Obituary

Sydney Smith

27 April 2025

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Sydney Smith on 26 April 2025, after a short illness..

Sydney had a lifelong passion for carriage driving, and always aspired to the highest level in whatever she did, whether in her very successful competitive career with her lovely hackney ponies, or as a highly respected judge for both Driving Trials and Private Driving. 

But her greatest legacy is undoubtedly her dedication to training, particularly for young drivers. 

In the late 80s she invited a small group of talented youngsters to get together for training, and this modest initiative inspired the development of the Unicorn Equestrian Trust which she opened in 1996. 

The Trust provides world class facilities for all equestrian activities at every level, and Sydney received the British Equestrian Medal of Honour in 2016 in recognition. 

She served on the Driving Trials Committee for 20 years, much of that time as chairman of the Training Committee.

Jill Holah