Baron Nils Gustaf Fredrik Bror "Hans" von Blixen-Finecke Jr. (20 July 1916 – 16 February 2005) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

officer and

horse rider The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

. He competed in the three-day

eventing Eventing (also known as three-day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where the same horse and rider combination compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...

at the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

and

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

and won individual and team gold medals in 1952.

Early life

Von Blixen-Finecke was born on 20 July 1916 in

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

, Sweden, the son of Baron

Hans von Blixen-Finecke Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

, who won an Olympic bronze in dressage in 1912, and his wife Baroness Brita Trolle. He was the nephew of

Bror von Blixen-Finecke Baron Bror Fredrik von Blixen-Finecke (25 July 1886 – 4 March 1946) was a Swedish nobleman, writer, professional hunter and guide on African big-game hunts. He was married to Karen Blixen (née Dinesen) from 1914 to 1925. Personal life ...

and writer

Karen Blixen Baroness Karen Christentze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countries; Ta ...

. He was born as Nils Gustaf Fredrik Bror, but since the age of one was called Hans after his father, who died in an airplane crash. He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...

'' at

Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket (SSHL) is a coeducational independent school for boarding and day students between the ninth and twelfth grades. It is located in Sigtuna, Sweden. The school is attended by Swedish boarders, local children an ...

in 1934.

Career

von Blixen-Finecke Jr. was commissioned as an officer in 1937, serving in the Life Regiment of Horse (K 1). In 1950, he was promoted to ''

ryttmästare ''Ryttmästare'' (from the German word ''Rittmeister'') was a military rank in the Swedish cavalry in the Swedish Army. The rank corresponded to the rank of captain in other service branches. The rank was abolished in 1972. History The military ...

'' in the

Life Regiment Hussars The Life Regiment Hussars (; designated K 3) is one of the world's oldest regiments still active. The regiment descends directly from units set up by King Gustav I of Sweden (Gustav Vasa) in 1536, when Sweden set up a draft of horses and ...

(K 3) and to major in

North Scanian Infantry Regiment North Scanian Infantry Regiment (), designation I 6, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that operated from 1812 to 1963. The unit was based in the Kristianstad Garrison in Kristianstad. In 1963 the regiment was transferred to the Swedish Armoure ...

(I 6) in 1957. von Blixen-Finecke served as commanding officer of the

Swedish Army Riding and Horse-Driving School Swedish Army Riding and Horse-Driving School (, RS) was a Swedish Army equestrian facility which operated from 1868 to 1970. Its tasks from the 1930s were to train commanders at the infantry and cavalry into instructors and more in Driving (horse) ...

from 1959 to 1964. In 1964 he left the Swedish Army and moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where he established his own equestrian centre in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

before moving in the early 1970s to

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Personal life

In 1941, he married Baroness Anna Beck-Friis (born 1921), the daughter of Baron Jochum Beck-Friis and Signe Grenander, with whom he had two children, Hans (born 1942) and Gustaf (born 1945). In 1959, he married Anne Hetherington (born 1923), the daughter of Harry Hetherington and Merriell MacMahon.

Awards and decorations

Knight of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

* Ryttarolympisk förtjänstguldmedalj ("Olympic Equestrian Medal of Merit in Gold") * ''Svensk ridsports guldmedalj'' ("Swedish Equestrian Sport Gold Medal") * ''Svensk ridsports hederstecken'' ("Swedish Equestrian Sport Badge of Honor")

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blixen-Finecke, Hans Jr. 1916 births 2005 deaths Swedish nobility Swedish event riders Olympic equestrians for Sweden Swedish male equestrians Equestrians at the 1952 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in equestrian Swedish Army officers Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics 20th-century Swedish sportsmen Sportspeople from Linköping