Klaus Balkenhol

German dressage rider Klaus Balkenhol, the father of Anabel, won team gold medals at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics of Barcelona and Atlanta. He also won individual bronze in 1992 and finished sixth in 1996, riding Goldstern.

In 1994, Balkenhol was also a member of the gold medal-winning team at the World Championships. His greatest individual moment came the following year when he won individual silver. In 1993 and 1995, Balkenhol also won the team gold at the Europeans. He won the national individual title four times in 1991-93, and 1995.

Balkenhol later turned to coaching and was the chief German national dressage coach until 2000. From 2001-08 he was then the United States chief national coach. He returned to Germany in 2019 to coach individual dressage riders. In 1992 Balkenhol was awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award. He also received the German media prize Bambi the same year, with the dressage team.