Virginia Helen Antoinette Elliott MBE (née Holgate, formerly Leng; born 1 February 1955), sometimes known as Ginny Leng, is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

competitor who competed in

eventing Eventing (also known as three-day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where the same horse and rider combination compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...

. She is the 1986

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

and three-time Individual European Champion (1985, 1987, 1989). She also won two World team golds (1982 and 1986) and four European team golds (1981, 1985–89). A four-time Olympic medallist, she won Individual bronze and team silver in both 1984 and 1988. From 2008 to 2013, she was the manager of the Irish eventing team. She was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

1986 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

"for services to Riding."

Major wins

World and European titles: *1985 European champion – Priceless *1986 World champion – Priceless *1987 European champion – Night Cap II *1989 European champion – Master Craftsman

Badminton Horse Trials The Badminton Horse Trials is a five-day event, one of only seven annual Concours Complet International (CCI) Five Star events as classified by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI). It takes place in May each year in the park of ...

: *1985 – Priceless, *1989 – Master Craftsman, *1993 – Welton Houdini

Burghley Horse Trials The Defender Burghley Horse Trials is an annual three-day event held at Burghley House near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, currently in early September. Defender Burghley Horse Trials is classified by the FEI as one of the seven leading t ...

: *1983 – Priceless, *1984 – Night Cap II, *1985 – Priceless, *1986 – Murphy Himself *1989 – Master Craftsman (first person to win Burghley five times).

Personal life

Born Virginia Holgate and raised in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, she married Hamish Leng in 1985. The couple divorced in 1989. In 1993, she married Michael Elliott. Her Horses Night Cap II and Priceless, were by the eventing stallion Ben Faerie. Since the 1980s, she has written several books.British Library In 1987, she participated in Prince Edward's charity television special '' The Grand Knockout Tournament''.

References

1955 births Living people British event riders Olympic equestrians for Great Britain British female equestrians Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Equestrians at the 1984 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1988 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in equestrian Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Members of the Order of the British Empire {{UK-equestrian-bio-stub