Olympic show jumping medalist Anne Kursinski of Frenchtown will be inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame next month at the Devon Horse Show.
A veteran of three Olympics, she finished fourth at the 1988 Games at Starman, owned by Fran Steinwedell, who is also being inducted into the Hall. Fran’s other horses included Livius, on whom Anne took team and individual gold medals at the 1983 Pan American Games.
Anne, a two-timeAmerican Horse Shows Association Horsewoman of the Year, is also an author, trainer and active in equestrian governance, serving on the USEF board of directors.
Fran was president of the Flintridge Riding Club, where she worked with Jimmy Williams to develop show jumping on the West Coast. She initiated the Grand Prix of Flintridge, the second ever held on the west coast and one of the first FEI World Cup Qualifiers in the west. She was also a founding member of the American Grandprix Association (AGA), and she has served on many boards including the Pacific Coast Horse Shows Association (PCHA) for 20 years. She was PCHA Horsewoman of the year in 1992.
The mother of Francie Steinwedell Carvin, who won both the ASPCA Maclay and the USEF Medal classes as a junior, Steinwedell was the first person ever to reach 35 years as a member of the USET Gold Medal Club.
Also being inducted is The Natural, the first show jumper sold for $1 million. He won the 1987 World Cup finals with Katherine Burdsall (now Heller), who also rode him on the 1986 U.S. gold medal world championships team.
The horse also was shown by Katie Monahan (now Prudent), Terry Rudd, Rodney Jenkins and Alice Debany, who won the Queen Elizabeth II Cup with him at Spruce Meadows in Canada.
He was retired in 1994 and died in 2008 at the age of 31.
Recognized for his many governance roles, Walter B. Devereux III who will be inducted posthumously was a polo devotee who served as president of the National Horse Show Association.
Walter owned several hunters and jumpers with his wife Bunny and their daughters, Lindly and Anne, also rode and competed. Always ready to do what he could to help support the sport, Devereux purchased and then permanently loaned the legendary jumpsd Sinjon to the USET, where he became a hugely successful mount for Olympic riders George Morris, Kathy Kusner, and Bill Steinkraus. Sinjon won many international competitions around the world with those riders, participated on 19 winning Nations’ Cup teams, and helped the U.S. win a team Silver Medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics with Morris in the saddle. Sinjon was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1999.
Walter also served as an officer and director of the American Horse Shows Association and the USET, as well as the FEI Bureau.
Walter, who died in 1970, served as a judge of equestrian competition. The Walter B. Devereux Sportsmanship Award is presented annually to the horseman or horsewoman who personifies the ideals of sportsmanship through commitment, dedication and service to the sport.