PrintJim Wofford grew up on a farm in Milford, Kan., the youngest son of a storied equestrian family: His father, Col. John W. Wofford, was a member of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic show jumping team and later the founding president of the U.S. Equestrian Team, and his brothers, J.E.B. and Warren, were both USET riders. After graduating from the Culver Military Academy (Ind.) and the University of Colorado, Jim set out to affirm his family heritage, bringing home a team silver medal from the Mexico City Olympics aboard Kilkenny in 1968.
Over the course of his illustrious career, Jim won medals of every variety, including team silver at the 1972 Munich Olympics, individual silver at the 1980 Fontainebleau Alternate Olympics, individual bronze at the 1970 World Championships and team bronze at the 1978 World Championships.
Since his retirement from competition in 1986, he’s served as president of the American Horse Shows Association and vice president of the USET and been inducted into the U.S. Eventing Hall of Fame. Today, he travels the country as a fervently sought after clinician and coach, having fielded students for every U.S. eventing team since 1978.
Jim’s all-encompassing expertise and sardonic sense of humor are familiar to readers of his blogs, columns and several books, including Training The Three-Day Event Horse And Rider, Take A Good Look Around and the newly published Cross-Country With Jim Wofford. He’s been married to Gail W. Wofford, ex-MFH, for more than 45 years.
Name: James “Jimmy” Cunningham Wofford
Age: 66
Home Base: Upperville, Va.
What is a typical day for you?
I wake up between 4 and 5 o’clock, write and do email, and check my schedule for the next week. I read a couple of papers on the Internet. Then I usually start teaching at about 8 o’clock in the morning at various locations. I’ve rented my own facility out, since I’m supposed to be semi-retired, but I end up teaching at least three days per week at facilities in the area. By Friday, I’m usually headed to an airport to do a clinic somewhere over the weekend.
What kind of car do you drive, and how many miles are on it?
I drive a Ford. It’s got a little yuppie pickup truck on the back, and I like that because I can put my Labradors in the back, and they travel with me. It’s got just short of 80,000 miles on it.
What’s playing on your stereo?
‘60s and ‘70s rock. Fleetwood Mac, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and a little mixture of the Beach Boys thrown in there, too.
What has been your biggest accomplishment?
Personally, my four wonderful grandsons.
Professionally, I’ve got to separate it into two things: I’m probably the proudest of my individual silver medal at Fontainebleau. I’ve won every medal except the individual gold, so I’m proud of that, but I’m also the proudest of the fact that basically, Carawich ran away with me at Fontainebleau, and I had enough sense to let him do it.
I went out first for the team, and that is not the master plan for the first rider on the team in the Classic format. But I had enough sense to trust him and know that he knew what he was doing, which indeed he did.
