Robert Dover (equestrian)

Last updated

Robert Dover
Personal information
BornJune 7, 1956 (1956-06-07) (age 68)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Medal record
Equestrian
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1992 Barcelona Team dressage
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1996 Atlanta Team dressage
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2000 Sydney Team dressage
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2004 Athens Team dressage
World Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1994 The Hague Team dressage

Robert Jeffrey Dover (born June 7, 1956) is an American equestrian who has had international success in the sport of dressage. Riding from the age of 13, he began specializing in dressage at age 19 and competed in his first Olympics in 1984. He competed in every summer Games between 1984 and 2004, winning four team bronze medals. He also took a team bronze at the 1994 World Equestrian Games. Dover is the most honored dressage rider in the United States, and has been inducted to the United States Dressage Federation Hall of Fame. Outside of competition, Dover founded the Equestrian Aid Foundation in 1996 to assist others in the equestrian world, and hosted a TV show that searched for the next dressage star. From late 2009 to early 2011, Dover served as the Technical/Coach Advisor for the Canadian national dressage team. In April 2013, Dover was named Technical Advisor/Chef d'Equipe for the US national dressage team.

Contents

Personal life

Dover, who is Jewish, [1] was born in Chicago, Illinois to parents Herb and Jean Dover. [2] He was given a horse for his Bar Mitzvah at 13 and was active in Pony Club, graduating at "A" level, the highest level. He decided to specialize in dressage when he was 19. Dover attended the University of Georgia. [3] [4] He is openly gay, and his partner is fellow rider Robert Ross. [5] [6] He became the first openly gay Olympic athlete when he came out in 1988. [7] Injuries, including a torn rotator cuff and pinched sciatic nerve, began to plague him in the late 1990s, causing major back pain and reducing his ability to ride. [1]

Career

Competition

In 1984, Dover competed in his first Olympic Games at the age of 28. At the Los Angeles Games, he finished 17th individually, and the US team finished 6th. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he finished 13th, and the team tied for 6th place. In 1992, at the Barcelona Games, Dover tied for 22nd place, while the American team took the bronze medal. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athina Games the United States dressage team took the bronze medal each time, while Dover finished 25th, 23rd and 6th respectively. [8] He was elected team captain in all six Olympics in which he competed. [4] Of his Olympic experience, Dover says, "The medals themselves aren't the important thing. My memories of the Games and of the entire Olympic experience are, to me, everything." [9]

In 1987, Dover defeated Reiner Klimke, a six-time Olympic gold medalist, at the German Aachen Grand Prix freestyle competition. In doing so, he became the first American in 27 years to win that event. [4] In 1994 he was named the US Olympic Male Equestrian Athlete of the Year, and in 1995 awarded the Whitney Stone Cup, given by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) for excellence in international competition. Dover has been named the USEF Dressage Champion five times, and ridden seven times in the FEI World Cup Final. [3] In 1994, Dover rode with the United States dressage team at the World Equestrian Games, winning a team bronze. [10] He was also amassed more than 100 Grand Prix victories. [4] Overall, Dover has won more honors in dressage than any other rider from the United States. [3] In 2009, Dover announced his retirement from competitive riding, instead choosing to focus on teaching and philanthropy. [11]

Other

Dover founded the Equestrian Aid Foundation in 1996. The Foundation's mission is to financially assist members of the equestrian community who have suffered a catastrophic accident, injury or illness. [3] In 2002, Dover was listed as one of the 50 most influential horsemen by Chronicle of the Horse magazine. [12] In 2007, "The Search for America's Next Equestrian Star: Dressage", a reality TV show created and promoted by Dover, aired on the Fox Reality Channel with five one-hour episodes. [3] The show followed a search for young, talented dressage riders, with the final five being allowed to train with Dover for one month before a winner was selected; the winner became Dover's assistant. [13] In 2008, Dover was inducted into the United States Dressage Federation Hall of Fame. Dover served on the USEF Dressage Committee for many years, and spent eight years on the US Olympic Committee Athlete Advisory Council. [3]

