Lexington, Ky., Sept. 29, 2010 — U.S. rider Steffen Peters made history today when he rode Ravel to the Grand Prix Special individual bronze medal in the Dressage World Championships, presented by Alltech, at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. He is the first American ever to win an individual medal in the World Championships.
Peters, 46, from San Diego, Calif., scored 78.54 percent, to finish behind gold medalist Edward Gal of the Netherlands on Moorlands Totilas (85.70%) and Laura Bechtolsheimer, 25, of Great Britain, on Mistral Hojris (81.70%). The three riders finished yesterday’s team Grand Prix in the same order.
Peters was born in Germany and immigrated to United States in 1992. He rode on his first U.S. team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, winning the team bronze medal. At the 2006 World Equestrian Games, Peters and Ravel, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, led the U.S. team to the bronze medal. They finished a painfully close fourth in the 2008 Olympics, and in 2009 they won the FEI World Cup Final.