Lucinda Green

Early life

Lucinda Jane Prior-Palmer was born in Andover, Hampshire, England to Major-General George Erroll Prior-Palmer (died 1977) and Lady Doreen Hersey Winifred Hope, a daughter of the second Marquess of Linlithgow, who served as Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943. Her other grandfather was Prior Spunner Prior-Palmer of Dublin. She has a brother, Simon Erroll Prior-Palmer (born 1951) and a half-sister, Karol Ann Maxwell (born 1938), who died in 2014. She attended the independent St Mary's School in Wantage.

Personal life

Green married Australian equestrian David Green in 1981 in Salisbury and they have a son Freddie (born May 1985) and daughter Lissa (born February 1989), who is an international event rider. The couple divorced in 1992. Her niece is Lara Prior-Palmer, the first British person and first woman to win the Mongol Derby.

Career

Green began riding at the age of four and is most well known for winning the Badminton Horse Trials a record six times, on six different horses: Be Fair (1973), Wideawake (1976), George (1977), Killaire (1979), Regal Realm (1983) and Beagle Bay (1984). In addition, she was placed second on Village Gossip (1978). She has also won the Tony Collins Trophy, awarded to the British rider with the greatest number of points in eventing in a season, a record seven times.

Green first represented Britain at the 1973 European Championships at Kiev. She competed in the European Championships a total of seven times and was European Champion in 1975, on Be Fair, and again in 1977, on George.

She attended her first Olympics in 1976, at the Montreal Games. However, she had to retire after the cross-country event after her mount, Be Fair, slipped a tendon on course. In 1980, the British Equestrian Team took part in the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, and Green represented Great Britain at the alternative Olympics at Fontainebleau, where she was in 69th place after the dressage, rising to 7th after the cross-country ride, on Village Gossip.

Green's 1981 career included a win at the Burghley Horse Trials on Beagle Bay.

In 1982, she went on to represent Britain at the Eventing World Championships in Luhmühlen, where she won the individual gold medal on Regal Realm, as well as being part of the gold medal winning team. She was part of the silver medal winning British Team at the 1983 European Eventing Championships in Switzerland, where she also won an individual silver medal.

In 1984, Green attended Badminton, and not only won for the sixth time, on Beagle Bay, but also placed fifth on Village Gossip. Later that year, at the Los Angeles Olympics, she represented the silver medal British Team and individually placed 6th. Green was team GB's flag bearer at the opening ceremony in Los Angeles, leading the British team into the arena during the parade of nations.

Green became a mother in 1985, and she retired for a few months before returning to international competition later that year and helping the British Team win the gold at the European Championships held at Burghley. She was short-listed to attend the 1986 World Championships as well, but an injury to her horse forced her to withdraw. However, in late 1986 she went on to win the event at Boekelo.

Green finished her international career after attending the 1987 European Championships in Luhmuhlen. She now is a commentator for major events, and conducts clinics worldwide. Green is a member of the Board of Directors of British Eventing, formerly the British Horse Trials Association and a team selector.

Red Mile Entertainment released the video game "Lucinda Green's Equestrian Challenge" for the PlayStation 2 game console on 16 November 2006.

Major accomplishments

1987

1986

1985

1984

1983

1982

1981

1980

1979

1977

1976

1975

1973