Graeme Otto Hansen (20 March 1934 – 22 August 2007), also known as Hec Hansen, was a New Zealand

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 ...

Career

Hansen was born in Gisborne in 1934 and grew up in

Hexton Hexton is a small village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, about west of Hitchin. This parish is a salient of Hertfordshire jutting northwards into Bedfordshire. The southern half of the parish is part of the chalky downs of the ...

near Gisborne. His parents were Ruie and Eva Hansen, and he had three siblings. His father was riding in the cavalry in WWI and all four children developed into skilled equestrians. Graeme started riding aged five; it was his transport to get to

Mangapapa Mangapapa is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Gisborne. It is located in the north of the city. Whataupoko lies to the southeast and Te Hapara to the south, separated from Mangapapa by the Taruheru River. Gisborne Hospital is located in Ma ...

Primary School. He then attended

Gisborne Intermediate Gisborne Intermediate School is a co-education public intermediate school in Gisborne, New Zealand for students in Year 7 to 8. As of 2016, the school had a roll of 590 students. History Gisborne Intermediate School opened on 20 May 1940 with ...

and King's College in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. His nickname "Hec" referred to the most prominent jockey of the time,

Hector Gray Hector Bertram Gray (6 June 1911 – 18 December 1943) was an officer of the Royal Air Force, and a member of the British Army Aid Group, who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for "most conspicuous gallantry" in resisting torture after ...

. Hansen started competing internationally in 1959. His uncle gave him a horse, Saba Sam, which his uncle considered not good enough for track racing, but it turned out to be an excellent show jumper. In 1964, Graeme Hansen and his elder brother Bruce Hansen made the first New Zealand equestrian team that was sent to the Tokyo Olympics. At the team jumping event captained by Bruce Hansen, they came in tenth place. In the individual jumping event he came twenty-third on Saba Sam. Graeme Hansen was New Zealand Olympian number 179. Both Hansen brothers retired from international competitions in 1968. Hansen was also competing in track racing and went horse hunting. He became an international horse jumping judge and was sought after to speak at judging seminars. Hansen last went horse hunting three weeks before his death. He died, after a short illness, in late August 2007. He was survived by his wife and three children. In 2013, Hansen was posthumously inducted into the Tairawhiti Hall of Fame. In March 2020, the entire 1964 Olympic equestrian team of four riders (including Charlie Matthews, who as reserve did not get to compete) was inducted into the Equestrian Sports New Zealand Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Graeme 1934 births 2007 deaths People educated at King's College, Auckland New Zealand male equestrians Olympic equestrians for New Zealand Equestrians at the 1964 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Gisborne, New Zealand People educated at Gisborne Intermediate