![]() | ||
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Equestrian | ||
Representing the ![]() | ||
Olympic Games ![]() | ||
![]() | 2000 Sydney | Individual dressage |
![]() | 2004 Athens | Individual dressage |
![]() | 2008 Beijing | Individual dressage |
![]() | 1992 Barcelona | Team dressage |
![]() | 1996 Atlanta | Individual dressage |
![]() | 1996 Atlanta | Team dressage |
![]() | 2000 Sydney | Team dressage |
![]() | 2008 Beijing | Team dressage |
![]() | 2012 London | Team dressage |
World Championships | ||
![]() | 1994 The Hague | Freestyle dressage |
![]() | 2006 Aachen | Freestyle dressage |
![]() | 1994 The Hague | Team dressage |
![]() | 1998 Rome | Individual dressage |
![]() | 1998 Rome | Team dressage |
![]() | 2006 Aachen | Special dressage |
![]() | 2006 Aachen | Team dressage |
European Championships | ||
![]() | 1999 Arnhem | Individual dressage |
![]() | 2005 Hagen | Individual dressage |
![]() | 2007 La Mandria | Special dressage |
![]() | 2007 La Mandria | Team dressage |
![]() | 2009 Windsor | Team dressage |
![]() | 1995 Mondorf | Individual dressage |
![]() | 1995 Mondorf | Team dressage |
![]() | 1997 Verden | Individual dressage |
![]() | 1997 Verden | Team dressage |
![]() | 1999 Arnhem | Team dressage |
![]() | 2001 Verden | Team dressage |
![]() | 2005 Hagen | Team dressage |
![]() | 2007 La Mandria | Freestyle dressage |
![]() | 1991 Donaueschingen | Team dressage |
![]() | 2009 Windsor | Freestyle dressage |
![]() | 2015 Aachen | Team reining |
World Cup | ||
![]() | 1995 Los Angeles | Individual dressage |
![]() | 1996 Göteborg | Individual dressage |
![]() | 1997 Den Bosch | Individual dressage |
![]() | 1999 Dortmund | Individual dressage |
![]() | 2000 Den Bosch | Individual dressage |
![]() | 2004 Düsseldorf | Individual dressage |
![]() | 2005 Las Vegas | Individual dressage |
![]() | 2006 Amsterdam | Individual dressage |
![]() | 2008 Den Bosch | Individual dressage |
![]() | 1998 Göteborg | Individual dressage |
![]() | 2009 Las Vegas | Individual dressage |
Theodora Elisabeth Gerarda "Anky" van Grunsven (born 2 January 1968) is a Dutch dressage champion who is the only rider to record three successive Olympic wins in the same event. Along with her Olympic successes, she has won numerous medals at the World Equestrian Games (WEG), and is the only rider to have competed at every WEG since they began in 1990. Between 1990 and 2006, she competed at the Games in dressage, but in 2010 she was named as part of the Dutch reining team, marking a major change in discipline.[ citation needed ]
In addition to her Olympic and World Equestrian Games successes, van Grunsven holds the record for the most wins at the Dressage World Cup, winning the event nine times between 1995 and 2008. She has also competed numerous times at the European Dressage Championships, winning seven individual medals and eight team medals between 1991 and 2009. Although van Grunsven has ridden many horses over her career, she won the majority of her top events on two horses: Bonfire and Salinero. Bonfire, upon whom she had many of her early successes, was retired in 2002. Salinero quickly took over as van Grunsven's top horse, and remained in that position until his retirement in 2013, after making a major comeback to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games. Van Grunsven has been closely linked with the controversial training method rollkur, although she has moved to distance herself from the practice after it was banned from international competition.
