Baron Nils Gustaf Fredrik Bror "Hans" von Blixen-Finecke Jr. (20 July 1916 – 16 February 2005) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

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 ...

. He competed in the three-day

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...

at the

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 ...

and won individual and team gold medals in 1952.

Early life

Von Blixen-Finecke was born on 20 July 1916 in

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

, Sweden, the son of Baron

Hans von Blixen-Finecke Baron Hans Gustaf von Blixen-Finecke (25 July 1886 – 26 September 1917) was a Swedish officer and equestrian who won a bronze medal in dressage at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He died in an aeroplane crash in 1917. Early life Von Blixen-Finecke ...

, who won an Olympic bronze in dressage in 1912, and his wife Baroness Brita Trolle. He was the nephew of

Bror von Blixen-Finecke Baron Bror Fredrik von Blixen-Finecke (25 July 1886 – 4 March 1946) was a Swedish nobleman, writer, and African professional hunter and guide on big-game hunts. He was married to Karen Blixen (née Dinesen) from 1914 to 1925. Personal li ...

and writer

Karen Blixen Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...

. He was born as Nils Gustaf Fredrik Bror, but since the age of one was called Hans after his father, who died in an airplane crash. He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968 ...

'' at

Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket (SSHL) is a coeducational independent school for boarding and day pupils between the seventh and twelfth grades. It is located in Sigtuna, Sweden. The school is attended by Swedish boarders, local children an ...

in 1934.

Career

von Blixen-Finecke Jr. was commissioned as an officer in 1937, serving in the Life Regiment of Horse (K 1). In 1950, he was promoted to ''

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 the

Life Regiment Hussars The Life Regiment Hussars ( sv, Livregementets husarer; designated K 3) is one of the world's oldest regiments still active. The regiment descends directly from units set up by King Gustav I of Sweden (Gustav Vasa) in 1536, when Sweden set ...

(K 3) and to major in

North Scanian Infantry Regiment North Scanian Infantry Regiment ( sv, Norra skånska infanteriregementet), designation I 6, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that operated from 1812 to 1963. The unit was based in the Kristianstad Garrison in Kristianstad. In 1963 the regiment ...

(I 6) in 1957. von Blixen-Finecke served as commanding officer of the

Swedish Army Riding and Horse-Driving School Swedish Army Riding and Horse-Driving School ( sv, Arméns rid- och körskola, RS) was a Swedish Army equestrian facility which operated from 1868 to 1970. Its tasks from the 1930s were to train commanders at the infantry and cavalry into instruct ...

from 1959 to 1964. In 1964 he left the Swedish Army and moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he established his own equestrian centre in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

before moving in the early 1970s to

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

Personal life

In 1941, he married Baroness Anna Beck-Friis (born 1921), the daughter of Baron Jochum Beck-Friis and Signe Grenander, with whom he had two children, Hans (born 1942) and Gustaf (born 1945). In 1959, he married Anne Hetherington (born 1923), the daughter of Harry Hetherington and Merriell MacMahon.

Awards and decorations

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 ...

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 ...

* Ryttarolympisk förtjänstguldmedalj ("Olympic Equestrian Medal of Merit in Gold") * ''Svensk ridsports guldmedalj'' ("Swedish Equestrian Sport Gold Medal") * ''Svensk ridsports hederstecken'' ("Swedish Equestrian Sport Badge of Honor")

References

External links

profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blixen-Finecke, Hans Jr. 1916 births 2005 deaths Swedish nobility Swedish event riders Olympic equestrians of Sweden Swedish male equestrians Equestrians at the 1952 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in equestrian Swedish Army officers Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics