Eva Maria "Evi" Pracht (née Neckermann; 29 June 1937 – 15 February 2021) was a Canadian

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

who competed in

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

and was part of the bronze-medallist team at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Early life

Born in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, she was the only daughter of equestrian

Josef Neckermann Josef Carl Peter Neckermann (5 June 1912 – 13 January 1992) was a German equestrianism, equestrian and Olympic champion. He won Olympic medals at four different Olympics, in 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972. Later Neckermann became a member of th ...

. She had two brothers, Peter and Johannes. Having initially competed in

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

, she eventually switched disciplines and learned dressage from her father. By the late 1960s, she was campaigning her father's 1964 Olympic ride Antoinette. The pair placed 3rd at the

CHIO Aachen The CHIO Aachen () is a popular international horse show held in Aachen, Germany, each summer. The event Competitions in show jumping, dressage, eventing, four-in-hand driving, and vaulting are held at the CHIO Aachen. According to the rule ...

in 1969 and earned a silver medal at the German Championships that same year.

Dressage

The fundamental purpose of dressage is to develop, through standardized progressive training methods, a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform, thereby maximizing its potential as a riding horse. Dressage is used to teach horses to be athletes. They learn to carry the weight of the riders, and to carry themselves as well in a more graceful, and balanced manner. Dressage means "training", and it teaches a horse to be safer to ride, more responsive to the rider, and more obediant. Dressage consists of a series of 39 exercises demonstrating how well the rider communicates with the horse. Included exercises are the walk, trot, and canter, as well as having the horse walk backwards, and weave through a pre-determined serpentine course. Four judges score the maneuvers on a ten-point scale.

Training

Aside from Antoinette, Little Joe and Emirage, Pracht's celebrated competition horses included Mazepa, Duccas, Cantate and Lyogen. In her lifetime she built up her expertise by having been coached by her father, as well as by Willi Schultheis, Walter Christensen, the well-known Heinz Lammers, Walther Günther and

Harry Boldt Harry Boldt (born 23 February 1930) is a German equestrian and Olympic champion. He was born in Insterburg, East Prussia, Germany. He won a gold medal in the team dressage at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and another at the 1976 Summer O ...

. Heinz Lammers taught in the riding schools in Saerbeck and Greven, Germany, before going independent in 1967. He had a training stable in Olfen and was a heavily sought after coach. In addition to Eva, his students included Olympians Edith Master, an American winner of the Olympic Bronze Medal in team dressage in Montreal in 1976, and Pia Laus. Lammers was considered one of the defining personalities in Westphalian (Westphalia region, Germany) equestrian sport, which he helped shape and supervise as state trainer for dressage for almost a quarter of a century. Receiving around 100 medals as a trainer, the Equestrian Association of Westphalia honored Lammers' work with the Golden Plaque of Merit in 2002. He died on February 8th, 1922.

Riding with the Canadian team

She married entrepreneur Hans Pracht, and in 1981 the couple and two children moved to Cedar Valley, Ontario, Canada. Pracht rode her first Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984 aboard Little Joe, a horse which she later passed on to her daughter Martina. Four years later, at the

, she climbed the Olympic podium as part of the bronze medal winning

Canadian Equestrian Team The Canadian Equestrian Team or CET (french: Équipe équestre canadienne or ''EEC'') collectively describes the athletes that represent Canada at the highest levels of international equestrian competition, specifically at the World Championship, ...

for

, aboard

Swedish Warmblood The Swedish Warmblood or Swedish Half-bred is a Swedish breed of warmblood horse. It was originally bred as a cavalry horse at the Strömsholm and Flyinge studs. In the twentieth century it became a general-purpose riding and sport horse ...

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

Emirage. She represented Canada at the following events: * 1982 World Championships: Equestrian – Dressage Individual *

: Los Angeles, Equestrian – Dressage Team and Individual – with equine partner Little Joe * 1986 World Championships: Equestrian – Dressage Individual *

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

: Equestrian – Dressage Team, Gold Medal – with equine partner Emirage *

: Seoul, Equestrian – Dressage Team, Bronze Medal – with equine partner Emirage * 1991 World Cup: Equestrian – Dressage Individual Pracht helped coach numerous

quadrilles The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six '' contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of opera melodie ...

through the years and organised the choreography. She helped, mentored and was eyes on the ground for Canadian dressage riders such as

Gina Smith Gina Smith (born November 11, 1957) is a Canadian equestrian. She won a team bronze medal as part of the Canadian Equestrian Team in dressage at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, together with teammates Cynthia Neale-Ishoy, Eva Pracht and Ash ...

, Evi Strasser,

Ashley Holzer Ashley Holzer (''née'' Nicoll; born 10 October 1963) is a Canadian-born equestrian specializing in dressage, who has been representing the United States since 2017. She was born in Toronto, the daughter of Moreen and Ian Nicoll, and is married t ...

, and many more. She died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on 15 February 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...

. She was 83.Olympische amazone Eva Maria Pracht overleden
(in Dutch) 16 February 2021

Family

Pracht's daughter, Martina, was born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, in 1964 and also became an accomplished equestrian in Canada. She has won seven medals, five gold and two silver, from the North American Young Rider Championships. In 1984, Pracht's 23-year old son Josef Johannes "Jo Jo" Pracht died by suicide when he jumped off a bridge on the A45 motorway near

Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen (region), Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German-N ...

. In 1978 Jo Jo had lost his leg in a

moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typic ...

accident after slipping on a rainy road.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pracht, Eva 1937 births 2021 deaths Canadian dressage riders Canadian female equestrians Canadian sportswomen Equestrians at the 1984 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1987 Pan American Games Equestrians at the 1988 Summer Olympics German emigrants to Canada Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic equestrians for Canada Olympic medalists in equestrian Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in equestrian Sportspeople from Würzburg Place of death missing Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada 20th-century Canadian women 21st-century Canadian women