#IWD2022: Eight Fearless Women Who Changed the Face of Eventing

Celebrating International Women’s Day may seem incongruous in a rare sport that allows women to compete as equals against men, but we’re all about girlpower here at EN. So to celebrate, we’re taking a look back at some of the remarkable women, both past and present, who have helped to shape the sport of eventing into what it is, and through their own incredible efforts, have given all of us the chance to fly vicariously with them.

Though equestrian sports are celebrated for their gender equality these days, eventing’s military roots meant that women weren’t always welcome on the competitive battlefield. From 1912 — when eventing first appeared at the Olympics — until 1924, only military officers could contest this topmost echelon of the sport. From 1924, the door was widened to allow male civilians to compete — but it would be another four decades before Olympic eventing would become a level playing field.

All this was to change at the 1964 Tokyo Games, where the sport of eventing would see its first female Olympian.

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Article written By Tilly Berendt