Dawn Wofford
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 23 May 1936 Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England |
| Died | 12 June 2015 (aged 79) Studley, Warwickshire, England |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Equestrianism |
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]
Biography
[edit]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] In 1959, she won second place in the German Grand Prix Tournament held in the Halls of Westphalia with her horse Hollandia.[5] 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.[6] At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Wofford competed in the individual jumping event, where she tied for 20th place.[7] Just prior to the Olympics, Wofford won a silver medal at the European Women's Championships in Copenhagen.[8]
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.[9][10]
Her brother-in-laws Jimmy and John both competed at the Olympics,[11][12] as did her father-in-law John W. Wofford.[13] In 2013, Wofford was diagnosed with bone cancer,[14] and she died in June 2015 at the age of 79.[15][16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Dawn Wofford". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Dawn Palethorpe Wofford". The Times. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Dawn Wofford Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Dawn Palethorpe Wofford, showjumper - obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 11 August 2015.
- ^ "Winkler und Thiedemann im Stechen ohne Glück". Dortmunder Tageblatt (in German). 14 March 1959. p. 2.
- ^ "Equestrian Legends Episode 15 – Dawn Palethorpe-Wofford". Horse Radio Network. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Individual, Open". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Dawn Wofford – Our Tribute". The West Warwickshire. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Dawn Wofford". Team GB. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Queen's Award nominee: Dawn Wofford". Horse and Hound. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Jimmy Wofford". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "John E. B. Wofford". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "John W. Wofford". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Showjumping's 'glamour girl' Dawn Palethorpe Wofford dies at 79". Horse Talk. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Obituary: Dawn Wofford - Olympic showjumper who formed a triumphant partnership with Earlsrath Rambler in the Fifties and Sixties". The Independent. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Equestrian Legend: Dawn Palethorpe-Wofford". WIS Sports. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
