Pat Smythe on Flanagan flying over the water at the Olympics in Stockholm 1956, where she won a bronze medal with the British team.
Pat Smythe on Flanagan - Stockholm 1956
Patricia Rosemary Smythe (22 November 1928 – February 27, 1996), most commonly known as Pat Smythe, was one of Britain’s premier female showjumpers. She later married in 1960 after the Summer Olympics of the year to childhood friend Sam Koechlin and became Patricia Koechlin-Smythe. This meant a move to Switzerland (as he was Swiss) and it was there that many of her books, including several pony books for children, were written. Her most famous horses included Prince Hal, Tosca, Flanagan, Brigadoon, Scorchin, Mr Pollard and Telebrae. Pat Smythe was four-time European ladies champion and the first woman to win a medal (bronze) in the hitherto men-only show jumping event at the 1956 Olympic Games in Stockholm.