In late 2009, Dover was selected as a Technical/Coach Advisor for the Canadian dressage team, [4] with a contract that extended through the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky. After the Games, it was announced that Dover and the Canadian team had not been able to agree on contract renewal terms, [14] but in late 2010 it was announced that Dover would remain as the interim trainer for the first quarter of 2011. [15] In March 2011, German equestrian Markus Gribbe was hired, and Dover's term as a Canadian coach came to an end. [16] Dover is known for his coaching abilities, with some of the best dressage riders with top international titles to their credit coming from his stables. During his time as a trainer for Canada, he was no longer be eligible to train top riders with the USEF. [4] In April 2013, Dover was named Technical Advisor/Chef d'Equipe of the US national dressage team. [17] He is expected to remain in the position through the 2016 Summer Olympics. [18] Dover is currently a rider and trainer at Stillpoint Farm in Florida. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horse show</span> A judged exhibition of horses

A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and international championships. Most shows consist of a series of different performances, called classes, wherein a group of horses with similar training or characteristics compete against one another for awards and, often, prize money.

David John O'Connor is a retired equestrian who represented the United States in the sport of three-day eventing. He competed in two Olympic Games, winning a team silver at the 1996 Summer Olympics and an individual gold and team bronze at the 2000 Summer Olympics. At the 1999 Pan American Games, O'Connor took an individual silver and team gold and at the 2002 World Equestrian Games he assisted the US team to gold. After his retirement from competition in 2004, he became involved in the administrative side of international eventing. O'Connor has held top coaching roles for the US and Canadian national eventing teams, and was president of the United States Equestrian Federation from 2004 to 2012. During his career, O'Connor and his horses were awarded many honors, including equestrian and horse of the year awards from several organizations. In 2009, he was inducted to the United States Eventing Association's Hall of Fame, and two of his horses have been granted the same honor. O'Connor is married to fellow international event rider Karen O'Connor, and the pair operate two equestrian training facilities in the eastern United States.

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.

James Cunningham Wofford was an American equestrian who competed in many international competitions in the sport of eventing. He was most known as a trainer of both horses and riders, and as a retired president of the AHSA and vice-president of the USET.

Debbie McDonald is an American dressage rider who has competed in the Olympics and many international competitions. She now lives in Hailey, Idaho, with her husband Bob, a hunter/jumper and trainer. Debbie trains and teaches riders on Peggy and E. Parry Thomas's River Grove Farm in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Brentina was an Olympic-level dressage horse ridden by Debbie McDonald. She was owned by E. Parry Thomas.

George H. Morris is an American equestrian. He won team silver in show jumping at the 1960 Rome Olympics and is considered a founding father of hunt seat equitation. He was chef d'equipe for the United States show jumping team, which won Olympic gold under his leadership, from 2005 until 2013. He also served as chef d'equipe for the Brazilian show jumping team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Throughout his career, Morris has been a "proponent of the forward seat" and wrote several books on the subject, including Hunter Seat Equitation. Morris trained students at his Hunterdon Stables and traveling clinics, producing nationally and internationally successful riders, including Olympic champions. In 2019, after a United States Center for SafeSport investigation, Morris was banned for life from the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) due to sexual misconduct with minors. Morris is likewise banned from coaching international teams for any country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Maria Pracht</span> Canadian equestrian (1937–2021)

Eva Maria "Evi" Pracht was a Canadian equestrian who competed in dressage in the 1984 Summer Olympics and was part of the bronze-medallist team at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvonne Losos de Muñiz</span> Dominican Republic equestrian (born 1967)

Yvonne Losos de Muñiz is an Olympic athlete and international Grand Prix dressage rider. Born in Nigeria to Canadian parents, she represents the Dominican Republic internationally. She belongs to the elite Dominican Olympic athlete program CRESO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiram Tuttle (equestrian)</span> American equestrian

Hiram Edwin Tuttle was an American equestrian who competed in dressage at the 1932 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He is the only American dressage rider to win an individual medal at an Olympic Games. Tuttle was a lawyer in Boston prior to being a US Army quartermaster officer from 1930 to 1944. He owned and trained his own horses, unusual in a time when the majority of Olympic competitors rode Army-owned horses, and is buried near three of them at the cemetery in Fort Riley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edith Master</span> Jewish-American equestrian

Edith Louise Master was a Jewish-American equestrian who specialized in dressage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steffen Peters</span> American equestrian

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.

