Margaret Elizabeth McIver (7 August 1933 – 21 July 2020) was an Australian
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 ...
, dressage coach and judge.
Before switching to dressage, McIver competed at the Melbourne Royal and at other Victorian shows in showjumping on Bonanza and also in eventing on Pyewacket.
McIver was the first Australian to represent her country in dressage when she competed at the
Los Angeles 1984 Olympics in the
individual event.
Riding C.K., she finished in 42nd place. Her horse was named after his breeder, Colin Kelly, who in 1949 won the first dressage event held in Victoria.
In May 2007 McIver was awarded an honorary doctorate by the
University of Ballarat
The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main Ballarat campus, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, unde ...
in recognition of her contribution to dressage in Australia as an Olympic competitor, and dressage coach and judge.
McIver was an honorary life member of
Equestrian Australia
Equestrian Australia (EA) is the national governing body for equestrian sports in Australia. These sports include the FEI-recognized disciplines of dressage, eventing, show jumping, equestrian vaulting, endurance riding, reining, para-equestria ...
. In January 2000, she was awarded the
Australian Sports Medal
The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...
as the first Australian to compete at the Olympics in dressage.
She died on 21 July 2020 at the age of 86.
References
1933 births
2020 deaths
Australian female equestrians
Australian dressage riders
Equestrians at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Olympic equestrians of Australia
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
20th-century Australian women
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