Van Grunsven was born in Erp, North Brabant. [1] She began training in dressage at the age of 12, after her horse Prisco (who she would later ride at the Olympics and World Equestrian Games) performed poorly in show jumping. [2]
Van Grunsven is married to Dutch national equestrian coach Sjef Janssen, with whom she has two children. [3] She was pregnant with her first child, Yannick, when she competed at the 2004 Olympic Games, and gave birth in November of that year. Van Grunsven and Janssen married in Las Vegas in late 2005, and in March 2007 had her second child, Ava Eden. [4]
In 1999, van Grunsven, "frustrated by the lack of fashion in the equestrian world", developed a line of equestrian clothing, now sold internationally. [4]
Van Grunsven holds the record for winning the most Olympic medals by an equestrian, with nine medals, and is the only person to have won any equestrian event in three successive Olympics. [1] She is also the only person to compete at seven successive Olympics in dressage. [5] She has competed in every Olympic Games between 1988 and 2012, winning a total of three gold medals, five silvers and one bronze. At the 1988 Summer Olympics, riding Prisco, she was eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the individual dressage, and was the lowest-scoring member of the fifth-place Dutch team, meaning her score was not used to determine the team's standing. At the 1992 Summer Olympics, her performance improved, and riding Bonfire she took fourth individually and won her first silver medal in the team competition. At the 1996 Games, again riding Bonfire, she won double silver in the individual and team dressage competitions. [1]
With her last Olympic ride on Bonfire, at the 2000 Summer Olympics, she won her first gold in the individual competition, while helping the Dutch team to their third consecutive silver. In 2004 in Athens, on her new mount, Salinero, she won her second gold in individual competition, while the Dutch team came in fourth. The 2008 Olympic Games, again riding Salinero, brought her her third consecutive individual gold, while the Dutch team returned to the medal podium with a silver. Riding Salinero in 2012 in London, van Grunsven slipped to sixth place individually, but helped the Dutch team to her first bronze medal. [1] Van Grunsven was originally not expected to compete in the 2012 Olympics, as the horse she was riding at the beginning of 2012, IPS Upido, was injured. However, in April, she announced that she planned to compete for a spot on the Dutch Olympic team with the then-18-year-old Salinero, who had staged what the media called a "comeback" after previous injuries. [6]
Along with her Olympic successes, van Grunsven has also won numerous medals at the World Equestrian Games. After competing in the 2010 World Equestrian Games, she became the only equestrian to have competed in every World Equestrian Games, which have been held every four years since 1990, and which include three sections of dressage competition, two individual and one team. At the 1990 World Equestrian Games, riding Prisco, she finished 23rd individually. Van Grunsven rode Bonfire at the 1994 and 1998 World Equestrian Games, winning individual gold and team silver at the first and double silver (one individual and one team) at the second. She was unhappy with the judging at the 1998 Games, held in Rome, and said that she "thought [she] would quit dressage", despite her high finish placement. [7]
At the 2002 World Equestrian Games, riding Krack C, she finished 11th individually and rode to 5th place with the Dutch team. Her best finish was at the 2006 Games, riding Salinero, where she won an individual gold and two silvers, one individually and one team. At the 2010 Games, after her top horse Salinero was injured and second-best horse Painted Black was sold, she competed as part of the Dutch reining team, marking a major change in discipline. [7] Riding Whizashiningwalla BB, she was eliminated in the qualifying rounds. At the Games, she also performed a reining demonstration at the presentation of the team dressage medal and participated in an exhibition of freestyle reining. [8] Van Grunsven began riding reining horses around 2000, but only became a serious competitor in the sport after the 2008 Olympics. [2]
