Lausanne (SUI), 11 December 2012 – Jane Pontifex, scorer at the first Badminton Horse Trials in 1949 and a well-known and well-respected equestrian journalist, has died at her home in Surrey (GBR). She was 84.

Jane was the first official scorer for British horse trials. She valued accuracy in everything she did, and one of her most important legacies was in helping to devise the scoring system for horse trials which is still in use today.

She played a major role in the development of the sport, and was heavily involved in the start-up of Burghley Horse Trials in 1961.

Jane worked for the British Horse Society for many years as an official scorer before joining the staff of top British equestrian magazine, Horse & Hound. When Michael Clayton, then editor of the magazine, wanted to upgrade coverage of Eventing, Jane was his natural choice.

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