Lausanne (SUI), 12 January 2012 – Hans-Heinrich Isenbart (GER), who will be remembered by many as “the voice of equestrian sport” in Germany, passed away on 25 December 2011 at the age of 88.
He was born on 5 February 1923 in Vienna (AUT) into a family that had a passion for horses going back generations. As a young man he had wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an army officer, but his Jewish origins meant that career was denied to him in the Germany of the 1930s and 40s. He later studied law and passed his exams to become a riding instructor.
After World War II, he worked as a journalist for German broadcaster NDR, covering political and economic issues, and later took over sport coordination at ARD in Munich, where he remained until his retirement in 1987.