Leslie Burr-Howard (born October 1, 1956) is 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 in ...

and an Olympic champion in showjumping. She won team gold at the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

and team silver at the

1996 Atlanta 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, ...

, as well as team silver at the 1999 Winnipeg

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

Early life

Leslie Burr-Howard was born Leslie Michele Burr on October 1, 1956, in Westport, Connecticut. She competed in her first show when she was 6 years old. She won the 1972 ASPCA Maclay Finals as a junior rider.

Career

She won a gold medal in

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

with the American team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles riding Albany, and a silver medal in 1996 aboard the Dutch warmblood mare Extreme. Burr-Howard is also well known as the second of the three primary riders for the legendary showjumper Gem Twist. She helped the horse earn the AGA Horse of the Year title, which was for a third time, and was a record. In 1994, she represented the United States in the

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for the FEI World Equestrian Games. She also rode Charisma and Gem Twist in the

United States Equestrian Team The United States Equestrian Team (USET) refers to the American national teams in Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines of horse sport. US Equestrian, the governing body of horse sport in the United States, selects, trains and funds the teams. The O ...

(USET) Show Jumping Championship at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions in Gladstone, New Jersey, to tie for first place. There were 12 riders who contributed to the USET’s win in the 1997 inaugural Samsung Nations’ Cup Series, which culminated at

Spruce Meadows Spruce Meadows is a multi-purpose sports facility near Calgary, Alberta built by the Southern family which opened in 1975. The facility contains an equestrian show jumping complex that comprises . The current president and CEO of Spruce Me ...

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, in Canada. Burr-Howard was one of the 12 riders. Burr-Howard won the richest Grand Prix event, the $1 Million CN International Grand Prix (formerly known as the du Maurier Limited International Grand Prix). In 1999, in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada, Burr-Howard assisted USET in winning the team Silver Medal at the Pan American Games. In 2000, Burr-Howard competed in the USA East Coast World Cup League and come out on top. She also competed in the United States Equestrian Team Region 1 Show Jumping Championship, winning for a second consecutive time. She competed at the Royal Horse Show in

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

and earned the Leading Rider award.

Honors

* 1983 American Grandprix Association Rider of the Year * 1986 American Horse Show Association Equestrian of the Year * 1997 Whitney Stone Cup by USET * 2018 Pennsylvania National Horse Show Hall of Fame

Personal

Burr-Howard currently splits her time between

Newtown, Connecticut Newtown is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Greater Danbury metropolitan area as well as the New York metropolitan area. Newtown was founded in 1705, and later incorporated in 1711. As of the 2020 censu ...

and

Wellington, Florida Wellington is a village just west of West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County and north of Miami. As of 2019, the city had a population of 65,398 according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, making it the most populous village in the state. It is the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burr Howard, Leslie 1956 births Living people People from Westport, Connecticut People from Newtown, Connecticut American female equestrians Olympic gold medalists for the United States in equestrian Equestrians at the 1984 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in equestrian Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in equestrian Equestrians at the 1983 Pan American Games Equestrians at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games 21st-century American women