring for Beezie’s mounts at prestigious events, such as Coral Reef Via Volo at the 2011 Pan American Games and Breitling LS at the 2018 FEI World Cup Finals and the 2019 Pan American Games. Her care and expertise have kept horses feeling their best and contributed to top results in the international competition arena.

Para-equestrian Mia Rodier-Dawallo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) is a finalist in the FEI Against All Odds category. Rodier-Dawallo is a first-generation American, daughter of a Persian refugee, advocate, and assault survivor. She survived a

brutal domestic abuse attack in 2013, which resulted in a severe brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. A year later, Rodier-Dawallo was left permanently disabled following a car accident and needed to relearn how to speak, read, and write. Despite the many obstacles she faced, Rodier-Dawallo returned to the saddle and achieved top results, including the USEF Para Dressage National Championship at the 2022 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions.

Voting for the FEI Awards closes on Sunday, October 16. Learn more about all of the finalists and cast your vote at fei.org/awards.