Wendy Irving

Dell's equestrian career began in her youth, leading to a gold medal win at the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia when she was only nineteen years of age.

The cross-country course at Cali was challenging, resulting in the elimination of all teams except Canada. Despite being the only team to finish, the Canadians had every reason to be proud of their achievement in winning the Team Gold Medal.

The equestrian community was initially shocked and amused when Canada entered three 20-year-olds, including two women, into the Three-Day Event, competing mainly against male cavalry officers and disbelieving South Americans. However, the skeptics were silenced when Wendy Irving from Hull, Quebec, secured a gold medal for the team with a flawless ride on High Wind.

After her victories in Cali, Wendy began training for the 1972 Munich Olympics with Mr. Herbert and the team at the Eglinton Equestrian Club, participating in numerous Ontario events. Following the final pre-Olympic Trials at Jokers Hill, she departed with the team for Munich.

At the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, Dell became the first woman to represent Canada in the Olympic three-day event.

Among the male dominated 73 competitors, Dell, 20 at the time, was the youngest of the only three women to compete among the 19 countries entered. She was one of the only 48 riders to complete the competition (as were the other two women). Nearly a third of the competitors were unable to finish what was known as one of the most difficult cross-country courses in Olympic history - with four fences alone producing 38 refusals, 18 falls and 7 eliminations. The cross-country phase also included the old eventing format with steeplechase and two roads and tracks components – which was over thirty miles long.