Jane Kidd receives the 2024 Linda Whetstone Memorial Trophy

Jane Kidd received the highest award that BD bestows at this year's LeMieux National Dressage Championships, the Linda Whetstone Memorial Trophy, for her outstanding contribution to dressage across her long and distinguished career.   

The annual Linda Whetstone Memorial Trophy, the highest award that BD bestows, recognises individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to dressage across their careers. The inaugural recipient was List 1 Judge and FEI Master Judge Stephen Clarke, and he was followed by renowned rider, judge, trainer and breeder Jennie Loriston-Clarke in 2023. This year, BD Chairman Jill Day presented this prestigious award to Jane Kidd.   

Despite her immense impact and influence on the sport of dressage, Jane humbly expressed her gratitude saying, “It was a very happy shock. That magnificent trophy has been a real boost for me, thank you.” Jane then adds with a slight laugh “I hoped that the photographers were there. One of them might have taken a picture of me with my mouth wide open with surprise.”  

Former recipient, Jennie Loriston-Clarke, a long-time friend of Jane’s, fondly recalled how “Jane has long been very supportive of dressage and is extremely knowledgeable, becoming a great advocate for correct training and excellent writer, sharing her knowledge and perspectives on the sport and helping to shape the sport we have today.”  

Jane is one of the brightest brains behind the sport of dressage and her contribution has been immense. In her time, she has been an international rider, trainer, author, editor, a BD List One and FEI judge and a key part of British Dressage’s success on the international stage in her role as selector, contributing to the Senior teams for many years.   

Janes’ love of horses began with her mother: “My mother was passionate. She couldn't ride any longer as she hurt her back and so she gave Johnny, my brother and myself every assistance.”  

Jane originally started out in showjumping, competing internationally. Her love and passion for dressage came about following her breaking her back and having a five-year break from serious riding. After initially going back into show jumping Jane was “eventually persuaded” to take up dressage with an ex-showjumper and gradually climbed up the levels to compete internationally. Despite reaching this level, Jane reflected on how her injury impacted her ridden career, “My crushed vertebrae meant I was crooked,” describing how she felt, “I never got the best out of them. I loved riding, but I gradually transferred into training and judging,”  

In some ways echoing the example of her mother continuing her passion by supporting Jane’s early ridden career, Jane’s passion for dressage remained but evolved into something different and shifted to a much more widespread involvement in the sport, which would reach and assist many riders.  

As well as training some of the more experienced Grand Prix athletes, she particularly enjoyed working with young riders, having become chairman of the Under 21s and trained a Pony Club team, including Tom McEwen, that won the PC Championships. Jane explained how, she loved training young riders because of, “their energy and the fact they might be very talented. Many showed enthusiasm as well as an open mind and innocence about the sport that was such you can really put a lot into them.” 

Generously sharing her wide range of perspectives and knowledge, Jane has also committed much of her time to education, writing many books, serving as Editor of the BD magazine and being instrumental in bringing the Scales of Training to the British audience.  

Speaking about her passion for writing on dressage, she explained how she was initially inspired by what she’d seen in Europe, “When I took up dressage, I knew that we had to look to the continental approach and training; that ours was not successful in international competition. One of my first major books was about travelling around Europe to all the various schools and trainers, collecting ideas and why they were good, and what they did”. 

Concluding with how thankful she is for those who surrounded her, Jane said, “I was very grateful for being surrounded by people who were passionate about dressage and who gave up their time to do a huge amount of work. The volunteers did it for the love and that’s an amazing thing to be working with.”  

“The only way was up in dressage. We were finding new ways of getting better.” Jane added, summarising how crucial this collective support and passion has been to the sport, as well as to her career which is being recognised by the Linda Whetstone Memorial Trophy. 

We were delighted to present the Linda Whetstone Memorial Trophy, kindly donated by the Whetstone family as a perpetual award in memory of Linda upon her passing in 2021. Linda, who served as BD Chairman from 2018 to 2021, is still very fondly remembered and missed by us all.  

Photos © Kevin Sparrow Photography