Fiona Valerie Fulton Baan (December 21, 1938 – June 19, 1994) was a Scottish-born American equestrian sports administrator. She was the

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "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 equestrian sport defined b ...

and driving trainer, manager, and director of the

United States Equestrian Team The United States Equestrian Team (USET) refers to the American national teams in Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines of horse sport. US Equestrian, the governing body of horse sport in the United States, selects, trains and funds the teams. The O ...

(USET) from 1976 to 1994.

Early life and education

Fiona Fulton was born in Scotland, the daughter of James F. Fulton and Edith Agnes Chandler. She became an accomplished horsewoman in

the Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames, Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the be ...

Career

Baan worked in the hotel industry as a young woman, and traveled internationally in that work. In 1966 became secretary with the United States Equestrian Team, based in New Jersey. She competed in local horse shows in the 1960s and 1970s. Baan managed and directed the dressage and driving programs of the United States Equestrian Team from 1976 into 1994.Hall of Fame Inductees: Fiona Baan
United States Dressage Federation. She prepared the athletes and horses for national and international events, including six Summer Olympic Games. At the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona, the American team she directed won a bronze medal in dressage. She judged and organized competitions and training programs at the national and international levels. She also taught dressage clinics. Although ill, she continued working at the USET until the last weeks before her death in 1994.

Personal life and legacy

Fulton married Laszlo (Leslie Baan) in 1963, in New Jersey; they had a daughter, Natalie. Baan died in 1994, at the age of 55, from cancer, at her home in Chester, New Jersey. One obituary called her "the grand dame of dressage." The Fiona Baan “Pursuit of Excellence” Memorial Trophy is given annually at the FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships. In 2008, she was posthumously inducted into the Roemer Foundation/ USDF Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baan, Fiona 1938 births 1994 deaths American equestrians Dressage trainers Dressage riders Equestrian events at the 1992 Summer Olympics People from Chester Borough, New Jersey Sportspeople from Morris County, New Jersey