Claire Tomlinson
Claire Janet Tomlinson , b. Lucas (born February 14, 1944 in England ) is an English polo player . She was the first woman to reach handicap 5, which has only been repeated by Sunny Hale to this day, and was the first woman in England to win a high-goal polo tournament after women were banned from participating in such tournaments until recently.
Life
Claire Tomlinson was born the third child of Arthur and Ethel Lucas. Arthur Lucas made a significant contribution to the revival of polo in England after World War II and coached many young players. Her mother and two siblings also played polo and as a family they won the Holden White Cup at Cowdray Park Polo Club in 1951 . Her brother John later reached handicap 6 and won the Queen's Cup and the Gold Cup (British Open) in 1967.
In 1949, when Claire Tomlinson was five, her father founded the Hertfordshire Polo Club. She recalls: “Everyone came to tea after the games and the salt and pepper shakers and cutlery turned into goal posts and players…. I watched the games with my mother and the other wives, who all knew quite a bit. We saw the best players, at home and elsewhere. Understandably, I learned a lot about polo from an early age. "
As a member of a polo-playing family, Tomlinson also learned to ride and play polo. a. at Prem Singh. At school, however, she gave preference to tennis, lacrosse and fencing and later represented the country as a fencer on the junior national team. As a student at Oxford, she was nominated for the Olympic fencing team, but she declined to participate. At the same time, her interest in polo deepened and she joined the university polo team. In 1966 she was team captain.
In September 1966, after finishing her studies, Tomlinson went to Buenos Aires to work for a British company. When her brother John comes to Argentina to buy polo horses, she accompanies him. She meets and learns from Jorge Marín Moreno, one of the best players in position 1 at the time. In Coronel Suárez , she plays her first 25-goal tournament. Tomlinson returned to England in March 1967. In the same year she played medium goal tournaments in England and represented her brother in a high goal game in Deauville. Together with Lavinia Roberts, she is upgraded to Handicap 2.
In 1978 she reached handicap 3 and decided to take part in high goal tournaments with her husband in the future. However, the HPA rule book does not provide for women to participate in this division. Her first request is denied and she turns to Lord Cowdray, an HPA steward. He asked them to prove that the other players would not mind. She collected signatures from almost every player who took part in the Gold Cup that year, presented the petition to the HPA, and the HPA gave in. In 1979 she took part in the Queen's Cup with Simon Tomlinson, June Crotto and David Gemmell and won the tournament.
In 1986 Tomlinson was upgraded to Handicap 5. In 1987 the HPA discussed her participation for the English team in the Coronation Cup , but the idea was discarded because she is a woman.
In addition to her career as a player, Tomlinson is also a recognized coach. In 1993 she and Hugh Dawnay developed a training system for the HPA. At the 2004 Polo World Cup she was the coach of the English team and she also taught polo to Princes William and Harry.
family
In 1968 she married Simon Tomlinson, whom she met while studying. They have three children: Emma, Luke and Mark . Together they run the Beaufort Polo Club and a horse breeding company.
literature
- Horace A. Laffaye (Ed.): Profiles in polo: the players who changed the game; McFarland & Comp. 2007; ISBN 978-0-7864-3702-3
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Laffaye, page 206
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Tomlinson, Claire |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lucas de Tomlinson, Claire |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English polo player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 14, 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | England |