Van Grunsven has won the Dressage World Cup nine times, in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008. She took second in 1998 and third in 2009. [9] The World Cup features freestyle dressage (also called Kur Grand Prix), and her record number of wins has won van Grunsven the nickname "Queen of the Kur". [10] She has also collected five gold medals, eight silver and two bronze at the European Dressage Championships. At the bi-annual European Championships, there is one team competition and three individual events: Individual Dressage, Kur Grand Prix and Special Grand Prix. Van Grunsven took first in the Individual Dressage portion in 1999 and 2005, and second in 1995 and 1997. In the Kur competition, she took first in 2007 and third in 2009. The Special Grand Prix has historically been her weakest event, only taking second in 2007. She has taken the greatest number of medals in the team competition, with the Dutch team taking first in 2007 and 2009; second in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2005; and third in 1991. [9]
In 2002, Bonfire was retired, after a nine-year international career. The pair's gold medal-winning freestyle dressage performance at the 1994 World Equestrian Games marked the first the time event had been held at the Games, and "changed the world of dressage forever", according to fellow Olympic gold medalist Carl Hester. A statue was erected in Erp to mark Bonfire's achievements. In October 2013, he was euthanized following illness. [11] [12] After Bonfire's retirement, Van Grunsven stated that she never thought she would find another horse as good as he was; however, his successor Salinero proved to be even more successful. [9] In March 2013, Salinero was retired. Van Grunsven and Salinero have been called the "pioneers of the modern freestyle test", and were the first pair to have music written specifically for their performances. A horse known for his power and ability, he was also sensitive and, early in his career, prone to becoming tense, making him a more difficult horse to ride. Despite this, he was a star of the dressage world, winning numerous international competitions. [13]
In January 2003, van Grunsven sustained a fracture of a bone in her upper leg in a fall from a horse in training, and required surgery. [14] A metal plate was embedded in her leg to immobilize the bone during the healing process, and van Grunsven recovered, winning the 2003 Dutch Dressage Championships in June. In September, she underwent a second surgery to have the plate removed. [15] In 2004, she became the first Dutch rider to win the CHIO Aachen dressage competition, a top international competition. [16]
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(December 2019) |
Results | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Event | Horse | Score | Placing | Notes | ||||||
1988 | Olympic Games | Prisco | 5th | Team | |||||||
36th | Individual | ||||||||||
1989 | World Cup Final | Prisco | 7th | ||||||||
1989 | European Championships | Prisco | 5th | Team | |||||||
22nd | Individual | ||||||||||
1990 | World Equestrian Games | Prisco | 8th | Team | |||||||
23rd | Individual | ||||||||||
1991 | European Championships | Bonfire | ![]() | Team | |||||||
5th | Individual | ||||||||||
1992 | Olympic Games | Bonfire | ![]() | Team | |||||||
4th | Individual | ||||||||||
1994 | World Equestrian Games | Bonfire | ![]() | Individual | |||||||
1996 | Olympic Games | Bonfire | ![]() | Team | |||||||
![]() | Individual | ||||||||||
1997 | World Cup Final | Bonfire | ![]() | ||||||||
1998 | World Equestrian Games | Bonfire | ![]() | Team | |||||||
![]() | Individual | ||||||||||
1999 | European Championships | Bonfire | ![]() | Team | |||||||
![]() | Individual | ||||||||||
2000 | World Cup Final | Bonfire | ![]() | ||||||||
2000 | Olympic Games | Bonfire | ![]() | Team | |||||||
![]() | Individual | ||||||||||
2001 | European Championships | Idool | ![]() | Team | |||||||
17th | Individual | ||||||||||
2002 | World Equestrian Games | Krack C | 5th | Team | |||||||
11th | Individual | ||||||||||
2004 | World Cup Final | Salinero | ![]() | ||||||||
2004 | Olympic Games | Salinero | 4th | Team | |||||||
![]() | Individual | ||||||||||
2005 | World Cup Final | Salinero | ![]() | ||||||||
2005 | European Championships | Salinero | ![]() | Team | |||||||
![]() | Individual | ||||||||||
2006 | World Cup Final | Salinero | ![]() | ||||||||
2006 | World Equestrian Games | Salinero | ![]() | Team | |||||||
![]() | Individual Special | ||||||||||
![]() | Individual Freestyle | ||||||||||
2007 | European Championships | Salinero | 77.458% | ![]() | Team | ||||||
