Snowbound (horse)
| Snowbound | |
|---|---|
| Breed | Thoroughbred |
| Discipline | Show jumping |
| Sire | Hail Victory |
| Dam | Gay Alvena |
| Foaled | 1958 |
| Color | Dark bay |
| Trainer | Bill Steinkraus |
| Major wins | |
| Individual gold medal, 1968 Olympics | |
| Honors | |
| Inducted into Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 2005 | |
Snowbound (March 21, 1958 - December 16, 1989) was the first horse to be ridden to an Olympic individual gold medal by an American rider. The rider was
Bill Steinkraus at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City
.
Life and career
Snowbound was
racehorse for several years in California, before being sold to Hall of Fame show jumper Barbara Worth Oakford.[2] By that time, Snowbound had suffered two tendon injuries in his legs. Oakford said that the horse "might as well be snowbound as to think he'd make a show horse" and the name Snowbound stuck. In 1964, Snowbound was seen at a show by Sir John Galvin, who purchased him for the United States Equestrian Team. Snowbound soon became the mount of show jumping rider William "Bill" Steinkraus.[1]
In 1965, Snowbound and Steinkraus won four
Mexico City Olympic Games. Snowbound was one of only two horses to go clear in the first round of the Olympics. In the next round, no horse went clear.[2] During the final round of the competition, Steinkraus felt that something was not right when Snowbound jumped the penultimate fence. However, he finished the course with a clean round and the best time, winning the individual gold.[1] At the end of the course, Snowbound came up lame with a recurrence of his tendon problem,[3] and left the ring on three legs.[1] He and Steinkraus were the first American horse and rider to win an individual gold medal in Olympic equestrian competition.[1] At the age of 14, Snowbound was retired to Galvin's farm outside Dublin.[2]
On April 2, 2005, Snowbound was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Iliff Prax, Elizabeth. "Part 1 - Salute to the American Thoroughbred: Snowbound". Practical Horseman. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ a b c Steinkraus, William C. (8 January 2014). "Throwback Thursday: My Memories Of Snowbound". The Chronicle of the Horse. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ Battersby, Eileen (1 August 2016). "Eileen Battersby: 10 names forever etched in Olympic lore". Irish Times. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ "Show Jumping Hall of Fame Inducts Snowbound". Equisearch. 23 June 2005. Retrieved 14 September 2016.