Dawn Wofford

Dawn Palethorpe Wofford (23 May 1936 – 12 June 2015) was a British equestrian.[1][2] She competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics and tied 20th at the final rankings.[3][4]

Dawn Wofford
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born(1936-05-23)23 May 1936
Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England
Died12 June 2015(2015-06-12) (aged 79)
Studley, Warwickshire, England
Sport
SportEquestrianism

Biography

Wofford was born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, in 1936, and was brought up in Blakedown.[4] She learned to ride from a very early age, and was also a swimmer and played tennis.[1] At the age of two, she joined the Pony Club and was the runner-up in the 1951 Junior Show Jumper of the Year.[1] She attended Edgbaston Ladies College and the Birmingham School of Music.[4] In 1954, Wofford was the Ladies National Champion.[1] In 1955 and 1956, she won the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at the Royal International Horse Show.[4] She married her husband, Warren, in secret in 1957.[4]

Wofford was selected to take part at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, but did not compete.[5] At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Wofford competed in the individual jumping event, where she tied for 20th place.[6] Just prior to the Olympics, Wofford won a silver medal at the European Women's Championships in Copenhagen.[7]

Following the Olympics, Wofford retired from show jumping.[1] In 1991, Wofford became the first ever female chairperson of the Pony Club.[1] The following year, she re-wrote the Manual of Horsemanship, the key document of the Pony Club.[8][9]

Her brother-in-laws Jimmy and John both competed at the Olympics,[10][11] as did her father-in-law John W. Wofford.[12] In 2013, Wofford was diagnosed with bone cancer,[13] and she died in June 2015 at the age of 79.[14][15]

References
  1. "Dawn Wofford". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  2. "Dawn Palethorpe Wofford". The Times. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  3. "Dawn Wofford Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  4. "Dawn Palethorpe Wofford, showjumper - obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 11 August 2015.
  5. "Equestrian Legends Episode 15 – Dawn Palethorpe-Wofford". Horse Radio Network. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  6. "Individual, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  7. "Dawn Wofford – Our Tribute". The West Warwickshire. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  8. "Dawn Wofford". Team GB. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  9. "Queen's Award nominee: Dawn Wofford". Horse and Hound. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  10. "Jimmy Wofford". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  11. "John E. B. Wofford". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  12. "John W. Wofford". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  13. "Showjumping's 'glamour girl' Dawn Palethorpe Wofford dies at 79". Horse Talk. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  14. "Obituary: Dawn Wofford - Olympic showjumper who formed a triumphant partnership with Earlsrath Rambler in the Fifties and Sixties". The Independent. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  15. "Equestrian Legend: Dawn Palethorpe-Wofford". WIS Sports. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.