77.480% | ![]() | Individual Special | |||||||||
85.800% | ![]() | Individual Freestyle | |||||||||
2008 | World Cup Final | Salinero | 85.200% | ![]() | |||||||
2008 | Olympic Games | Salinero | 74.750% | ![]() | Team | ||||||
82.400% | ![]() | Individual | |||||||||
2009 | World Cup Final | Painted Black | 82.150% | ![]() | |||||||
2009 | European Championships | Salinero | 73.827% | ![]() | Team | ||||||
77.917% | 4th | Individual Special | |||||||||
87.250% | ![]() | Individual Freestyle | |||||||||
2012 | Olympic Games | Salinero | 73.343% | ![]() | Team | ||||||
82.000% | 6th | Individual | |||||||||
2015 | European Reining Championships | Whizashiningwalla BB | 207.00 | ![]() | Team |
Van Grunsven was closely linked with the controversial training method rollkur, [17] and advocated use of the method as recently as 2007. [18] She has since moved to distance herself with the method since the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) declared in February 2010 that this method "is seen as an aggressive way of a deep moving horse. This is forbidden as well as any head-neck position which is obtained in an aggressive way." [19]
In a lawsuit announced on 24 August 2010, van Grunsven claimed to have been defamed by journalist Astrid Appels on the website eurodressage.com. A release posted on that website announcing the lawsuit reported that "according to Anky, images of her horses can not be connected to the controversial rollkur training method." The lawsuit was scheduled to begin 8 September 2010 in 's-Hertogenbosch [19] but van Grunsven withdrew the case. [20]
IPS Salinero was a horse ridden by the Dutch equestrian Anky van Grunsven in the sport of dressage.
Petronella Theodora Maria "Ellen" Bontje is an equestrian from The Netherlands, who won the silver medal in the Team Dressage Event at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. She did so alongside Anky van Grunsven, Coby van Baalen, and Arjen Teeuwissen. In the individual competition Bontje finished in sixth position.
Martina Maria Anna Antonia "Tineke" Bartels-de Vries is an equestrian from the Netherlands, who won the silver medal in the Team Dressage Event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. She did so alongside Annemarie Sanders, Ellen Bontje, and Anky van Grunsven. In the Individual Competition she finished in fifteenth position.
Andreas Helgstrand is a Danish dressage rider. He won four consecutive Danish dressage championships, from 2005 through 2008.
Isabell Werth is a German equestrian who has competed in dressage at seven Olympic Games —1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2016, 2020, 2024— winning the gold medal in the team event in all seven, and one gold and six silver medals in the individual event. She stands alone in having medals from seven Olympics, or across a span of 32 years; her 14 medals are the most for any German or equestrian. She also has numerous titles in the World and European Championships and World Cups.
Nicole Uphoff is a German equestrian who competes in the sport of dressage. She won four gold medals in individual and team competition at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics. Riding her star horse, Rembrandt, Uphoff also won numerous other international competitions, including the World Equestrian Games and the European Dressage Championships.
Hans Peter Minderhoud is a Dutch dressage rider.
Adelinde Cornelissen is a Dutch dressage rider.
Heike Kemmer is a German equestrian who competes in the sport of dressage. She won team gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as individual bronze in 2008. She also won medals at the German Dressage Championships and European Dressage Championships, as well as assisting the German team to gold at the 2006 World Equestrian Games. Kemmer retired Bonaparte 67, upon whom she had won most of her international medals, in 2011.
Ulla Salzgeber is a German equestrian and Olympic champion who competes in the sport of dressage. Competing in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, she won two team gold medals, one individual silver and one individual bronze. She also won numerous medals at the World Equestrian Games, Dressage World Cup and European Dressage Championships. After the retirement of her Olympic horse, Rusty, after the 2004 Games, and unexpected death of her second international-level mount in 2005, Salzgeber struggled to find a new Grand Prix-level horse.
