13 Facts About Claire Tomlinson

Claire Janet Tomlinson was an English polo player and pony breeder.

Claire Tomlinson was the highest-rated female polo player and coached the English national team she once captained.

Claire Tomlinson's father was instrumental in the revival of polo in England after the Second World War.

Claire Tomlinson went from Wycombe Abbey to take A-levels at Millfield and, while there, was selected for the British junior fencing team.

Claire Tomlinson's participation in the 1964 Varsity Match as the first female player was a milestone in the history of the match; cautiously, the club had entered her as Mr Lucas.

Claire Tomlinson became one of polo's few true masters of the number one position and the first woman in the world to rise to five goals in 1986.

Claire Tomlinson swept away the rule forbidding women in British high-goal and became the first to compete on equal terms with men at the top tier.

Claire Tomlinson was the first woman to win the County Cup and the Queen's Cup, having fought for her participation after the Hurlingham Polo Association repeatedly denied her entry to the high-goal tournaments, although her handicap was higher than of many other male participants in the Queen's and Gold Cup.

Claire Tomlinson still holds the women's high-goal handicap record today.

Claire Tomlinson was the chairman of the Beaufort Polo Club, Gloucestershire, which she and Simon re-established in 1989.

Claire Tomlinson bred polo ponies, starting in the 1970s, and was pro-active with the breeding programme in the UK and Argentina, which included Beaufort Embryo Transfer.

Claire Tomlinson died on 13 January 2022, at the age of 77.

Claire Tomlinson is survived by Emma Tomlinson, a veterinarian and registered polo coach, and her sons, Mark and Luke Tomlinson, both of whom are high-goal polo players who compete internationally.