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Steinbrecht, Gustav
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William Clark Steinkraus was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 12, 1925. He started riding at the age of 9 and rode in his first National Horse Show at the age of 12. During World War II, he served with the Army's last mounted regiment and helped reopen the Burma Road, an important supply route for Allied forces. After the war, he graduated from Yale University.
He was named to the United States Equestrian Team in 1951. He rode for the team for 22 years, was captain for 17 years, and retired from international competition in 1972. He made all six United States Olympic teams from 1952 through 1972, missing only the 1964 Games in Tokyo when his horse pulled up lame at the last moment. He also won team silver medals in Rome in 1960 and in Munich in 1972, and a team bronze in 1952 in Helsinki. He won an Olympic individual gold medal in show jumping in Mexico City in 1968. It was the United States first Olympic individual gold medal in any equestrian discipline. He was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1987.
He worked as an editor in book publishing in New York and wrote several books on the sport including Reflections on Riding and Jumping: Winning Techniques for Serious Riders. He also wrote for the magazine Chronicle of the Horse. He died on November 29, 2017 at the age of 92.
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