Nina Ligon, Thai name Rujiraporn Lamsam Ligon (Thai: รุจิราภรณ์ ล่ำซำ ลีเกิ้น (ณีนา); born 8 October 1991) is a Thai-American equestrian, who competed for Thailand in the Individual eventing at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[1][2] She was the first female equestrian to represent an Asian country in the equestrian events at the Olympic Games.[3]

Nina Rujiraporn Lamsam Ligon
Personal information
Born (1991-10-08) 8 October 1991 (age 33)
Bangkok, Thailand
Medal record
Eventer
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2010 Guangzhou Team
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima Team
Gold medal – first place 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima Individual

A dual US and Thai national, she is the youngest daughter of American businessman Austin Ligon and Samornmitr Lamsam (a daughter of Thai banker Kasem Lamsam).[4] After being part of the US junior eventing team, the Thailand Equestrian Association invited her to compete for Thailand.[5] At the 2007 Southeast Asian Games, she won the individual eventing event, and was part of the Thai team that won the team gold medal.[3] At the 2010 Asian Games, Ligon was part of the Thai team that won silver, finishing 4th individually.[5][6] In 2011, she was awarded the FEI Rising Star Award, which is given to equestrians aged 14-21 who demonstrate talent and determination.[5]

At the 2012 Olympic Games, she rode Butts Leon, who was previously ridden by Andres Dibowski at the 2008 Olympics.[3] The pair finished 41st out of 75.[3] Following the London Olympics, she began a degree at Stanford University.[3]

References

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  1. ^ London2012.com Archived 2012-07-30 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Results for Miss Nina Ligon". British Eventing. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e Fan, Pan Pan. "Road to the Olympics: Nina Ligon, Equestrian". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  4. ^ "ณีนา..." Post Today (in Thai). 1 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Nina Ligon Wins The FEI HSBC Rising Star Award". USEA : United States Eventing Association Inc. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Team Results - Equestrianism at the 2010 Asian Games". FEI Database. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
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