| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | Madeleine Astrid Gurdon (1962-11-30)30 November 1962 (age 62) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Sport | Equestrian |
Madeleine Astrid Gurdon, Baroness Lloyd-Webber (born 30 November 1962) is an English horsewoman. She is married to composer and theatrical impresarioAndrew Lloyd Webber.
Madeleine "Gurtie" Gurdon was born in 1962 into a military family, one of four daughters of Brigadier Adam Brampton Douglas Gurdon, of theBlack Watch, and Gillian Margaret, daughter of Charles N. Thomson, of Ethiebeaton,Dundee, Scotland. Her uncle and both grandfathers were also in theBlack Watch.[1] Before his marriage, her father served in Korea and later inKenya during theMau Mau Uprising; as a married man, he took his family around the world, including Cyprus, Tanganyika, and Hong Kong. He was appointedCB andCBE.[1][2] Adam Gurdon was grandson ofFrancis Gurdon,Bishop of Hull from 1913 to 1929, whose wife, Florence, was daughter of SirJohn Leigh Hoskyns, 9th Baronet. The Gurdons were landed gentry, ofLetton, Norfolk.[3][4]
Madeleine Gurdon was educated at a convent school.[5]
Madeleine Gurdon was an equestrian competitor for nearly a decade, riding inthree-day events, which require the same horse and rider pair to demonstrate skill indressage,showjumping, andcross-country riding. In the 1980s she competed internationally, coming second at theBurghley Horse Trials in 1988.[6] To supplement her riding career, Gurdon designed an exclusive country-wear company that featured leather and suede clothing[5] called The Done Thing, after her favourite dun horse.
She began to breed and train thoroughbreds forflat racing. She owns and supervises twostud farms: Watership Down Stud near her English home inSydmonton Court, andKiltinan Castle stud in Ireland.[7]Dar Re Mi is one of her successful broodmares.[6]
She and her husband set up the Watership Down Polo Club; their children play polo.[8] In 2007 she allowed a group fromSt Bart's, a local school, to practise there, subsidising their training. The state school team went on to beat fee-paying schools such as Rugby andCheltenham Ladies College in the Schools and Universities Polo Association Cup.[9] Gurdon then commissioned family friendEmerald Fennell to write arom-com loosely based on this.[10]
In 2010 she became president of thePony Club, which she has been involved with all her life.[6] According toCompanies House, as of 2021 she has roles in eight companies, including as a director in her husband'sReally Useful Group.[11] She is the only woman on the board ofNewbury Racecourse.[12]
Gurdon marriedAndrew Lloyd Webber at hisHampshire home,Sydmonton Court, on 9 February 1991. The couple met through hisWatership Down neighbours, who loved horses. [13]
They have three children together: Alastair (born 1992), William (born 1993) and Isabella (born 1996). The family divides its time between properties in London and Hampshire.[14]
   | This biographical article related to Britishequestrianism is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |