Dorian Williams

Dorian Williams (1 July 1914 – July 1985) was a British equestrian, journalist , broadcaster, author and patron of the arts.

Life

Williams was ^[1] educated at Hawtreys prep school ^[2], then Harrow School and served as a soldier.

He was for many years , from the 1950s, the voice of show jumping on British television.^[3] He was largely responsible for making it into a mainstream TV sport that was (and is) enjoyed by millions throughout the 1970s. His final broadcast was at the Olympic Horse Show in 1985.

In addition to his TV work he was also an author writing the Wendy series which were aimed at children and could be termed "traditional pony books",^[4] he also wrote two adult horse novels and several works of non fiction concerning show jumping and equestrianism in general. ^[5]

He was Chairman of the British Horse Society, and instrumental in setting up a National Equestrian Centre at Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire. He was also Master of the Whaddon Chase hunt.

In 1949 he founded the Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival in the grounds of his ancestral family home of Pendley Manor near Tring, Hertfordshire.

He married the Hon. Moyra Lubbock in 1938 and the marriage was dissolved in 1949. He died from cancer in July 1985.

In 2005, he was one of the inaugural laureates appointed to The British Horse Society Equestrian Hall of Fame. ^{[6] [7]}.

References

1. ^ Paul Fox's top 10 sports commentators - Telegraph
2. ^ http://www.archivist.f2s.com/cpa/biogs/dwilliams.htm
3. ^ BFI | Film & TV Database | WILLIAMS, Dorian
4. ^ Dorian Williams books
5. ^ "Dorian Williams". Jane Badger Books - A website on pony book authors and their books. Wellingborough UK. http://www.janebadgerbooks.co.uk/misc/dorianwilliams.html. Retrieved 6 November 2011. 
6. ^ British Horse Society Hall of Fame laureates - Dorian Williams
7. ^ BHS Equestrian Hall of Fame article 5 August 2005

Persondata
Name	Williams, Dorian
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1 July 1914
Place of birth
Date of death	1985
Place of death

• Master of One, an Autobiography', Dent, 1978. ISBN 0460043234