Fiona Bigwood (born 24 April 1976 in

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) is a British

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

rider and winner of a silver medal in the team dressage event at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Early life

Bigwood was born on 24 April 1976. By the time she was 10, Bigwood rode Tanya Larrigan's old Grand Prix horse Salute on lease. She soon competed at the 1993 Junior European Championships and the Young Rider European Championships. As a teenager, she trained in Denmark and was educated at

Croydon High School Croydon High School is a private day school for girls located near Croydon, London, England. It is one of the original schools founded by the Girls' Day School Trust. History The school was founded in 1874 in Wellesley Road just north of the ce ...

Career

In 1997, Bigwood became the youngest British rider to be selected for a Senior European Championships. In the same year, she won the British National Elementary title with Afrikka and was shortlisted for the 1998 World Equestrian Games. Afterwards, she competed at the

2010 World Equestrian Games The 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games (officially the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games) were held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. from September 25 to October 10, 2010. This was the sixth edition of the games, which ar ...

and four

European Dressage Championships The European Dressage Championships are the European championships for the equestrian discipline of dressage. They are held every two years in odd-numbered years. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded in both individual and team competitio ...

(1999, 2005, 2007 and 2015). In 2014, she suffered a concussion after a fall while riding. As a result of her injury, Bigwood experiences double vision, which means that she wears an eye patch while riding. Upon returning to competitions, Bigwood earned a silver medal for Great Britain in the team dressage event at the

. However, she would later sell her silver medal-winning horse "Atterupgaards Orthilia" to Danish rider Agnete Kirk Thinggaard.

Personal life

She was married with three children; her ex-husband,

Anders Dahl Anders (or Andreas) Dahl (17 March 1751 – 25 May 1789) was a Swedes, Swedish botanist and student of Carl Linnaeus. The dahlia flower is named after him. Early life and education Andreas (Anders) Dahl was the son of Christoffer Dahl, a preac ...

, is also a dressage rider. In 2016, Bigwood and her ex-husband relocated from Bourne Hill House in

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

to Brantridge Park, where she is in the process of establishing a new world-class equestrian centre.Bigwood and Dahl Sell Bourne Hill and Relocate to Brantridge Park
Retrieved 2/5/21.

Notable Horses

* Mr G de Lully - 1993 Bay Swedish Warmblood Gelding (Gauguin de Lully x Ambassadeur) ** 2005 European Championships - Team Fifth Place, Individual 20th Place ** 2007 European Championships - Team Fifth Place, Individual 18th Place * Wie-Atlantico De Ymas - 1999 Chestnut Hanoverian Gelding (Wie Weltmeyer x Rondo) ** 2010 World Equestrian Games - Team Silver Medal, Individual 16th Place, Individual 12th Place Freestyle * Atterupgaards Orthilia - 2005 Bay Oldenburg Mare (Gribaldi x Donnerschlag) ** 2015 European Championships - Team Silver Medal, Individual Ninth Place ** 2016 Rio Olympics - Team Silver Medal, Individual 17th Place * Quinn G - 2018 Chestnut Danish Warmblood Mare (Quaterhit x Fassbinder) ** 2024 World Breeding Championships for Young Dressage Horses - Gold Medal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bigwood, Fiona Living people 1976 births British female equestrians British dressage riders Olympic medalists in equestrian Equestrians at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic equestrians for Great Britain Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain People educated at Croydon High School People from Camberwell Equestrians from London