William Steinkraus

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William Clark Steinkraus , Bill Steinkraus for short , (born October 12, 1925 in Cleveland ; † November 29, 2017 ) was an American show jumper .

Steinkraus was born in the state of Ohio, but grew up in the area of Westport , Connecticut, on the Atlantic Ocean . While his family had no relation to horses, he began riding at the age of ten. He gained riding experience with the trainers Gordon Wright and Morton W. Smith.

In 1941 he began studying at Yale University, also located in Connecticut . During the Second World War he interrupted his studies and entered the army, he was part of the 124th Cavalry Regiment of the US Army. After the war he continued his studies and graduated in 1949.

After William Steinkraus had already been successful in youth equestrian competitions before his studies, he then actively began again with competitive sports. In 1951 he became part of the US Equestrian Team and was its team captain for 17 years.

Between 1952 and 1972 Steinkraus took part in five Olympic Games . His biggest success was winning the singles gold medal at the Games 1968 in Mexico . In addition, he was used at world championships and various nations' cups. In 1960 he finished fourth at the World Championships in Venice with Ksar d'Esprit .

William Steinkraus ended his active career as a rider in 1972. The following year he was elected President of the US Equestrian Team. He was also director of the American Horse Shows Association (the forerunner of the United States Equestrian Federation) and president of the World Cup Show Jumping Committee for ten years .

In addition to his function as an official, he was also a judge at the Olympic Games and World Championships. As an author, he wrote several works on equestrian sports. Steinkraus was inducted into the United States Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1987. He is considered one of the finest show jumpers in sporting history in the United States.

Most recently Steinkraus lived widowed in Darien (Connecticut) , his wife (the dressage rider Helen Ziegler-Steinkraus) died on April 11, 2012. Both had been married since 1960 and the marriage had three sons.

successes

  • Olympic games:
    • 1952 in Helsinki : bronze medal with the team and 11th place in the individual with Hollandia
    • 1956 in Stockholm : 5th place with the team and 15th place in the individual with Night Owl
    • 1960 in Rome : Silver medal team with Ksar D'Esprit and 15th place in the individual with Riviera Wonder
    • 1968 in Mexico : Gold medal individual with Snowbound (not part of the US team in the team classification)
    • 1972 in Munich : Silver medal team and 22nd place in the individual with Main Spring
  • World Championships:

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Helen Ziegler-Steinkraus Passed Away , April 25, 2012 (English)
  2. ↑ Farewell To William C. Steinkraus , Molly Sorge / The Chronicle of the Horse, December 6, 2017, accessed December 7, 2017
  3. ↑ Show Jumping Icon William “Bill” Steinkraus Passes Away at Age 92 , The United States Equestrian Team Foundation, December 6, 2017, accessed December 7, 2017
  4. ↑ 1952 Summer Olympics: Show jumping results , history.fei.org
  5. ↑ 1956 Summer Olympics: Show jumping results , history.fei.org
  6. ^ Olympic Summer Games 1960: Results show jumping , history.fei.org
  7. ↑ 1968 Summer Olympics: Show jumping results , history.fei.org
  8. ↑ 1972 Summer Olympics: Show jumping results , history.fei.org
personal data
SURNAME Steinkraus, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Steinkraus, William Clark (full name); Steinkraus, Bill
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American show jumper
DATE OF BIRTH October 12, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Cleveland
DATE OF DEATH 29th November 2017