Helen Sandy Pflueger (born April 14, 1954) is an American equestrienne. She has competed successfully in both

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

and

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 ...

, finishing second at the prestigious

Badminton Horse Trials The Badminton Horse Trials is a eventing, five-day event, one of only six annual Concours Complet International, Concours Complet International (CCI) Five Star events as classified by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, Fédér ...

in 1981 and competing on the United States Dressage Team at the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

. She competed under the British flag at the

World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...

in Rome 1998 and Aachen 2006 and the European Championships in Arnheim 1998. She is the daughter of Nancy and James Pflueger, a

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

landowner, auto dealer, philanthropist and self-made millionaire. On February 1, 1997, Sandy Pflueger married British Olympian and coach of the American Eventing team,

Captain Mark Phillips Captain Mark Anthony Peter Phillips (born 22 September 1948) is an English Olympic gold medal-winning horseman for Great Britain and the first husband of Anne, Princess Royal, with whom he has two children. He remains a leading figure in Britis ...

, whose first wife was

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

, the daughter of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

. Pflueger coached the US eventing team in dressage, alongside her husband. The couple lived in England with their daughter, Stephanie (b. October 2, 1997). Pflueger was the co-owner of Hawaii's Ka Loko Dam, which collapsed after heavy rain on March 14, 2006, killing seven people. Unlicensed grading operations had been carried out, with the knowledge of the local authorities, who failed to enforce a stop-work order. It emerged in May 2012 that Capt. Phillips had left Pflueger and intended to divorce her, having become involved with another woman, Lauren Hough. In equestrian sport Sandy is still active as an FEI Level 3 international jury member in dressage and FEI Level 4 international jury member in eventing. She also coaches several riders and gives clinics worldwide. She was a member of the jury during the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

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

References

1954 births Living people American dressage riders Equestrians at the 1984 Summer Olympics American event riders Olympic equestrians of the United States American female equestrians Sportspeople from Honolulu Punahou School alumni 21st-century American women {{US-equestrian-bio-stub