Joan Lewis (7 Jan 1936 – 2 October 2017)
Monday 02 October 2017
It is with great sadness that British Showjumping announce the death of Joan Lewis, former Bedfordshire Area Representative, Advanced Course Designer and Level 2 Judge.
Joan passed away peacefully this afternoon having lost her battle with cancer and will be sorely missed by many within the sport and equestrianism as a whole. Joan’s love of riding came from her parents Bill & Molly Lewis, both of whom were keen equestrians, where she grew up competing their many horses and ponies across both showing and showjumping classes.
Riding competitively throughout her childhood, teens and into adulthood Joan also had a deep passion for Point-to-Pointing; a passion which saw her become one of the first female jockeys to ride competitively within Great Britain.
An incredibly independent, strong minded and straight talking woman, Joan would never let anything stand in her way in terms of her achieving what she set out to do. This was all too evident in the way she took to race riding and also in terms of the way that she built her professional career by becoming the sports first female registered course designer.
An active member of the Bedfordshire Area Committee for many years, before taking on the role of Area Rep for a period of fifteen years, Joan developed a number of shows within the region including the Bedfordshire Area Show and the Toddington Show which she ran for more than two decades.
Her commitment to the region was tireless and she worked with passion alongside show organisers and venue owners in every way that she could to help establish the venue or show on the national circuit. Encouraging riders to confidently compete through the ranks was also of primary importance to Joan and she spent considerable time helping riders achieve their goals both on a local and national level.
Alongside her Showjumping career Joan was also a highly respected Showing Judge with a strong allegiance to the British Show Pony Society and also the Retraining of Racehorses classes. A regular judge at both Horse of the Year Show and the Royal International Horse Show, Joan travelled the length and breadth of the country in pursuit of excellence.
British Showjumping extend their sincere condolences to the family Joan leaves behind in Wales with whom she would spend each vacation in addition to the network of close friends whom she considered extended family.
Details in respect of Joan’s funeral will follow.
11dtw0hmsttk0.jpg "NAF Five Star Bronze and Silver League Qualifiers get underway at Speetley Equestrian Centre")
