Mary King

Mary Elizabeth King (née Thomson, born 8 June 1961) is a British equestrian who competes in eventing.

Mary King was born in Newark-on-Trent on 8 June 1961.

Her father, Lieutenant-Commander M D H Thomson was a naval officer who suffered for the rest of his life from the consequences of a motorcycle accident that happened before Mary was born.

Latterly he took the position of verger in Salcombe Regis parish church.

Mary King went to her first Badminton in 1985, finishing in seventh place with Diver's Rock, and finally won the event in 1992 with her horse, King William.

Funding proved even more difficult in 1988 when she started competing professionally, requiring her to sell horses which had proven successful.

This changed, when after being offered good money for Divers Rock, a horse on which she had achieved 7th place at Badminton, she turned the offer down commenting "I'd rather be famous than rich." It proved to be the right decision because she secured her first sponsorship deal on the back of her success.

She is a four-time British Open Champion (1990, 1991, 1996 and 2007).

She has represented Great Britain at six Olympics from 1992 to 2012, winning team silver in 2004 and 2012, and team bronze in 2008.

She won the CCI four star Badminton Horse Trials in 1992 and 2000, the CCI four star Burghley Horse Trials in 1996, and the CCI four star Rolex Kentucky with her homebred mare King's Temptress in 2011.

King has also represented Britain in six Olympic Games: 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012.

She has won;

At the World Equestrian Games, she won team gold in 1994 and 2010, and team silver in 2006.

She has also won four team golds and one team bronze medal at the European Eventing Championships.

King's individual honours include European bronze in 1995 and European Silver in 2007.

She married Alan King (known as David King) in 1995 and they and their two children, Emily and Freddie, live in Salcombe Regis, Devon.

Her daughter Emily King also competes in eventing.

King Seamus sold 2022

King Cyrys - by Future Gravitas out of King's Temptress - sold 2021

King's Rose - by Grafenstolz out of King's Temptress - sold 2021

Mary also won Burghley Horse Trials with Star Appeal in 1996.

He died in 2000.

Her mother Patricia Gillian (Jill) continues the role of verger at the church.

Mary also has an elder brother Simon Francis Bennett Thomson.

She attended Manor House Independent School (Honiton), Kings Grammar School (Ottery St Mary) and Evendine Court School of Domestic Economy (Cordon Bleu)(Malvern).

She did not grow up in a horsey family, but became fascinated by the vicar's pony, and eventually, aged 6, she persuaded her mother to lead her around the lanes on it.

After that, she rode everything she could, even a donkey, and realised that she wanted to become a professional rider.

It was not until she went to watch the Badminton Horse Trials, aged 11, with Axe Vale Pony Club, that she realised she wanted to become a professional three-day-event rider.

After school, she went to work for Sheila Willcox, a former European Champion, where she learned everything, from breaking in and producing young horses, to top class stable management.

A longing to travel took her to Zermatt where she worked as a chalet girl and which she described as being "great fun and a doddle after working in the yard".

Subsequently, she joined the tall ship, Sir Winston Churchill, first as a trainee, then as a watch leader, before returning to set up her own stables.

Mary King converted a couple of cow sheds in a disused farmyard near her home and looked after other people's horses, gave riding lessons and bought and sold horses.

To supplement her income, she cleaned houses, cooked, kept gardens tidy for people and delivered meat for the local butcher.

She later won the event again in 2000 with Star Appeal.

In 2001, whilst exercising horses at her home, she had a fall which broke her neck.

However, less than a year later she was back at the top of the sport recording top ten placings at major international events including a 3rd placing at Burghley Four Star on her great campaigner King Solomon III.

She has won six team gold medals at World Equestrian Games and European Championships.

She has been British Champion four times, more than anyone to date.

In 2011 Mary became the first rider to win Kentucky 4* with a homebred horse, Kings Temptress.

King was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism.