Leng, Virginia (1955—)

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Leng, Virginia (1955—)

English equestrian who was the first woman to win an individual Olympic three-day event. Name variations: Ginny Leng; Virginia Holgate. Born Virginia Holgate in February 1955; daughter of an officer of the Royal Marines and Heather Holgate; married.

Was the first woman to win an individual Olympic three-day event medal (1984); took the gold medal at the European championships for individual on Priceless (1985), on Night Cap (1987), on Master Craftsman (1989), as well as team gold (1981, 1985, 1987, 1989); won the gold medal at the World championships for individual on Priceless (1986), as well as team gold (1982 and 1986); won Badminton on Priceless (1985), and on Master Craftsman (1989); won Burghley on Priceless (1983), on Night Cap (1984), on Priceless (EC, 1985), on Murphy Himself (1986),on Master Craftsman (EC, 1989); won the Olympic bronze individual on Priceless (1984), and team silver (1984); won the bronze individual medal on Master Craftsman (1988), and team silver (1988).

Virginia Leng was born in 1955 and spent her childhood in Malta, Singapore, the Philippines, Canada, and Cyprus, as her father was an officer in the Royal Marines. At age three, while seated on a horse, she hopped over her first fence. From age 13 to 16, she attended school in Kent and acquired her first horse, Dubonnet. By age 18, Leng had won a team medal with Dubonnet at the 1973 Junior European championships in Pompadour, France; she also entered her first Badminton, England's premier three-day event, in 1974.

Having added Jason to her horse stable, Leng finished second at the French championships at Haras du Pin on Jason, and took the Canadian senior pre-Olympic three-day event at Bromont, near Montreal, in 1975, putting her on

the "long list" for the 1976 Olympic Games at Montreal. But in a fall at Ermington, Leng shattered her arm in 23 pieces; amputation was considered. At the same time, Jason broke a blood vessel and could no longer compete. Despite this, Leng was determined to compete that autumn at Burghley on another horse, Tio Pepe. In contention at first, on the final day horse and rider were eliminated for missing a show jump. The dreadful luck continued. In 1977, Tio Pepe broke down on both front legs in the steeplechase.

Two years earlier, Leng had acquired Priceless and Night Cap, both from the same sire. Though she credits Dubonnet for the start of her career, she credits Priceless with the beginning of her success. "Priceless was really the turning point," she says. As a six-year-old, Priceless won Bramham.

When her father died in 1981, Leng had to find a sponsor or give up. "I got myself a little portfolio, and went on the train to London about once a week for six months. I selected firms from the Yellow Pages, and knocked on doors, which was quite embarrassing. Most people were charming, and would pat me on the head and say, 'Sorry, we can't help, but have a cup of coffee.'" Someone encouraged her to try British National Bank. "In the end the only reason I succeeded was because the chairman's wife was fond of horses! And through various changes of name, Citybank Savings have looked after me ever since."

That same year, Priceless was 6th in the European championships at Horsens, Denmark, and the British team won the gold medal. Over the next seven years, Ginny Leng won a daunting series of major events. She was the first woman equestrian to medal in the Olympics, taking the bronze for the individual three-day event on Priceless in the 1984 Summer Games at Los Angeles under her maiden name Virginia Holgate; she also took the bronze on Master Craftsman at the 1988 summer games in Seoul, Korea, under her married name Leng.

Virginia Leng was surrounded by a dedicated team. Her mother fed the horses and did much of the road work, while Dorothy Wilson oversaw their preparation for each event. Pat Manning and Ferdi Eilberg were her dressage trainers, and Pat Burgess and Nick Skelton prepared her for show jumping. As well, Leng's early cross-country training was managed by Sally Strachan (whose sister Clarissa won team gold medals at the World and European championships). "I learned a lot, too, from watching Lucinda Green ," says Leng. "I used to play videos of her riding across country over and over again, and in slow motion. I studied her through all the phrases of the jump and noted her position and balance."

In 1988, Leng took a flyer off Murphy Himself in the Badminton competition. He was, she felt, "too strong a horse for her." Even so, she still took third place and went on to the Olympics at Seoul. But that winter, during a visit to the United States, she thought something was "not quite right" with her foot. Nine months after the fall, she had surgery for a broken ankle—just in time for the 1989 season.

Leng would not push a horse and would never run it on poor turf, especially if the horse had an ailment, such as a sore knee. The proof of her convictions came in 1989, when the selectors demanded that all horses contending for the Burghley team (who would then compete in the European championships) also run in the British Open, which would be held three-and-a-half weeks before Burghley. Since the ground was much too firm after a dry summer, Leng was resolute and would not allow Master Craftsman to run. In the end, the selectors reversed themselves. Master Craftsman led Great Britain to another gold at the European championships.