Personal information | |
---|---|
Birth name | Helen Patricia Groome |
Born | Hastings, New Zealand | 18 April 1924
Died | 10 January 2020 Havelock North, New Zealand | (aged 95)
Spouse |
Eric White
(m. 1951; died 1980) |
Relative | Tinks Pottinger (daughter) |
Sport | |
Sport | Equestrian |
Event | Dressage |
Helen Patricia "Tiny" White OBE (née Groome; 18 April 1924 – 10 January 2020) was a New Zealand horsewoman, best known as a dressage rider, and the first New Zealander to qualify as a FEI three-day event judge.
Born Helen Patricia Groome in Hastings on 18 April 1924, White was the daughter of Ernest Groome.[1] She was educated at Woodford House from 1936 to 1942, and worked as a land girl on the family farm during World War II.[1][2] In 1951, she married Eric White, and the couple went on to have three children, including equestrian Tinks Pottinger.[1]
White won the New Zealand dressage championship on eight occasions.[1] In 1971, she won the Prix St Georges dressage at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, as well as the lady's hack and best lady rider titles, with her horse Rigoletto.[2] Subsequently, she and her husband, Eric, judged hacks and hunters at Sydney, as well as in England, at Hickstead.[2]
White became involved in the sport as an official and administrator, serving on the executive of the Dressage and Pony Club, including a period as chair.[1] She was the first FEI three-day event judge in New Zealand, and was also an FEI dressage judge.[2] In 2006, she became patron of Equestrian Sports New Zealand.[2]
In the 1992 Queen's Birthday Honours, White was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to equestrian sport.[3]
White died in Havelock North on 10 January 2020.[4][5]