Throughout equestrian sport, our paths cross with many people along the way, some of whom really stick with you, whether that’s due to their helpful and friendly nature, their dedication to the sport or a bit of everything. This year, we farewell three people from their roles within our sport, each who would have made an impact on nearly everyone they crossed.
Jenny Booth. Copyright Photo: KAMPIC / Kerry Marshall
Known across many spheres of the sport, Jenny Booth is a very familiar face in the equestrian world. Through her family business, East Coast Performance Horses, she is a much valued, longtime sponsor and owner, with many of her home bred horses seen out and about under different riders. After dedicating so much of her spare time to her position as the Vice-Chair on the Jumping Board over countless years, it has come to the time where we farewell Jenny from this role. Whilst Jenny has an all round knowledge of the sport, her expertise lay with the Technical and FEI portfolios, and she also sat as Chairwoman on the Technical Committee, as Jumping’s representative. Her contribution to the sport over the years has not gone unnoticed, and we are incredibly thankful for all that she has done over the many years. We hope that we will continue to see Jenny’s friendly face around the shows.
Fiona Bentley, the pocket rocket with a smile as big as her personality, and one of the most senior and accomplished Jumping Judges in New Zealand. After dedicating over 30 years to officiating our sport, Fi is taking a step back and retiring from her role as a Jumping Official. A role that she will be greatly missed in, but what a fantastic legacy she has been a part of building. Fiona’s passion for the sport is unprecedented, and over the years, she has paved the way for those that follow. She has developed the National Judges Pathway and the FEI Equivalency Education System as well as being involved in developing the system, tools, processes and procedures in the Jumping Rulebook, that is now widely used by officials nationwide. Fiona is respected and trusted by competitors and fellow colleagues alike, and is renowned for her fairness, professionalism and dedication to ESNZ and Jumping. Fiona’s judging career came from humble beginnings, back in in 1994, at Pony Club events, and she has worked her way up to a FEI Level 3 Judge, mentoring and supporting those around her along the way. Fiona will be greatly missed as one of our Senior Officials, but her ongoing contribution will continue to have a meaningful and lasting impact on Jumping and officiating in New Zealand.
Gerrit Beker
Gerrit Beker is one of New Zealand’s most respected showjumping course designers. He learnt the tools of the trade in The Netherlands, before emigrating to New Zealand in 1987, which is where he really discovered his talent for course design. From there, he worked his way up to be an FEI Level 3 Course Designer, and in his career that spans over 30 years, he estimates that he has built over 3,500 courses! His work has taken him worldwide, from Australia and New Zealand to Spain and Singapore, designing Grassroots tracks to World Cup classes, and everything in between! He is widely respected for building courses that were challenging but fair, educational for the horse and rider and appropriate for the level of class whilst maintaining his goal of seeing horses and riders leave the arena confident and happy. Gerrit served on the Technical Committee for many years, and at one stage was the sole FEI Course Director in New Zealand with the responsibility of educating and mentoring future course designers. In 2021, Gerrit was recognised as the ESNZ Jumping Personality of the Year, a reflection of the regard in which he held through the sport. Gerrit took a little step back from course design in 2021, but continued in smaller capacity and as a Technical Delegate, educator and mentor, passing his invaluable knowledge onto the next generation. This year, we see Gerrit embrace full time retirement as he steps fully away from all roles, but the pathway he has created for those stepping into his shoes will be long recognised for many years to come.
We thank each of these three special people for all they have done in our sport, and we hope we will continue to see them out and about at shows and events across the country.
17 July 2026
The Jumping Team