In memoriam Rosemary Herbert

It is with great sadness that British Dressage has learned of the passing of Rosemary Herbert, a hugely influential and well-respected figure of British Dressage, who has died at the age of 96. 

Born in Liverpool, Rosemary started her love of horses at a young age, enjoying galloping along the beach at Southport and being part of the West Lancashire Pony Club. Throughout her life, she shared her dedication and passion for the sport dressage as a well-respected influential judge, selector and chef d’equipe.

After marrying, Rosemary moved to Northamptonshire and it was also around this time that she started writing for dressage judges which helped grow her passion for dressage and sparked her interest in becoming a judge herself. Remembered by many as an ‘extremely knowledgeable and fair judge’ she went on to upgrade to List 1 in 1987 at the same time as Jennie Loriston-Clarke and the late Barry Marshall. She also mentored many up-and-coming judges who are now well-respected national and FEI judges, including Nick Burton and David Trott.

Apart from judging, through her role as Olympic and Paralympic team selector, and Chef d’Equipe at many levels, Rosemary contributed to the turn in international dressage success that Britain has seen over the last few decades. Starting with her involvement in the FEI Pony scene, Rosemary was one of the first to go abroad with the British Pony team at a time when Great Britain was only just starting to take part in international youth dressage. She continued to help foster international success as Chef d’Equipe to the Senior team, where Britain recorded their first ever senior championship team medal – a silver at the 1993 European championships in Lipica, Slovenia.

Rosemary prided herself on her integrity and her daughter, Judy Hancock – also a dressage judge – fondly recalls Rosemary’s sound advice to always judge honestly: “She always used to say, just go with your gut. Don't try to say what you think people want to hear. If it's wrong, it's wrong. If it's right, it's right, but just be true to yourself.”