Tiny White (equestrian)

Helen Patricia 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.

Tiny White
OBE
Personal information
Birth nameHelen Patricia Groome
Born(1924-04-18)18 April 1924
Hastings, New Zealand
Died10 January 2020(2020-01-10) (aged 95)
Havelock North, New Zealand
Spouse(s)
Eric White
​
(
m. 1951; died 1980)
RelativesTinks Pottinger (daughter)
Sport
SportEquestrian
Event(s)Dressage

Early life and family

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]

Equestrianism

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]

Death

White died in Havelock North on 10 January 2020.[4][5]

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References
  1. Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 391. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
  2. Caro, Virginia (16 February 2018). "Like mother, like daughter: three generations of success". New Zealand Horse & Pony. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. "No. 52953". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 13 June 1992. p. 30.
  4. "Obituary – Tiny White (OBE)". Equestrian Sports New Zealand. January 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  5. "Passing of two popular NZ equestrian figures". Horsetalk.co.nz. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
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