Celia Pickens died in a show jumping accident on Sunday at an event at the Papatoetoe Pony Club, ending the life of a rider who had long been part of the local equestrian scene. Show Jumping Waitematā named Pickens as the victim and said her final moments were spent doing the thing she loved most.
That is why the news has cut so deeply across the sport today. Pickens was described as a familiar, much-loved and wonderfully determined presence, someone people expected to see again and again among the horses, riders and competitions that shaped the community around her. Tributes from Show Jumping Waitematā and Equestrian Sports New Zealand have placed her loss at the center of the day’s conversation.
Show Jumping Waitematā said Pickens was a true character, a loyal supporter, a wonderful horsewoman and a dear friend. The group said she had been part of the equestrian world through generations of horses, riders, competitions, good days and bad, and that she was still competing when she died. It added that she enjoyed jumping, particularly at Woodhill Sands, and that she gave the younger generations a run for their money.
Those tributes also drew a line to what made her hard to forget. Pickens and her horse Coco were remembered for showing everyone how it was done in the Masters League, while Shots Photography described her as a lovely and very cheeky lady and one of the oldest competitors out there. The praise was not framed as a farewell from a distance. It came from people who had watched her keep turning up, keep riding and keep competing.
The cruel part of the story is that Pickens died in the same sport that remained central to her life. The tributes do not explain how the accident happened, only that it took place during a show jumping event and that she had been active right up to the end. What is left now is the absence of a woman the community had come to expect would always be there, and the silence that follows when a familiar name is suddenly gone from the list of riders who will not take the next round.
