| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 1, 1956 Westport, Connecticut |
| Occupation | Equestrian |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
Medal record | |
Leslie Burr-Howard (born October 1, 1956) is an American equestrian and an Olympic champion in showjumping. She won team gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and team silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, as well as team silver at the 1999 Winnipeg Pan American Games.
Leslie Burr-Howard was born Leslie Michele Burr on October 1, 1956, in Westport, Connecticut. [1]
She competed in her first show when she was 6 years old. She won the 1972 ASPCA Maclay Finals as a junior rider. [2]
She won a gold medal in show jumping 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. [3]
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 Netherlands for the FEI World Equestrian Games. She also rode Charisma and Gem Twist in the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Show Jumping Championship at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions in Gladstone, New Jersey, to tie for first place. [2]
There were 12 riders who contributed to the USET's win in the 1997 inaugural Samsung Nations' Cup Series, which culminated at Spruce Meadows, Calgary, 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). [2]
In 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 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 and earned the Leading Rider award. [2]
Burr-Howard currently splits her time between Newtown, Connecticut [2] and Wellington, Florida. [6]
Richard Spooner is an internationally successful equestrian. He competes in the sport of show jumping on the West Coast of the United States and in Europe. In June 2006 at Spruce Meadows, he cleared the $1-million mark, the 10th rider to reach that milestone in the show's history.
Gem Twist was a 16.3 hands world champion American Thoroughbred show jumping horse registered under the name Icey Twist. Bred by equestrian Frank Chapot, Gem Twist had an incredible career at the Grand Prix level. The gelding is the only horse to have won the "American Grand Prix Association Horse of the Year" title three times, and is regarded as one of the best show-jumpers in history.
Anne Kindig Kursinski is an American showjumper and two-time Olympic silver medalist in team jumping, at Seoul 1988 and Atlanta 1996. Representing the United States, she was a member of five Olympic teams, forty-seven Nations Cup teams, and three World Equestrian Games teams. In 2017, she was inducted into the Showjumping Hall of Fame.
Brentina was an Olympic-level dressage horse ridden by Debbie McDonald. She was owned by E. Parry Thomas.
Gregory Alan Best is an equestrian competitor and coach in the sport of show jumping who won two silver medals for the United States in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea riding the famous Gem Twist. In 1992, Best suffered a fall that shattered his shoulder. After this, he moved to New Zealand, where he rode for the New Zealand League, winning the World Cup Series. He has also served as a New Zealand National Show Jumping Selector, a National Show Jumping Coach and a member of the New Zealand Show Jumping High Performance Committee. Best coached New Zealand's jumpers for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. Between 1987 and 2003, Best also garnered 6 FEI World Cup wins. He now conducts coaching clinics in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Along with Gem Twist, horses named Santos and Entrepreneur have been among his champion mounts.
Royal Kaliber was a Dutch Warmblood stallion that competed at the Grand Prix level of show jumping, and was part of the United States Show Jumping Team at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
Chris Kappler is an American show jumper and horse trainer. He is an Olympic gold and silver medalist, and the winner of over 100 Grand Prixs. He is a founder of the North American Riders Group.
Touch of Class was a bay American-bred Thoroughbred mare who was on United States Equestrian Team at the 1984 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal in the individual and team show jumping events. She was ridden by Joseph Fargis.
Joseph "Joe" Halpin Fargis IV is an American showjumper and Olympic champion. Fargis won showjumping individual gold and team gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He won showjumping team silver at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He is the owner of Sandron Farm.
Peter Wylde is an American show jumping competitor and Olympic champion.
Elizabeth Madden is an American Olympic champion equestrian competing in show jumping. She has two Olympic golds and one silver in team jumping, and an individual bronze. She won the FEI Show Jumping World Cup twice; won two silvers and two bronzes at World Championships; and won two golds, one silver and two bronzes at the Pan American Games. She was the first American to break into the international top three show jumping ranking, and the first woman to win over one million dollars in show jumping prize money.
McLain Ward is an American show jumping competitor and five-time Olympic medalist.
Bertalan de Némethy was a cavalry officer in Hungary and later became the show jumping coach for the United States Equestrian Team. He was influential in developing riding and training methods used by show jumpers today.
Georgina Leigh Bloomberg is the owner of the equestrian team New York Empire, a professional equestrian, and a philanthropist. She is the daughter of Susan Brown and Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City and founder of Bloomberg LP.
Francis Davis "Frank" Chapot was an American equestrian who competed at six consecutive Olympic Games - from 1956 to 1976 - and won two silver medals in team show jumping, at Rome 1960 and Munich 1972. Chapot was chef d'equipe of the American equestrian team from 1980 to 2004, leading them to their first Olympic team gold at Los Angeles 1984. Additionally, he coached the American show jumping team from 1968 until his retirement in 2005. Chapot is also known for breeding and training Gem Twist, a champion showjumper named World's Best Horse in 1990. In later life, Chapot became a jump course designer and judge. In 2001, he was awarded the United States Equestrian Federation's Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to horse sport.
Margie Goldstein-Engle is an American show jumping equestrian, and a 10-time American Grandprix Association Rider of the Year.
Peter Leone is an American equestrian. He won a silver medal in team show jumping at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, together with Leslie Burr-Howard, Anne Kursinski and Michael R. Matz. Leone trained with many prominent horsemen including Bertlan DeNemethy, Frank Chapot, George Morris, and Michael Matz. After completing a successful junior career, Peter won the International Jumping Derby in Newport, Rhode Island, then regarded as the most challenging show jumping event in the nation. In 1982, he helped the United States finish fourth in the World Championships in Dublin, Ireland. Together with his two brothers Armand and Mark, he was named the 1984 Horseman of the Year by the New Jersey Equine Advisory Board in the United States of America.
Rodney Jenkins is a former show jumping rider and member of the United States Equestrian Team (USET), inducted into the United States Show Jumping Hall of Fame. He rode showed hunters and jumpers competitively from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, winning a record 70 Grand Prix-level competitions. After retiring from the show ring, he became a race horse trainer.
HH Azur is a horse ridden by McLain Ward. The duo competed at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016 and earned 9th place individually as well as earning a team silver medal. The pair also went on to win the 2017 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final and have won many other notable classes.
Audrey Coulter is an equestrian who has won several major horse jumping competitions. She is the daughter of financier James Coulter and Penny Coulter.
