May (Wood) Thompson
May Thompson is regarded by some as the most accomplished horsewoman Australia has produced and certainly one of the most decorated. Her riding achievements on the flat, over jumps and in campdrafting, in both Queensland and NSW span five decades and have not been equalled.
Elizabeth Mary Wood was born at Dalby in 1910. By age seven May, as she was known, won her first prize as girl rider at the Brisbane Show and remained unbeaten there for 10 years. May was named Best All-round Lady Rider at the Brisbane Royal Show in 1931 and broke the Brisbane Ladies’ High Jump record in 1934 when she rode her horse Whalebone over 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 m). May married another Hall of Fame inductee, Colin Thompson in 1934 and continued to compete under her maiden name of Wood.
She represented Queensland in an international campdrafting competition in Sydney in 1935 and was a member of the Queensland Ladies Campdrafting team in Sydney in 1948. Five times during the 1930s May represented Queensland in interstate competition, and in 1949 she won the Interstate Challenge Cup for jumpers at Sydney.
May won a total of 13 events at the prestigious Warwick Rodeo, a record unequalled since records began in 1929. Her wins include the May Scott Memorial Trophy for the most successful lady rider in the Warwick Gold Cup on four occasions, and the Risdon Cup Draft in 1958. The Warwick record books are littered with her name. At Warwick, Brisbane, Sydney, and in country shows and rodeos throughout Queensland and New South Wales, May Thompson’s riding successes may never be equalled. May Thompson died in 1972.