Reiner Klimke (; 14 January 1936 – 17 August 1999) was 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 won six gold and two bronze

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

s in dressage at the Summer Olympics — a record for equestrian events that has since been surpassed. He appeared in six Olympics from 1960 to 1988, excluding the 1980 Games that were boycotted by West Germany.

Equestrian career

Klimke studied

Harry Boldt Harry Boldt (born 23 February 1930) is a German equestrian and Olympic champion. He was born in Insterburg, East Prussia, Germany. He won a gold medal in the team dressage at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and another at the 1976 Summer O ...

and Gustaf Rau. He won team gold in 1964, 1968 (both on Dux), 1976 (riding Mehmed), 1984 and 1988 (both with Ahlerich), and the individual gold in 1984 on Ahlerich. His two bronze medals came in the individual event in 1968 and 1976. Klimke also had a fine record at the World Championships, winning six gold medals: two individual, in 1974 on Mehmed and in 1982 on Ahlerich, and four team: 1966, 1974, 1982, 1986. At the European Championships, he was the individual champion in 1967, 1973, and 1985 and rode on seven winning West German teams (1965, 1973, 1983, 1985, and others) . Klimke also competed in

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 ...

early in his career. He was a member of the winning West German three-day event team at the 1959 European Championships, and finished 18th in individual eventing at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

, making him the best German combination. He also won a Grand Prix show jumping competition in Berlin.

Personal life

Reiner Klimke was the son of a psychologist and a neurologist. With his wife, Ruth (also a top show jumping and dressage rider), he had three children: Ingrid, Rolf, and Michael.

Ingrid Ingrid may refer to: * Ingrid (given name) * Ingrid (record label), and artist collective * Ingrid Burley, rapper known mononymously as Ingrid * Tropical Storm Ingrid, various cyclones * 1026 Ingrid, an asteroid * InGrid, the grid computing project ...

competes in

and dressage; she won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, twenty years after her father's last Olympic gold. Michael also competes at the Grand Prix level in dressage. Klimke not only rode and trained, but also ran a law firm and served on several boards, including the FEI Dressage Committee. Klimke died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at age 63 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 ...

, his place of birth. Prior to his death, he had planned to start at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

Publications

* ''Cavaletti: Ausbildung von Reiter und Pferd über Bodenricks'' Stuttgart: Franckh 1966 * ''Military: Geschichte, Training, Wettkampf'' Stuttgart: Franckh 1967, "Eventing" * ''Cavalletti: Schooling of Horse and Rider over Ground Rails'' (translation of ''Cavaletti'' by Daphne Machin Goodall) London: J.A. Allen 1969 * ''Le Concours complet: histoire, entraînement, compétition'' (translation of ''Military'' by Pierre André) Paris: Crépin-Leblond 1977 * ''Grundausbildung des jungen Reitpferdes: von der Fohlenerziehung bis zum ersten Turnierstart'' Stuttgart: Franckh 1980 * ''Horse trials'' (translation of ''Military'' by Daphne Machin Goodall) London: J.A. Allen 1984 * ''Ahlerich von der Remonte zum Dressur-Weltmeister; ein exemplarischer Ausbildungsweg'' Stuttgart: Franckh 1984 * ''Basic Training of the Young Horse: From the Education of the Young Foal to the First Competition'' (translation of ''Grundausbildung'' by Sigrid Young) London: J.A. Allen 1985 * ''Ahlerich: The Making of a Dressage World Champion'' (translation of ''Ahlerich'' by Courtney Searls-Ridge) Gaithersburg, MD: Half Halt Press 1986 * ''Von der Schönheit der Dressur vom jungen Pferd bis zum Grand Prix'' Stuttgart: Franckh-Kosmos 1991 * ''Klimke on Dressage: From the Young Horse Through Grand Prix'' (translation of the above by Courtney Searls-Ridge and Jan Spauschus Johnson) Middletown, MD: Half Halt Press 1992

References

Eurodressage article on Klimke

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klimke, Reiner 1936 births 1999 deaths German dressage riders Dressage trainers German event riders Olympic equestrians of West Germany German male equestrians Olympic equestrians of the United Team of Germany Equestrians at the 1960 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1964 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1968 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1976 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1984 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for West Germany Olympic gold medalists for the United Team of Germany Olympic bronze medalists for West Germany Sportspeople from Münster Olympic medalists in equestrian Recipients of the Olympic Order Articles containing video clips Writers on horsemanship Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics

Equestrian career

Personal life

Publications

See also

References

External links