Bertalan de Némethy (February 24, 1911 – January 16, 2002) Frank Litsky. "Bertalan de Nemethy, 90, Equestrian Coach." New York Times ew YorkJanuary 26, 2002. was a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

officer in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and later became the

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...

coach for the United States Equestrian Team. He was influential in developing riding and training methods used by show jumpers today.Bryant, Jennifer O. ''Olympic Equestrian, A Century of International Horse Sport''. Lexington, KY: Blood-Horse Publications, 2008

Biography

Years in Europe

De Némethy began riding as a child in

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

,Horsemagazine.com. "Four Showjumping Masters." Accessed June 28, 2008. <> the son of a governor who controlled three of the 19 states. He began competing in show jumping in his teens. Due to his uncle's employment as a cavalry officer, de Némethy attended the Ludovica Military Academy, in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, and graduated in 1932 with the rank of lieutenant. He then entered the cavalry, riding six horses each day at the school, beginning with

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

horses, before having a lesson on the longe without stirrups, and then riding young horses cross-country. In 1937 he became an instructor. De Némethy's skill as a rider was exceptional, but he lost his opportunity for competition at the Olympics due to the cancellation of the 1940 Games. Instead, de Némethy was sent to train at the German cavalry school in Hanover, the first Hungarian officer to do so. There he was taught by the likes of Otto Lörke, Fritz Stecken, and Bubi Günther. He also learned the German system of training horses. World War II forced de Némethy to return to Hungary, but as the Russian Army approached Budapest, he and his fellow cadets decided to flee yet again, this time, they went to Denmark. De Némethy remained in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

for six years, employed as a riding instructor.

Move to the United States

In 1952, the U. S. Embassy permitted de Némethy to immigrate and he became a citizen in 1958. He moved to Far Hills, New Jersey, and began teaching at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York. He later designed jumping courses for

horse show A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and pony, ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrianism, equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days ...

s held in the region.

Coaching the US Show Jumping Team

In 1955, on the advice of William Steinkraus and Arthur McCashin, de Némethy was asked by the United States Equestrian Team to become the coach for the

jumping Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and ...

team. De Némethy accepted the position, holding it until 1980. During this time he trained famous competitors in the sport, including George H. Morris, Joe Fargis, Frank Chapot, Kathy Kusner, Leslie Burr, Conrad Homfeld, Michael Matz, Melanie Smith, Neal Shapiro, and William Steinkraus. He based his training on

work, jumping grids, and longeing, all of which was published in his classic book ''The de Némethy Method''. While he was their coach, the US Show Jumping Team won the team silver at the 1960 and 1972 Olympics, the 1968 individual gold, and the 1972 individual bronze. Additionally, all four riders on the 1984 gold medal-winning team had been trained by de Némethy. His teams won the team gold medal at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

in 1959, 1963, 1975, and 1979. His teams won 71 out of the 144 Nations Cups in which they competed, as well as the FEI President's Trophy in 1966 and 1968. His riders individually won 72 International Grand Prixs and more than 400 international classes. After coaching the US Team, de Némethy was sought-after as a course designer. He was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1987.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertalan De Nemethy Show jumping riders