Silke Rottermann: "Know the Past to Judge the Future"

Guest columnist of this week is our long-time contributor and history buff Silke Rottermann, who felt deeply saddened when she heard of the passing of Jimmy Wofford. Here is a reflection on why the sport has lost a legendary horseman.

Know the Past to Judge the Future

When Eurodressage's editor-in-chief sent me a message on 2 February 2023 which stated that American eventing legend James „Jimmy“ Wofford (1944-2023) had died, I felt a strong wave of sadness which brought me down for the rest of the evening.

Never have I met Wofford in person, but he promptly helped me after an email request the year before with some history of US dressage at the beginning 1970s.

A Rare Breed
Being as eventing mad as dressage mad (pssst, I admit I'm actually more eventing mad) I followed Wofford’s thought provoking pieces in the US publication Practical Horseman for many years and soon realised that he belonged to those absolutely rare personalities.

Please click here to read the rest of the article as it appears on the Eurodressage website.