William Coleman III is an American equestrian. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed in the Individual eventing and Team eventing. At the age of six, Coleman's family moved to Charlottesville, VA where he started riding in the hunt fields of Virginia Piedmont Hunt. His father was an avid fox hunter and became his first show jumping coach. After Coleman began to focus on eventing he started training with Karen and David O’Connor, beginning an apprentice with the pair after his graduation from Woodberry Forest School.

Jonathan Michael Wentz was an American Paralympic equestrian competitor. He competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, where he finished fourth in the Grade 1b individual championship event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatriz Ferrer-Salat</span> Spanish equestrian

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.

Dr. Cesar Parra is a Colombian-American dressage rider and coach.

Heather Blitz is an American dressage rider. Blitz won team gold and individual silver in the 2011 Pan American Games, and was an alternate for the U.S. Olympic team for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Blitz taught Annie Peavy, who competed in the 2016 Paralympic Games.

Jill Irving is a Canadian Equestrian Team athlete in dressage. She is reigning Pan American Games champion in team dressage, when she won gold in 2019 in Lima. Irving was born in and grew up in Ontario but has resided in Moncton, New Brunswick since her early 20s.

Richard Rankin Fellers is an American former Olympic equestrian and horse trainer. In 2023 he pled guilty to sexually abusing one of his students when she was 17. According to the Washington County, Oregon district attorney, he will serve 30 months in state prison concurrently with a four year federal sentence.

Chris von Martels is a Canadian equestrian athlete. He won team silver and individual bronze at the 2015 Pan-American Games in Toronto. Von Martels represented Canada at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, finishing 39th in the individual competition.

References

  1. 1 2 "Robert Dover". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
  2. ↑ Dover, Robert (December 15, 2009). "A Special Issue Of Dover's World "Out For Good Hero"". Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Robert Dover (2008)". United States Dressage Federation. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Braddick, Kenneth J. (October 7, 2009). "Robert Dover Canada's New National Coach". Dressage News. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  5. ↑ "Robert Dover's foundation doesn't horse around". Pride Source. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  6. ↑ "Many gay Olympians remain cautious". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  7. ↑ "Robert Dover, the first out gay Olympic athlete". Outsports. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  8. ↑ "Robert Dover". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  9. ↑ Bryant, Jennifer O. (2000). Olympic Equestrian: The Sports and the Stories from Stockholm to Sydney. The Blood-Horse, Inc. p. 222. ISBN   1-58150-044-0.
  10. ↑ "Dressage – Team Championship" (PDF). FEI. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-27. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
  11. ↑ "USDF HOF inducts Dover, Baan". Practical Horseman: 69. January 2009.
  12. ↑ Church, Stephanie L. (October 11, 2002). "Most Influential Horsemen Announced" . The Horse. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  13. ↑ Jaffer, Nancy (February 2005). "Dressage star search!". Practical Horseman: 17.
  14. ↑ "Robert Dover and Dressage Canada Split". Dressage News. October 31, 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
  15. ↑ "Robert Dover Rehired as Interim Dressage Canada Coach". Dressage News. December 17, 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
  16. ↑ "New Dressage Canada High Performance Program Technical Leader". Horse Canada. March 24, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
  17. ↑ "Robert Dover Approved for U.S. Dressage Chef d'Equipe/Technical Advisor Position". United States Equestrian Federation. April 16, 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  18. ↑ Braddick, Kenneth J. (April 17, 2013). "Robert Dover is New USA Coach". Dressage News. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  19. ↑ "Trainers in residence". Stillpoint Farm. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.