Ingrid Klimke (born 1 April 1968 in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

) is a German

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 ...

rider. She appeared at five Olympics from 2000 to 2016. With her horse Abraxxas, she won two gold medals in team eventing at 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 Nat ...

and 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, th ...

. At the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, she won a team silver with Hale-Bob. She is the daughter of equestrian

Reiner Klimke Reiner Klimke (; 14 January 1936 – 17 August 1999) was a German equestrian, who won six gold and two bronze medals in dressage at the Summer Olympics — a record for equestrian events that has since been surpassed. He appeared in six Oly ...

. Like her father, she rides in both eventing and dressage at international events, for example, she was placed seventh at the 2002 Dressage World Cup Final with Nector van het Carelshof. In 2022, she made her debut on the German dressage team at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, where she was awarded a team bronze medal. In January 2012 she was appointed to the position of "Reitmeister" (Riding Master, a special title of the German Equestrian Federation). Klimke is the second woman ever to be appointed as "Reitmeister".Reitmeistertitel für Ingrid Klimke
, Uta Helkenberg /

Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung The German Equestrian Federation () is an umbrella organization in Germany for equestrian sports and breeding. It is the governing body for the majority of equestrian sports and their organization in Germany, including FEI-recognized disciplines ...

, January 14, 2012

Youth

Through her father, Klimke started to work with horses at a very young age. She states that she never thought about a career in

equestrianism 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 ...

. Since her youth she has been competing 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 by ...

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes ...

and

. Her trainers were, besides her father, Fritz Ligges and

Ian Millar Ian Millar, CM (born 6 January 1947) is a Canadian Equestrian Team athlete for show jumping. He is a two-time winner of the Show Jumping World Cup, and an Olympic silver medalist. Due to his longevity and accomplishments, he is often nickname ...

. About her trainers she says: :''I received a consistent training from all of them, which was geared to develop an intensive bonding between horse and rider and to never overburden the horses. Being Ian Millar’s working student I learned everything about care and show jumping and I am really grateful towards my father for making that stay abroad possible.'' After her school days, she began an apprenticeship as a bank clerk and afterwards she began to study to become a teacher. Later she realized that it was not possible to this and keep riding at the same time so she decided to dedicate herself to equestrianism and horse training.

CCI5* Results

International Championship Results

Notable Horses

* Sleep Late - 1991 Gray British Sport Horse Gelding (Kuwait Beach XX x Evening Trial) ** 1999 European Championships - Individual 39th Place ** 2000 Sydney Olympics - Team Fourth Place ** 2004 Athens Olympics - Team Fourth Place ** 2005 European Championships - Individual Bronze Medal ** 2006 World Equestrian Games - Team Gold Medal * Nector vh Carelshof - 1990 Bay Gelding ** 2002 FEI Dressage World Cup Final - Seventh Place * FRH Butts Abraxxas - 1997 Gray Hanoverian Gelding (Heraldik XX x Kronenkranich XX) ** 2007 European Championships - Team Seventh Place, Individual Tenth Place ** 2008 Beijing Olympics - Team Gold Medal, Individual Fifth Place ** 2009 European Championships - Team Eighth Place ** 2010 World Equestrian Games - Team Fifth Place, Individual 13th Place ** 2011 European Championships - Team Gold Medal, Individual 11th Place ** 2012 London Olympics - Team Gold Medal, Individual 25th Place * SAP Escada FRH - 2004 Bay Hanoverian Mare (Embassy I x Lehnsherr) ** 2013 European Championships - Team Gold Medal, Individual Silver Medal ** 2014 World Equestrian Games - Team Gold Medal, Individual 13th Place ** 2015 Luhmuhlen CCI**** Winner * SAP Hale Bob OLD - 2004 Bay Oldenburg Gelding (Helikon XX x Noble Champion) ** 2014 Pau CCI**** Winner ** 2015 European Championships - Team Gold Medal, Individual Fifth Place ** 2016 Rio Olympics - Team Silver Medal, Individual 14th Place ** 2017 European Championships - Team Tenth Place, Individual Gold Medal * Weisse Duene - 2009 Gray Holsteiner Mare (Clarimo x Romino) ** 2016 FEI Eventing Young Horse World Championships - Gold Medal

References

External links

* * * *
Human to Hero: Olympics a family affair for champion Klimke
CNN portrait of Ingrid Klimke with a video portrait {{DEFAULTSORT:Klimke, Ingrid German event riders Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Equestrians at the 2000 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2004 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2012 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic equestrians of Germany German female equestrians Living people 1968 births Olympic medalists in equestrian Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Münster 20th-century German women 21st-century German women