Tag Archives: In Memoriam

Community/Charity, FEI

In Memoriam: HRH Princess Lalla Amina (MAR), 1954 – 2012

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HRH Princess Lalla Amina and FEI President HRH Princess Haya at the Extraordinary General Assembly in Lausanne (SUI) in 2011. © FEI/Hugues Siegenthaler

Lausanne (SUI), 17 August 2012 – It is with great regret and sadness that the FEI has learned of the passing of HRH Princess Lalla Amina, President of the Fédération Royale Marocaine des Sports Equestres.

An emblematic figure in Moroccan equestrian sports and President of the Federation since 1999, HRH Princess Lalla Amina was a devoted and accomplished equestrian.

President of the Moroccan league for Child Protection, HRH Princess Lalla Amina was a strong advocate for children’s rights throughout her life and worked tirelessly on national legislation and the harmonisation with international laws and conventions. She was a member of the honorary committee of the global movement of mothers, Honorary President of the Hadaf Association for the protection of disabled persons and also chaired the Moroccan Association for promoting arts for the disabled.

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Community/Charity, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., FEI, Para-Equestrian

In Memoriam: Jane Goldsmith 1941 – 2012

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Jane Goldsmith, a member of the FEI Para-Equestrian Committee and one of the pioneers of Para-Dressage in Great Britain, passed away peacefully on 2 June after a long illness. Photo: British Dressage.

Lausanne (SUI), 6 June 2012 – Jane Goldsmith, a member of the FEI Para-Equestrian Committee and one of the pioneers of Para-Dressage in Great Britain, passed away peacefully on 2 June after a long illness.

Jane was born into a non-horsey family, but during her school years, she worked at a local riding school at weekends and in the evenings in return for being taught to ride. She would borrow the butcher’s delivery cart pony and go show jumping at weekends.

On leaving school, she entered the horse industry as a trainee groom, which allowed her to continue her competition training. She had great success in her competitive and training careers in Dressage, Jumping, Eventing and Racing.

During her Jumping career, she won the All-England Championship, and was runner-up to Harvey Smith as Show Jumper of the Year. In Dressage she competed and trained to Prix St Georg standard and above and became a British Dressage List 1 Judge.

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Community/Charity, FEI

In Memoriam: Dr Craig Ferrell (USA), 1949-2012

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Dr Craig Ferrell, FEI Medical Committee Chairman, who has passed away at the age of 62. © USEF

Lausanne (SUI), 30 May 2012 – It is with deep sadness that the FEI has learned of the passing of FEI Medical Committee Chairman Dr Craig Ferrell (USA). Dr Ferrell, 62, died on Monday 28 May from injuries sustained in a fall during a polo match near his home in Franklin, Tennessee.

An orthopaedic surgeon and internationally recognised sports medicine expert, Dr Ferrell received his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana. He did a surgical residency at Ochsner Foundation Hospital in the same city and specialised in orthopaedics at the Campbell Clinic in Memphis, Tennessee.

Dr Ferrell, whose clinical interests were sports medicine and joint replacement, was the founder of the Bone and Joint Clinic at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where he served as a professor and Vice Chairman of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation. He was a member of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and was elected as Chair of the FEI Medical Committee in 2007.

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Community/Charity, Dressage, FEI

In Memoriam: Holger Schmezer (GER)

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Holger Schmezer (GER), 1947-2012 © Stefan Lafrentz

Lausanne (SUI), 20 April 2012 – Holger Schmezer, national coach of the German Dressage team since 2001, passed away suddenly in the Netherlands last night. The 65-year-old was found in his hotel room in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, venue of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final 2012, to which he had travelled with the three German riders competing in the event.

Holger Schmezer was born in 1947, the son of a naval officer. At the age of 15, he discovered modern pentathlon and took particular interest in the equestrian element. He gradually concentrated on riding and began competing in Jumping and Eventing. After graduating as a certified horse trainer, he spent four years with the legendary Dressage coach Willi Schultheis.

He managed a private stable for eight years and in 1979, he established his own Dressage practice. The following year, he became a professional riding instructor and steadily gained an excellent reputation as a trainer. As a competitor, he won over 100 national competitions and was placed in numerous international events at Grand Prix level.

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Community/Charity, FEI

In Memoriam: John Quirk (USA)

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John Quirk, the American who was instrumental in bringing the FEI World Cup Finals to Del Mar and Las Vegas, passed away on 12 April.

Lausanne (SUI), 17 April 2012 – John Quirk (USA), equestrian journalist, breeder, novelist and publisher, passed away on 12 April.

John was a man of many talents. He was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and flew fighter jets on and off the navy carriers, before starting an automotive engineering business in Detroit, the then epicentre of car manufacturing. At the same time, he wrote best-selling novels including No Red Ribbons and The Hard Winner.

In 1968, he married Tish, a well-known equine photographer and sport horse breeder. Tish introduced John to the horse world and they went on to breed several champions, including Olympic gold medallists Calypso (USA) and The Freak (GER), and FEI Nations Cup winners Victor (USA) and Van Gogh (SUI).

