Melanie Smith’s greatest year was in 1982 when she won the US Triple Crown of show jumping by winning the American Invitational, the American Gold Cup, and the International Jumping Derby, all aboard Calypso. She also won the Nations’ Cup and placed second at the Presidents’ Cup. She is one of only two riders to have won that Triple Crown but the only one to do so on the same horse. In 1982 Smith was named USOC Sportswoman of the Year, and was inducted that year into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. She won a team gold medal in jumping at the 1984 Olympics, and competed through 1987 before retiring.
Smith and her husband, Lee Taylor, then raised and trained thoroughbreds for jumping and polo on their Wildwood Farm in Germantown, near Memphis, Tennessee. She worked as a television broadcaster for jumping events including the Olympic Games and World Championships, and became a recognized judge for hunter/jumpers, hunt seat equitation and hunter breeding. Smith also designed jumper courses and taught clinics around the country
United States