Steffen Peters (born September 18, 1964) is a German-born

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 for the United States 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 ...

. He has participated in five

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, winning a team bronze medal on two occasions (in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

) and a team silver medal once (

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

). Peters has been successful in numerous other international competitions, including winning team bronze at the 2006 World Equestrian Games, two individual bronze medals at the

2010 World Equestrian Games The 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games (officially the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games) were held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. from September 25 to October 10, 2010. This was the sixth edition of the FEI World Eques ...

and individual and team gold medals at both

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2015 Pan Am Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

. The horse upon which he won many of his titles, Ravel, was retired in 2012. After 2012, his international successes came on Legolas. At the beginning of 2017, Peters handed over the ride on Legolas to his assistant rider Dawn White-O'Connor. Peters is currently working with a new international competition horse, Rosamunde.

Personal life

Peters was born in

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

, Germany. He began riding at age seven, and competing in weekend dressage shows. By 15, he was competing outside of Germany, at international competitions in Belgium and Denmark. He received his first horse, Udon, at age 16 as a gift from his father; this horse would carry him to a bronze medal in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. In 1984, he spent the summer training in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, before returning to Germany to perform his army service. In 1985, he returned to the United States with Udon. In 1991, he opened his own barn and acquired his first sponsor, Lila Kommerstad, who purchased Udon and as of 2012 owned a portion of Peters' Arroyo Del Mar training barn. Peters gained his US citizenship in 1992, saying, "The whole idea of being so patriotic, of feeling so close to one's country makes a difference. There are not too many other countries where the people are so patriotic. I really enjoy this about America." Peters continues to live in the San Diego area with his wife, Shannon. Their large dressage barn is home to approximately 65 horses as of 2012, around half of which the couple trains and the other half of which are in training under other riders. Outside of his competition and training schedule, he teaches in around 30 training seminars each year. His staff call him "a machine" with regard to his training and competition schedule, and in addition to riding, he participates in swimming, cycling and tennis.

Competitive career

Steffen Peters - Legolas - CDI 5 Wellington 2013

Peters' show record before the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

made him a hopeful to compete for the US team. However, his citizenship papers were not processed in time to compete in the Olympic trials, and so he did not compete in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. Peters won his first Olympic medal when he rode with the US dressage team to a bronze medal at the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, together with Robert Dover, Michelle Gibson and

Guenter Seidel Guenter Seidel (born 23 September 1960) is an American equestrian. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, but represents the United States after moving to the country in 1985. He won a bronze medal in team dressage at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atla ...

. Peters, riding Floriano, was an alternate for the US team at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, and did not compete. In 2006, with an aging Floriano, Peters and the US team won bronze at the 2006 World Equestrian Games. Soon after, he began riding TC Ravel, who would become his most successful horse. Despite being

gelded 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 ...

while in quarantine after his shipment from the Netherlands and suffering an injury in 2007 that prevented training, Ravel carried Peters to a qualification for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. In individual dressage competition at the Games, Peters placed fourth, riding Ravel. The US team finished fourth at the 2008 Games, but was disqualified after team member Courtney King's horse tested positive for

felbinac Felbinac (INN, or biphenylylacetic acid) is a topical medicine, belonging to the family of medicines known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) of the arylacetic acid (not arylpropionic acid) class, which is used to treat muscle infl ...

, a banned substance. In 2009, Peters and Ravel had the highest scores in all three portions of the prestigious German Aachen World Equestrian Festival Grand Prix competition, leading them to be the first American pair to be named the Aachen Grand Prix Champions. Ravel and Peters went on to win the 2009 World Cup Final, two bronze medals in individual competition at the

, and be twice named the US

Grand Prix 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 by ...

Champions. In 2009, ''

The Chronicle of the Horse ''The Chronicle of the Horse'' is an American weekly equestrian magazine.Mary Fishback, ''Northern Virginia's Equestrian Heritage'', Arcadia Publishing, 200/ref> It covers dressage, hunters and jumpers, eventing, foxhunting and steeplechase racin ...

'' named Peters and Ravel Horse and Horseman of the Year, and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) named Ravel as Horse of the Year. At the time, the ''Chronicle'' called him a "natural athlete with a balanced seat and an inherent understanding of the horse. He's calm under pressure and has a reputation for having ice water in his veins." In 2011, riding Weltino's Magic, he took gold in both the team and individual dressage events at the

2011 Pan Am Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán ...

. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

he came 17th in the individual dressage and was part of the US team which came 6th, again riding Ravel. Peters retired Ravel from competition after the 2012 Olympic Games, after over 40 Grand Prix wins, and the same year the horse was inducted into the

United States Dressage Federation The United States Dressage Federation, or the USDF, is the national membership federation for the equestrian sport of dressage. Running under the USEF, the Federation is committed to education, recognition of achievement and promotion of dressage i ...

Hall of Fame. Following Ravel's retirement, Legolas became Peter's main competition horse. The pair went on to compete at the

2014 World Equestrian Games The 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games were held in the region of Normandy, France. It was the seventh edition of the Games, which are held every four years and run by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). For team even ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

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 ...

. Peters placed 10th in both of the individual events and 4th in the team dressage competition. At the beginning of 2015, he participated at the

Dressage World Cup The FEI World Cup Dressage Final is an annual international dressage series involving the world's best dressage horses and riders. It has been held since 1985. The World Cup is run in the form of a CDI. History The history of the World Cup ...

finals in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Peters was however eliminated because of blood on Legolas' side. Later that year he participated at the

, where he successfully defended both of his gold medals from 2011. As of 2017, Peters' main international competition horse is Rosamunde. Peters is the first person to be awarded the USEF's Equestrian of the Year Award three times, having won the honor in 2008, 2009 and 2011.

International championship results

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Steffen 1964 births Living people American male equestrians American dressage riders Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in equestrian Equestrians at the 1996 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2012 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2016 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2020 Summer Olympics German emigrants to the United States People from Wesel Sportspeople from Düsseldorf (region) Equestrians at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in equestrian Naturalized citizens of the United States Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in equestrian