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Community/Charity, FEI

In Memoriam: Count Dieter Von Landsberg-Velen (GER)

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Count Dieter von Landsberg-Velen (17 December 1926 - 15 April 2012) © Jacques Toffi

Lausanne (SUI), 16 April 2012 – FEI Honorary Vice President and Honorary President of the German Equestrian Federation Count Dieter von Landsberg-Velen has passed away at the age of 86.

Count Maximilian Dietrich von Landsberg-Velen was born on 17 December 1926 at Wocklum castle in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. He took over his parents’ agricultural and forestry business when he was still at university. At the age of 23, he was elected Chairman of the Balve riding club which was the start of his illustrious career in equestrian sport.

In 1968, he united the various sports and breeding organisations which had emerged after World War II into a single German Equestrian Federation, which he chaired for almost three decades until 1997. From 1973, he served as Chairman of the German Olympic Committee for Equestrian Sports (DOKR). The same year he was elected as President of the German Olympic Committee. He was FEI Vice President and Bureau member from 1979 to 1997 and remained in the role of FEI Honorary Vice President until his death.

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Community/Charity, Eventing/H.T., FEI

In Memoriam: Amy Tryon (USA)

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Amy Tryon, seen here with Coal Creek on the Rolex Kentucky Cross Country course in 2010, passed away on 12 April. (Photo: Mike McNally/USEF)

Lausanne (SUI), 13 April 2012 – Amy Tryon, team bronze medallist for the USA at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, passed away yesterday (12 April).

Born in Redmond, Washington State on 24 February 1970, Amy and her older sister got their first pony when Amy was just one. She started competing at the age of five and rode at her first event when she was just eight.

She found her top horse, the former racehorse Poggio II, in a classified advertisement in the Seattle Times newspaper. Together Amy and Poggio represented the USA at two Olympic Games, Athens 2004 and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong, and two FEI World Equestrian Games, winning team gold in Jerez de la Frontera (ESP) in 2002 and individual bronze in Aachen (GER) in 2006.

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Community/Charity, FEI, Show Jumping

In Memoriam: Camilla Enemark (DEN)

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Denmark’s Camilla Enemark competing on Regino at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2011 in Madrid, Spain. Image: Benedicte Krüger Nielsen.

Lausanne (SUI), 12 April 2012 – Camilla Enemark, the 31-year-old Danish Jumping rider, passed away on Tuesday (10 April) after losing her battle against an aggressive brain tumour first diagnosed in 2006.

Born on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1980, Camilla started riding competitively when she was 12 years old, going on to claim the Danish national championship in 1996.

Despite undergoing chemotherapy, she rode on the Danish team at last year’s FEI European Jumping Championships at Spain’s Club de Campo Villa de Madrid with Regino, and also competed in the FEI Nations Cup Top League 2011 series in Hickstead, Dublin and Rotterdam.

Camilla was married to jumping rider Peter Enemark, and together they ran the sales and training barn PC Horses in Næstved, just south of the Danish capital Copenhagen, training Jumping horses from novice level up to Grand Prix.

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Community/Charity, FEI

In Memoriam: René Pasquier (FRA)

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René Pasquier (FRA), President of the Organising Committee for the popular CSIO in La Baule, has passed away at the age of 71. Image: PSV Jean Morel.

Lausanne (SUI), 17 February 2012 – René Pasquier, who served as President of the Organising Committee for the popular CSIO in La Baule (FRA) for the last 25 years, passed away yesterday (16 February).

La Baule, which celebrated 50 years of international Jumping in 2010, traditionally hosts the first leg of the FEI Nations Cup Top League, one of the FEI’s flagship series. René Pasquier was the driving force behind the show and it was his vision and drive that made La Baule into one of the most popular events on the international calendar.

“René Pasquier was a truly wonderful man who dedicated himself tirelessly to making La Baule the iconic event it is today, where the world’s best Jumping riders convene for the first CSIO of the outdoor season,” said FEI President HRH Princess Haya.

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Community/Charity, Phelps Media Group

The USET Foundation Mourns Loss of John H. “Jack” Fritz: 1925 – 2012

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John H. "Jack" Fritz: 1925 - 2012. Photo courtesy of the client

Gladstone, NJ – February 10, 2012 – The United States Equestrian Team Foundation remembers today John H. Fritz, 87, of Rockford, IL and formerly of Gladstone, N.J. Fritz was a graduate of Princeton University and a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, played a key role in nearly every aspect of the equestrian world from founding organizations to governing and officiating. Jack Fritz dedicated his life to promoting equestrian sports.

Fritz was an integral part of the United States Equestrian Team for nearly three decades. He was a member of the USET Board of Directors since the early 1960s and an officer since 1974 which includes his role as USET Vice President for Administration and Chief Executive Officer from 1974-1989. He served as Secretary for nearly two decades before retiring in 1999. After retiring he continued to serve as a volunteer member of the Board and Assistant Secretary, and was an Honorary Trustee at the time of his passing.

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