Hiram Tuttle (equestrian)
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Hiram Edwin Tuttle (December 22, 1882 in
Dexter, Maine Dexter is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,803 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bangor metropolitan statistical area. Dexter Regional High School, which serves Dexter as well as other nearby small towns ...
– November 11, 1956 in
Fort Riley, Kansas Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Gea ...
) was an American
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 competed in dressage at the 1932 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He is the only American dressage rider to win an individual medal at an Olympic Games. Tuttle was a lawyer in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
prior to being a
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...
officer from 1930 to 1944. He owned and trained his own horses, unusual in a time when the majority of Olympic competitors rode Army-owned horses, and is buried near three of them at the cemetery in Fort Riley.


Biography

Tuttle originally trained and practiced as a lawyer in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, but in 1917 joined the
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
as a commissioned officer. Between 1930 and his retirement as a
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
in 1944, he held a post in
Fort Riley, Kansas Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Gea ...
, at the Cavalry School. Tuttle's equestrian skills were largely self-taught, and he became the top dressage rider in the US before the majority of the country even knew such a sport existed. Army historian Louis DiMarco says, "Tuttle did so much with so little and was so little appreciated. He was the only officer to focus strictly on dressage. Everybody else in the Army world...who did dressage learned what to do and how to do it from him." Tuttle owned and trained his own horses, partially so that the horses could focus strictly on dressage and not be used for other sports or cavalry exercises; this was unusual for the times. He was set apart from many of the Olympic riders of the time by being older, not a
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
graduate, a
quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...
officer, and riding in dressage when few other officers appreciated the formality and discipline of the sport. He trained many of the military dressage riders who followed in his footsteps, including Major
Robert Borg Robert Borg (May 27, 1913 – April 5, 2005) was an American military officer and equestrian. He was born in Manila, Philippines. He placed fourth in individual dressage, and won a silver medal in team dressage at the 1948 Summer Olympics i ...
who competed in dressage at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Games. After his retirement, Tuttle continued to ride and train, and never sold his Olympic mounts. He is buried along with three of his horses (Vast, Si Murray and Olympic) at the Fort Riley cemetery. In 2002, Tuttle 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 in "recognition of his seminal contributions as a Cavalry officer to the development of dressage in the U.S."


Competition

In 1932 the Americans participated in the team dressage competition for the first time since 1920. Tuttle competed in his first Olympic Games at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. At this event, he took bronze in the individual dressage, becoming the first American dressage rider in Olympic history to win an individual medal. This distinction is one that he holds as of 2012. It is also the only Olympics where Americans won individual medals in all three equestrian events (dressage, show jumping and
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. This ...
). The American team, which included Tuttle, also won a bronze. His horse in these events, named Olympic, had been purchased for $1. In 1936, Tuttle returned to Olympic competition in at the Berlin Games. However, he only placed 27th individually out of 29 riders, with the American team taking 9th out of nine teams entered. Two horses used by the Americans, Si Murray and Olympic, were trained by Tuttle. Tuttle stated in a post-Games report that a German coach had told him that a winning dressage team needed "European-bred horses, European competition experience and political clout in the host country; and that, having none of these, the Americans likely wouldn't fare well"; based on the American's performance, Tuttle concluded the coach was correct.


Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuttle, Hiram 1882 births 1956 deaths People from Dexter, Maine Lawyers from Boston Military personnel from Massachusetts United States Army personnel of World War I Sportspeople from Kansas American male equestrians American dressage riders Equestrians at the 1932 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in equestrian Equestrians at the 1936 Summer Olympics United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army colonels People from Geary County, Kansas