Gustaf Adolf "Gösta" Boltenstern Jr. (15 May 1904 – 31 March 1995) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

officer and

horse rider Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

who competed at the

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

and

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Military career

Boltenstern was born on 15 May 1904 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, the son of Colonel

Gustaf Adolf Boltenstern Gustaf Adolf Boltenstern (1 April 1861 – 9 October 1935) was a Swedish officer and horse rider. Early life Boltenstern was born on 1 April 1861 in Helsingborg, Sweden, the son of major Gösta Boltenstern and his wife Charlotte von Boltenstern. ...

and his wife Amelie (née von Dardel). He was commissioned as an officer in 1925 and attended the Cavalry School in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1931. Boltenstern became ''

ryttmästare ''Ryttmästare'' (from the German word ''Rittmeister'') was a military rank in the Swedish cavalry in the Swedish Army. The rank corresponded to the rank of captain in other service branches. The rank was abolished in 1972. History The military ...

'' in 1940. Boltenstern was teaching at the Army Riding School from 1942 to 1954 and was appointed Major in 1953. He was placed in the reserve in 1954 and was head of the

Herrevad Abbey Herrevad Abbey ( sv, Herrevadskloster, da, Herrevads Kloster) was a Cistercian monastery near Ljungbyhed in Klippan Municipality, Scania, in the south of present-day Sweden, but formerly in Denmark until 1658. It is now a country house known as H ...

Remount Depot from 1954 to 1957 and served as Equerry at the Royal Majesty's court from 1957. In 1969, Boltenstern was appointed

Crown Equerry The Crown Equerry is the operational head of the Royal Mews of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He is responsible for the provision of vehicular transport for the Sovereign, both cars and horse-drawn carriages. Train tr ...

Sports career

Boltenstern rode as a child and started competing in 1927, after which he, with the exception of 1931, when he was commanded to the Cavalry School in

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur statio ...

, every year participated in equestrian competitions in Sweden. His most successful horses were: ''FOX'', ''Vitalis'', ''Nalle-Puh'' ("Winnie the Pooh"). The foremost success was the victory in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipali ...

in 1932 in a difficult dressage competition. During the Nordic Equestrian Competitions in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

in 1929, in

in 1930 and in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, he won a prize in the dressage competition with ''Fox'' and ''Vitalis''. In 1932 he and his horse ''Ingo'' were part of the Swedish

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 ...

team which won the silver medal in the team dressage, after finishing eighth in the individual dressage. Sixteen years later he competed again at the Olympics and won the bronze medal with his horse ''Trumf'' in the 1948 individual dressage. The Swedish team won the gold medal in the team event, but was disqualified because one of its members was not a legitimate military officer. In 1952 he won his gold medal with the Swedish team in the team competition, after finishing fourth with his horse ''Krest'' in the individual dressage. In 1956 he and his horse ''Krest'' won their second gold medal with the Swedish dressage team. In the individual dressage they finished seventh.

Personal life

In 1929, Boltenstern married Britt Floderus (born 1908), daughter of Colonel Ernst Floderus and Majken (née Själander). He was the father of Claes (born 1935).

Dates of rank

*1925 –

Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

*19?? –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

*1940 – ''

Ryttmästare ''Ryttmästare'' (from the German word ''Rittmeister'') was a military rank in the Swedish cavalry in the Swedish Army. The rank corresponded to the rank of captain in other service branches. The rank was abolished in 1972. History The military ...

'' *1953 –

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Awards and decoration

Boltenstern's awards: *Knight of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

*Commander of the

Order of the Star of Africa The Order of the Star of Africa is an order presented by the government of Liberia. Criteria The Order of the Star of Africa is presented in five grades, Knight, Officer, Grand Commander, Grand Officer, and Grand Cross. Liberian and foreign ci ...

*Commander of the

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือก; ) is an order (decoration), orde ...

*Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

H. M. The King's Medal H. M. ( His Majesty) The King's Medal ( sv, H.M. Konungens medalj), earlier known as the Court Medal ( sv, Hovmedaljen), is a Swedish honour that may be bestowed upon Swedish and foreign citizens. The medal was created in 1814 and is awarded in di ...

*Swedish Military Sports Association's gold medal with wreath (''Sveriges militära idrottsförbunds guldmedalj med krans'') *Swedish equestrian sport badge of honor (''Svensk ridsports hederstecken'')

References

External links

Gustaf Adolf Boltenstern Jr. at databaseOlympics.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boltenstern, Gustaf Adolf Jr. 1904 births 1995 deaths Swedish Army officers Military personnel from Stockholm Sportspeople from Stockholm Swedish dressage riders Olympic equestrians for Sweden Swedish male equestrians Equestrians at the 1932 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1948 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1952 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in equestrian Knights of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics