Helen Preece Chipchase Smith (1897 - 1990) was a British
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 ...
who also rode in America. She was the only woman briefly entered in the
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...
.
Biography
She was the daughter of Ambrose Preese, of Fulham road,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Her mother was considered a "noted horsewoman" in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. In June 1910, she did well in the
Olympia Horse Show
The London International Horse Show, formerly the Olympia London International Horse Show, is one of the UK's biggest equestrian competitions. Previously held at Olympia, London, it has been hosted by ExCeL London since 2021. It is best known as t ...
. In the next Olympia Horse Show, in June 1911, she was considered a "favorite" and was personally congratulated by
Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...
afterward. In November 1911, she won the gold cup at the Madison Square
National Horse Show
The National Horse Show is the oldest continually held horse show in the United States. It was founded in 1883 in New York and held there until 2002, when it moved to Florida and then to Kentucky.
The National Horse Show offers competition for hu ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
At the show, she rode the horses, Sapelio, owned by George Chipchase and the winning Sceptre, owned by James Dunn.
In 1912, while still in school, she attempted to enter the
modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...
in the
1912 Summer Olympic Games.
For a short time, she was the only woman slated to compete at the games. She was ultimately not allowed to compete because she was a female.
The response from the Olympic committee to her request to enter was "hostile."
In 1914, she placed second in Ladies' saddle horse riding and first in Park and road hacks, riding on Sceptre.
On March 20, 1915, she married George H. Chipchase in New York.
A few months later, his former wife sued Preese in a
court for using the Chipchase name and also claiming that there had been no divorce.
In December 1934, she was married again in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
to John Leslie Smith, a riding instructor.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preece, Helen
1897 births
Year of death missing
English female equestrians
British emigrants to the United States