Tributes to an eventing great
Former European eventing champion and three-time Badminton winner Sheila Willcox dies aged 81
TRIBUTES have been paid to a triple Badminton winner and former European champion who has died at the age of 81.
Sheila Willcox, one of the first “real professionals” in eventing, had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for some years, according to her brother John, who described her as a “determined sportswoman and a very gifted rider”.
Sheila was the first person to win Badminton three times in a row — a record that still stands.
“It is with sadness that we learn of the passing of Sheila Willcox,” said a spokesman for British Eventing. “Our thoughts are with her friends and family.
“Sheila was a pioneer for women in eventing, winning multiple European medals and Badminton titles. Starting her career in the Pony Club, she went on to become the top female rider in British eventing, winning her first Badminton in 1957 after finishing in second place the previous year.
“Riding High And Mighty, she was then selected for the 1957 European Championships, where they won team and individual gold medals before returning to Badminton in 1958 to win the event again with a 47-penalty advantage.”
After her marriage to John Waddington, Sheila took her third title in 1959 with Airs
And Graces, who had competed in his first three-day event six months before Badminton.
That year, she and High And Mighty took another European Championships gold, but as women were not allowed to ride at the Olympics at the time, she never took part in the Games.
Sheila evented at top level until she was badly injured in a fall at Tidworth Horse Trials in 1971 and switched to dressage.
She coached Team Canada for the 1975 Pan Am Games and 1976 Olympics, and wrote books about the sport: Three Days
Running and The Event Horse.
Mary King worked for Sheila for two years as a teenager.
“Without her input and help, there’s no way I would have had the career I so fortunately have had,” Mary told H&H. “I owe her everything as far as my competitive success goes.”