Edward Gal is a Dutch dressage rider. He and the stallion Totilas, were triple gold medalists at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games, becoming the first horse-rider partnership ever to sweep the three available dressage gold medals at a single FEI World Games. Going into the 2010 Games, they had amassed multiple world-record scores in international competition, leading one American journalist to call them "rock stars in the horse world". After the World Equestrian Games, Totilas was sold to German trainer Paul Schockemöhle. Gal continues to be successful training and competing dressage horses at the international level. Despite the success, he has been criticised to be harsh trainer who creates stressed and fearful horses.
Totilas, also known from 2006 to 2011 as Moorlands Totilas, and nicknamed "Toto", was a Dutch Warmblood stallion standing 17.1 hands high who was considered to be one of the most outstanding competitive dressage horses in the world, the first horse to score above 90 in dressage competition, and the former holder of the world record for the highest dressage score in Grand Prix Freestyle Dressage.
Rembrandt was a dark bay Westphalian gelding ridden for Germany by Nicole Uphoff in dressage competitions. Together, the pair won four Olympic gold medals, three gold and one silver World Equestrian Games medals, and numerous other international championships. Although known as a sensitive horse prone to spookiness, Rembrandt's elegance and expression in the ring allowed him to become one of the top horses in the sport of dressage.
Gestion Bonfire, or Bonfire for short, was an Oldenburg gelding that competed in dressage with Dutch rider Anky van Grunsven. Between 1991 and 2000, the pair competed in multiple national and international championships, including three Olympic Games and two World Equestrian Games. They won one gold medal and four silver medals at the Olympics and one gold and three silvers at the World Equestrian Games. Although known for having a hot temperament, Bonfire mellowed as he aged, becoming one of Van Grunsven's best horses – until she found his replacement, Salinero, she did not think she would ever find a horse to match Bonfire's talent. A statue of Bonfire stands in Van Grunsven's home town of Erp.
Steffen Peters is a German-born equestrian who competes for the United States in dressage. He has participated in five Olympic Games, winning a team bronze medal on two occasions and a team silver medal once (2020). 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 and individual and team gold medals at both 2011 and 2015 Pan Am Games. 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.
Uwe Schulten-Baumer, nicknamed "Der Doktor", was a German show jumping and dressage rider who became an internationally famous dressage trainer and coach who worked with Nicole Uphoff and Isabell Werth, who won 4 and 5, respectively, Olympic gold medals in individual and team dressage.
Beatriz Ferrer-Salat Serra de Migui is an equestrian from Spain who competes internationally in the sport of dressage. She won two Olympic medals, a silver and a bronze, at the 2004 Games, and also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics. She began riding in international competitions in 1995, and has since competed in the 2002 World Equestrian Games, winning individual silver and team bronze, and in several European Dressage Championships, where she has won several additional individual and team medals. Based in Spain, Ferrer-Salat continues to compete internationally, as well as acting as the chair of the board for the Spanish Dressage Riders Club.
Morgan Barbançon Mestre is a French and Spanish Olympic dressage rider. Representing Spain, she competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London where she finished 7th in team competition and 23rd in the individual competition.
Quzandria Nur Dato' Mahamad Fathil is a Malaysian equestrian rider. Nur competed at three Asian Games in Bangkok 1998, Doha 2006 and Guangzhou 2010. In 1998, she was a member of the silver winning Malaysian team. In 2006 she won team silver and in 2010, she won individual silver and team bronze. Nur also competed at three South East Asian Games. In 2001 she won team gold and individual silver and a golden team medal and individual silver in 2007. She won individual gold and team gold with the Malaysian team in 2017.
Dinja van Liere is a Dutch dressage rider. She competed at the European Dressage Championships in Hagen 2021 and was the traveling reserve for the Dutch team at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
In a lawsuit launched in August 2010, Grunsven claimed she was defamed by Appels. However, she withdrew legal action in September.