Lis Hartel, Danish Equestrian Legend, Dies
Lis Hartel and Jubilee
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Lis Hartel, an equestrian who won two Olympic silver medals for Denmark in the 1950s despite being paralyzed below the knees because of polio, has recently died, according to the Danish Equestrian Federation. She was 87.
Lis Hartel’s equestrian career was one of true heroism.
In 1944, at age 23, Hartel was paralyzed by polio.
She gradually regained use of most of her muscles, although she remained paralyzed below the knees. Her arms and hands also were affected.
Against medical advice, she continued to ride but needed help to get on and off the horses.
After three years of rehabilitation, she was able to compete in the Scandinavian riding championships.
In 1952, she was chosen to represent Denmark in the Helsinki Olympics. Prior to this time women were not permitted to compete in the Olympic Equestrian events.
Even though she required help on and off her horse, Jubilee, she won the Olympic Silver Medal.
Lis Hartel and Jubilee
with Gold Medalist, Henri St-Cyr
Following her stunning performance, as Lis was helped down from her horse, a gentleman rushed to her side. It was the Gold medal winner, Henri Saint Cyr. He carried her to the victory platform for the medal presentation.
It was one of the most emotional moments in Olympic history.
Lis Hartel at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.
She became the first woman ever to share
an Olympic podium with men.
In 1954, Lis Hartel won the unofficial World Championships in Aachen, and the Olympic Silver Medal in the 1956 Olympics held in Stockholm. She became the Danish National Dressage Champion seven times.
Lis Hartel was the first Scandinavian woman entered into The International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in New York, and was named one of Denmark’s all-time top 10 athletes in 2005.
In 1992, Hartel was included in the Scandinavian country’s Hall of Fame.
Lis Hartel is widely credited with inspiring the therapeutic riding schools that are now located throughout the world.
Shortly after winning the Olympic medal, Lis Hartel and her therapist founded Europe’s first Therapeutic Riding Center. This soon came to the attention of the medical community and Therapy Riding Centers spread throughout Europe.
By the late 1960’s equine riding was accepted by the America Medical Association as an “invaluable therapeutic tool”.
Today, the spirit of Lis Hartel lives on around the world.
Through her inspiration countless handicapped children and adults have become heroes in their own lives through their work with horses.
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Re-written from news sources
What’s To Happen To Peter Rabbit ?
Peter Rabbit
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October 2008
An old horse who wants nothing more than to eat grass in the Nebraska city of Hickman is now something of a media celebrity.
Peter Rabbit, 32, has grazed his pasture since the day he was born, but the suburbs have encroached and the town fathers say it’s time for Peter Rabbit to go.
His owner says the quarter horse is too old to move. Peter Rabbit and his owner are not budging.
Talk about your one horse town, Hickman, with 1,084 residents is just that despite a town bylaw saying horses are not welcome within its limits.
But some folks don’t want that distinction. They want an aging horse named Peter Rabbit gone for good.
With houses having sprung up around Peter Rabbit’s pasture, Mayor Jim Hrouda and five of the six City Council members are determined to enforce the livestock ban.
Shortly after a council meeting, the horse’s owner, 76-year-old Harley Scott, was served an eviction notice that orders the animal off the land, plus an infringement notice, which could cost him $100 every day if the authorities want to keep issuing them.
Other folks say the horse should stay, despite an ordinance that bans livestock inside city limits.
“I feel bad for the poor horse. He’s probably going to die soon anyway,” said Jamie Cox, who manages the town bar, Sadie’s Place.
“As long as he’s being taken care of, they should leave him alone.”
Scott said he has raised Peter Rabbit since the brown Morgan-quarter horse crossbreed was born in his pasture in the spring of 1976.
There have been horses on this land since Scott’s father bought 40 acres in 1935. Only about four acres remain in the family.
His land was annexed in 2006, but Scott said no one said anything to him at the time about having to give up the horse.
Scott said. “I would prefer to have him remain as stable as he is and be able to enjoy the remainder of his life.
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It appears … this dispute is far from over.
Olympian “Poggio” ~ A Former Pack Horse
From humble beginnings,
Poggio proves to be a winner.
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Amy Tryon and Poggio II , the 16 year old bay thoroughbred gelding, are again representing the U.S. Olympic eventing team in Hong Kong.
Tryon, 38, helped win the team bronze medal on Poggio II at the 2004 Athens Games. And now they are back for the 2008 Olympics.
A decade ago, while most of his competitors were being groomed for blue ribbons or thoroughbred racing, Poggio was lugging camping gear and other equipment up and down the Cascade Range east of Seattle.
Tryon, a recently retired firefighter from Duvall, Wash., didn’t find Poggio in a stall.
She didn’t witness the veiled potential of a horse that has since won an individual bronze medal at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Germany and helped the U.S. equestrian team to a bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics and gold at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Spain.
She found the only horse to qualify for every U.S. national team over the last six years in the classified ads of a newspaper.
“Poggio’s definitely had some humble beginnings, to say the least,” said Joanie Morris, communications manager for the United States Equestrian Federation.
“I’d have to say he’s the only pack horse to be in the Olympics. He’s an anomaly, for sure. Not too many Olympic horses are found in the want-ads.”
It was not love at first sight.
“He was in pretty sad shape,” Tryon said. “His feet needed attention. He had been living in a paddock with a bunch of horses and was a bit chewed up. And his feet were not put on his body very straight. He had long hair that needed cut.
“He certainly wasn’t a show horse.”
Poggio had a short and failed career in thoroughbred racing before becoming a pack horse.
Tryon’s challenge: Make Poggio a master of dressage – the disciplined display of natural movements often called “horse ballet” – plus show jumping and cross-country racing.
Throughout exhaustive retraining, Poggio showed his inherent jumping ability.
Within one year, he was the first horse Tryon rode in a world-class eventing competition. Three years later, they were world champions.
Now they are back for the 2008 Olympics.
Tryon says, “I’m planning this to be Pogie’s last big international competition. He certainly doesn’t owe me anything,” she said.
“What I want for him is to step away from competition when he is still healthy and happy.”
Reaching the Olympics twice … “Oh, yeah,” Tryon said, “this is certainly much more than I expected Poggio and I to achieve.
”I’m so proud of my horse” Tryon said.
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Link: Tryon and Poggio Olympic Blog
Re-written from News Sources
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