229:, Argentina. There, she accompanied her brother, John, who was a 6-goal player who won the Queen's Cup and Gold Cup in 1967, to buy horses, and got to know Jorge Marín Moreno with whom she started playing. Her standard of polo improved to such an extent that, on her return to England, she formed the Los Locos (the Mad Ones) polo team with a cavalry officer (Simon Tomlinson, whom she later married). She 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. She 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. She was the first woman to win the
272:, she instigated and set up a coaching system for the H.P.A. from scratch, which has had a profound effect on how players are taught. She was one of six official H.P.A. team coaches, and regularly coached British squads at F.I.P. championships as well as holding sessions for the H.P.A. Junior Development Squad at Down Farm.
217:
was short of players, her father's approval was obtained, and she took up polo seriously. Her 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
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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. She still holds the women's high-goal handicap record today.
637:
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213:, Oxford, it was not long before she was awarded a squash blue and a fencing half-blue and was short-listed for the Olympic fencing team. When she was told that the
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Tomlinson was born on 14 February 1944, as the daughter of Ethel (née Daer) and
Lascelles Arthur Lucas, who founded Woolmers Park Polo Club on a 250-acre estate in
911:
275:
She 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.
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368:
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Claire
Tomlinson died on 13 January 2022, at the age of 77. She is survived by Emma Tomlinson, a veterinarian and registered polo coach, and her sons,
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In 1968, she married Simon
Tomlinson, whom she got to know at university. The couple had three children. Their home at Down Farm, near
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222:. In 1966, she became the first female captain of OUPC. In her final year at university, she was rated at nought-goals.
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and, while there, was selected for the
British junior fencing team. Going on to study agricultural economics at
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breeder. She was the highest-rated female polo player and coached the
English national team she once captained.
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369:"Claire Tomlinson, glass-ceiling-smashing polo player who taught Princes William and Harry – obituary"
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in 1949. Her father was instrumental in the revival of polo in
England after the
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249:, Gloucestershire, which she and Simon re-established in 1989. The club is near
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Watson, John (5 September 1981). "The high-scoring lady of Los Locos".
298:, both of whom are high-goal polo players who compete internationally.
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595:. London: McFarland & Company. pp. 238, 239.
237:(1979), having fought for her participation after the
174:, 14 February 1944 – 12 January 2022) was an English
225:Her first job for a British company brought her to
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310:Profiles in polo: the players who changed the game
570:. London: McFarland & Company. p. 207.
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718:Junor, Penny (2014). "Country Pursuits".
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664:"Hurlingham Polo Association, Beaufort"
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394:Laffaye, Horace A (10 January 2014).
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7:
912:Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford
545:. London: Stanley Paul. p. 90.
721:Prince Harry: Brother, Soldier, Son
151:+5, highest ranked woman world-wide
827:"Blaze at top polo player's house"
245:Tomlinson was the chairman of the
215:Oxford University Polo team (OUPC)
19:For the Sky Sports Presenter, see
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239:Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA)
312:. London: McFarland & Comp.
16:English polo player (1944–2022)
1:
501:"Oxford University Polo Club"
779:"The Team: Claire Tomlinson"
724:. Grand Central Publishing.
341:Junor, Penny (10 May 2012).
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591:Laffaye, Horace A (2012).
566:Laffaye, Horace A (2012).
400:. McFarland. p. 164.
397:Polo in Britain: A History
308:Laffaye, Horace A (2007).
88:Simon Tomlinson (divorced)
18:
489:– via Times Online.
155:
887:Beaufort Embryo Transfer
156:Updated on 4 August 2013
543:The Pimm's Book of Polo
279:Personal life and death
143:Achievements and titles
811:. 2011. Archived from
257:; she taught his sons
163:Claire Janet Tomlinson
44:Claire Janet Tomlinson
753:"Polo Player Edition"
593:The Evolution of Polo
568:The Evolution of Polo
148:Highest world ranking
917:English polo players
831:The Herald, Scotland
815:on 15 November 2014.
541:Lloyd, John (1989).
205:to take A-levels at
138:, Jorge Marín Moreno
36:Personal information
759:on 30 December 2013
696:on 31 December 2013
459:on 31 December 2013
430:The Daily Telegraph
32:
882:Beaufort Polo Club
857:Hurlingham Polo UK
853:"Claire Tomlinson"
453:"Arthur Lucas Cup"
247:Beaufort Polo Club
211:Somerville College
136:Maharaj Prem Singh
859:. 13 January 2022
805:"Breeding horses"
638:"Gloucester Echo"
602:978-0-7864-3814-3
577:978-0-7864-3814-3
507:on 2 October 2013
407:978-0-7864-8980-0
375:. 25 January 2022
319:978-0-7864-3702-3
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127:England Polo Team
111:Oxford University
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302:Further reading
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233:(1972) and the
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108:University team
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76:12 January 2022
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21:Clare Tomlinson
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268:In 1993, with
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201:She went from
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861:. Retrieved
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835:. Retrieved
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617:"Horse hero"
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907:2022 deaths
902:1944 births
270:Hugh Dawnay
235:Queen's Cup
178:player and
49:Nationality
896:Categories
863:15 January
837:26 January
737:26 January
379:26 January
328:References
253:, home of
231:County Cup
132:Coached by
63:1944-02-14
528:The Times
207:Millfield
186:Biography
789:4 August
763:3 August
700:3 August
674:3 August
648:3 August
622:3 August
511:3 August
485:3 August
480:"Horsey"
463:3 August
437:14 April
220:Mr Lucas
285:Tetbury
52:British
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84:Spouse
172:Lucas
98:Sport
93:Sport
865:2022
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791:2013
765:2013
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726:ISBN
702:2013
676:2013
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597:ISBN
572:ISBN
547:ISBN
513:2013
487:2013
465:2013
439:2019
402:ISBN
381:2022
349:ISBN
314:ISBN
294:and
292:Mark
261:and
180:pony
176:polo
124:Team
116:Club
102:Polo
72:Died
57:Born
168:née
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