Posted on 26th February 2025
It is with great sadness that we share the new of Joan Bomford’s passing. She was instrumental in the early years of the ABRS testing and was a Trustee for many years.
Joan was born on June 26, 1932 at her parent’s farm, Quarry Pits at Dormston near Inkberrow. Educated at Alcester Grammar School she often played truant and once arrived would start to walk back home to help her dad out on the farm.
She had a lifelong love of country life, horses and farming and at one point kept the oldest British Friesian herd in the county. Joan had several vintage tractors and was still working the soil on a David Brown as late as last September according to Colin.
She was a keen supporter of Riding for the Disabled Association and had regularly provided dozens of horses to the Sealed Knot reenactment society for events all over the country.
She is remembered for being an enormously kind, humorous, hard-working and quick-witted individual who would regularly take in all manner of waifs and strays be that human or animal.
During her lifetime she made an enormous impact on those who knew her through her equestrian work, numerous charitable endeavours, and along with her late husband Tony, organising the Vale of Evesham horse and cattle show in various formats for five decades.
According to her son Colin, the riding school situated at Norval Farm, South Littleton was “her life and passion”. She loved teaching all ages to ride and was still doing paperwork for the business just days before her peaceful death on Tuesday, January 28.
