The son of Swiss cavalry commander and horse rider Hans Bühler, who won jumping team silver at the 1924 Olympics, Tony Bühler followed his father’s footsteps and served with the Swiss cavalry from 1942-45 and later became a top Swiss equestrien. Bühler competed in eventing at three Olympic Games, each 12 years apart – 1948, 1960, 1972. The high point of his career was likely the 1960 Olympics, when he won the individual eventing bronze and helped the Swiss team to capture a silver medal. Five years earlier, at the 1955 European Championships, Bühler won the eventing team silver with his father and brother Marc. Bühler also competed twice at the Badminton Horse Trials – in 1951 and in 1968 – completing the event on both occasions and was a six-time national eventing champion. Bühler retired from competition after the 1972 Olympics, but remained active in riding circles. At the 1980 Olympics, Bühler was the designer of the cross-country course for eventing and at the 1988 Olympics was president of the ground jury. Outside of sports, Bühler, who studied agricultural engineering at Zürich and Cambridge Universities, ran his own farming and forestry business.
Switzerland