Heike Kemmer (born 24 April 1962 in East Berlin,

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

) is a German

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 i ...

who competes in the sport of dressage. She won team gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as individual bronze in 2008. She also won medals at the German Dressage Championships and European Dressage Championships, as well as assisting the German team to gold at the

2006 World Equestrian Games The 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games were held in Aachen, Germany from August 20 to September 3, 2006. They were the 5th edition of the games which are held every four years and run by the FEI. It was held in the Soers, a district of Aachen. The ...

. Kemmer retired Bonaparte 67, upon whom she had won most of her international medals, in 2011.

Personal life

Kemmer was the daughter of Joachim Kemmer, a noted horse breeder who established Amselhof Walle, the breeding stable for

Hanoverian horse A Hanoverian (German: ''Hannoveraner'') is a Warmblood horse breed originating in Germany, which is often seen in the Olympic Games and other competitive English riding styles, and has won gold medals in all three equestrian Olympic competi ...

s now run by Heike. In the 1990s, Heike became the farm manager, and moved the focus of the stables from show jumping to dressage.

Competitive career

Kemmer attended her first Olympics in 2000, as an alternate to the German team, but did not participate in the Games. In 2004, she rode in the Olympics for the first time, placing 26th individually. She also rode as part of the gold medal-winning German team, but as the lowest-scoring member, her score was not used to determine the team's standing. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, her performance improved significantly, and she took home an individual bronze medal and was a scoring member of the gold medal-winning German team. She rode Bonaparte 67 at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. In 2006, Kemmer and Bonaparte also assisted the German team to a gold medal at the

World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...

Kemmer's international career stretches back to a silver medal win at the 1984 German Dressage Championships, followed by a lengthy break to focus on her schooling and profession as a business economist. She returned to the international competition ring in 1998, riding Caesar, and then moved to riding Albano for the 1999 season. Riding Albano, she again rose to prominence with another silver medal win at the 2000 German Dressage Championships. This was followed by a bronze at the same competition in 2001 and gold in 2005 and 2006. She also helped the Germans to team gold at the

European Dressage Championships The European Dressage Championships are the European championships for the equestrian discipline of dressage. They are held every two years in odd-numbered years. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded in both individual and team competitions ...

in 2001, 2003 and 2005, and was a reserve team member in 2007. Following their success at the 2008 Olympics, Kemmer and Bonaparte briefly had a successful return to the competition ring in early 2009. However, injuries later in the year prevented a return to the German team for the 2009 European Championships, and a diagnosis of

Lyme disease Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease caused by the ''Borrelia'' bacterium, which is spread by ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migran ...

for Bonaparte removed the possibility of competition in the 2010 competition. In 2011, Kemmer retired Bonaparte at the 2011 CDN Hanover show. In 2002, Kemmer and Bonaparte 67 were awarded the Otto Lorke Prize, which is given to the "most talented upcoming

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

combination of the year in Germany", and in 2004 the horse was named Hanoverian of the Year. By 2013, she was riding two new horses at the international level: Rock My Soul at Intermediare I level and Quantico in Grand Prix competitions.

Notable Horses

* Albano 7 - 1987 Bay Oldenburg Gelding (Argentinus x Grundstein I) ** 2001 European Championships - Team Gold Medal, Individual Ninth Place ** 2003 FEI World Cup Final - Silver Medal * Bonaparte 67 - 1993 Chestnut Hanoverian Gelding (Bon Bonaparte x Consul) ** 2003 European Championships - Individual Fourth Place ** 2004 FEI World Cup Final - Fourth Place ** 2004 Athens Olympics - Team Gold Medal, Individual 26th Place ** 2005 European Championships - Team Gold Medal, Individual 25th Place ** 2006 World Equestrian Games - Team Gold Medal, Individual Fifth Place, Individual Fifth Place Freestyle ** 2008 Beijing Olympics - Team Gold Medal, Individual Fourth Place

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemmer, Heike Equestrians at the 2004 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics German dressage riders Olympic equestrians of Germany German female equestrians Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic bronze medalists for Germany 1962 births Living people Olympic medalists in equestrian Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics