Cesar Torrente, FEI 4* Judge from Colombia, Receives “Green Card” To Live in USA to Extend Judging Opportunities
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Dec. 27, 2021
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
Cesar Torrente, the international 4* judge from Colombia, has received his “Green Card” to become a full-time resident of the United States that enables him to further extend his judging duties throughout America and Europe.
At the same time as receiving the residency permit, Cesar begins a second four-year term as a member of the FEI–International Equestrian Federation–Tribunal, the governing body’s judicial arm.
Residency in the U.S., said Cesar, 61, “is a dream come true” as it opens up more opportunities to travel to wherever he is invited to judge and return without difficulties to the home he has established in Wellington, Florida.
He still practices Colombian law though he is downsizing. And although the Covid pandemic has cut the number of horse shows in the past two years, Tribunal requirements have been as busy as ever.
Dressage has been a part of Cesar’s life since he was 14 years old. In his riding career he competed at three Pan American Games as well as Bolivarian, South and Central American championships. He did his master’s degree at the University of Texas in 1984.
Cesar became a FEI 2* judge in 2011, moved up to 3* two years later and in 2017 became a 4* judge, one rank below the top 5*. He is also a 4* young horse judge. The only current 5* judge in South America is Maribel Alonso of Mexico who was elected last month as chair of the FEI Dressage Committee.
His judging calendar in recent years counts 30 to 35 shows a year, both CDIs and national competitions and most in the U.S.
In 2022, in addition to American events, his schedule includes judging assignments at the prestigious Horses & Dreams that opens the European outdoor circuit as well as Future Champions, both in Hagen, Germany; the European Children’s Championships in Hungary, and the highly regarded Gestüt Peterhof CDI5* in Perl, Germany.
“I think it’s very important to keep judging–the more you judge the better you get,” he said of his experience. “If you stop for a month or two you can feel you are out of practice.”
Cesar prefers not to use the description “judging” in describing what his role.
“I think we’re here more to assess and to help,” he said. “Of course, we have to tell the truth.”
Instead of writing comments on a test only for the low marks as is common, he does also for the high marks.
“By judging,” he said, “we can try to help every rider who comes before us.”
