{{Short description|American equestrian (born 1940)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Kathy Kusner | image = Kathryn Kusner 1968.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Kusner in 1968 | headercolor = | birth_name = | fullname = Kathryn Hallowell "Kathy" Kusner | nickname = | nationality = | ethnicity = | citizenship = USA | birth_date = {{birth date and age| 1940|03|21}} | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{death date and age|death year|death month|death day|birth year|birth month|birth day}} --> | death_place = | resting_place = | monuments = | residence = | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = | years_active = | employer = | agent = | height = {{convert|4|ft|11.5|in|cm}} | weight = {{convert|99|lb}} (1968) | spouse = | life_partner = | other_interests = | website = {{URL|www.kathykusner.com}} | country = | sport = Equestrian | turnedpro = | partner = | former_partner = | coach = | retired = | coaching = | worlds = | regionals = | nationals = | olympics = 1964, 1968, 1972 | paralympics = | highestranking = | pb = | medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }} {{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games }} {{MedalSilver | 1972 Munich | Team jumping }} {{MedalCompetition | Pan American Games }} {{MedalGold | 1963 Sao Paulo | Team jumping }} {{MedalSilver | 1967 Winnipeg | Team jumping }} | show-medals = | updated = }}
'''Kathryn Hallowell "Kathy" Kusner''' (born March 21, 1940) is an American equestrian and Olympic medalist in show jumping. She was one of the first women to ride for the United States Equestrian Team (USET), the first licensed female jockey, and the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in equestrian competition.
== Early life == Kathryn "Kathy" Kusner was born in Gainesville, Florida, on March 21, 1940.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/kusner-kathy-1940|title=Kusner, Kathy (1940—) – Dictionary definition of Kusner, Kathy (1940—) {{!}} Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref> Her mother was a teacher; her father was a mathematics professor at U. Florida and later a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force. She grew up with a natural affinity for horses, searching for them in fields throughout her childhood days.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.makers.com/kathy-kusner|title=Kathy Kusner|work=MAKERS|access-date=March 31, 2017|language=en}}</ref> When she first saw a horse show, she immediately knew that she wanted to ride horses for the rest of her life. However, because she did not come from a well-connected or wealthy family, she could not buy her own horse. Instead, Kusner spent her time working at the stables for $2 an afternoon. More importantly though, Kusner could ride horses and take lessons. Her riding and jumping skills quickly grew, and soon Kusner was being noticed by horse dealers. She spent much of her high school years completely immersed in the world of horses, riding and performing in shows and ring events as well as showing horses for horse dealers. Although she began by riding "their most raggedy rough horses," getting any and every experience she could, she rose to ride better horses, even riding the best jumper in the United States at the time. Since the age of 16, Kusner also participated in unrecognized flat and timber races, where she often won.
== Equestrian career == In 1958, when Kusner was 18, she was invited to the United States Equestrian Team trials.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.horse-canada.com/horses-and-history/kathy-kusner-jack-of-all-trades-master-of-all/|title=KATHY KUSNER: JACK OF ALL TRADES. MASTER OF ALL.|date=December 3, 2014|publisher=Horse Canada}}</ref> Two years later, she was named "Horsewoman of the Year" by the American Horse Shows Association.<ref name=":0" /> In 1961 at age 21, Kusner officially joined the United States Equestrian Team as the first woman member in 10 years. She helped win a team gold medal for the 1963 Pan-Am Games in San Paulo and represented the United States in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In 1967, she brought a team silver medal at the Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg and in 1968, she represented the United States for the Olympics in Mexico.<ref name=sr>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ku/kathy-kusner-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418082203/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ku/kathy-kusner-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 18, 2020|title=Kathy Kusner Bio, Stats, and Results|website=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com|access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref>
1967 also marked the year when Kusner applied for a jockey license through the Maryland Racing Commission but was denied because she was a woman.<ref name=":0" /> In an interview with ''Makers''<ref name=":1" />'','' Kusner noted that "I never, ever thought about being a woman until it was time to get a jock's license."<ref name=":1" /> At this time, Kusner was an internationally acclaimed equestrian but could not legally compete in American races without a jockey license. Kusner and her lawyer took her case to court, and in 1968 Judge Ernest A. Loveless of the Circuit Court of Prince George's County ordered her to be granted the license.<ref name="baltimoresun.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/laurel/ph-ll-female-jockey-0523-story.html|title = Rediscovering Kathy Kusner: The country's first licensed female jockey}}</ref> Kusner thus became the first licensed female jockey in the United States in October 1968.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Kusner">{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/kusner-kathy-1940|title=Kusner, Kathy (1940—) – Dictionary definition of Kusner, Kathy (1940—) {{!}} Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref><ref name="baltimoresun.com"/>
After taking time off in 1969 from a broken leg, Kusner won a silver medal in the 1972 Munich Olympics and became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in equestrian competition. Now a licensed jockey, she competed in races from Canada to Mexico, Germany, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Panama, South Africa, and what was then Rhodesia. She was also the first woman to ride in the Maryland Hunt Cup, the toughest timber race in the world.<ref name=sr/> In 1990, Kusner was inducted into United States Show Jumping Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Show Jumping Hall of Fame|url=https://showjumpinghalloffame.net/sjhof_inductees.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|website=Show Jumping Hall of Fame}}</ref><ref name=":2"/> In 2021, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kathryn Kusner |url=http://www.cowgirl.net/portfolios/christina-alvarado-shanahan-copy/ |website=Cowgirl Hall of Fame & Museum |access-date=August 20, 2021}}</ref>
== Horses in the Hood == In 1990, Kusner founded the organization, Horses in the Hood (HHLA),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://horsesinthehood.org/|title=Horses in the Hood|website=horsesinthehood.org|access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref> which brought at-risk inner-city children in the Los Angeles area to a five-day horse and riding camp. By the end of October 2014, it was recorded that over 928 at risk children and adults have taken part in 91 horse camps through HHLA.<ref name=":2" /> The camps allowed children to work with horses and develop emotional and personal bonds through learning the care and riding of horses.
== Later life == Although Kusner no longer competes, she continues to leave her legacy as a renowned equestrian by giving riding clinics all over the world. Beyond the show ring, she has worked as an expert witness concerning horse-related issues since 1983, a course designer both nationally and internationally, a television commentator for Grand Prix show jumping events and a writer for well-known equestrian journals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.showjumpinghalloffame.net/pdf/1990%20Kathy%20Kusner.pdf|title=1990 Kathy Kusner|publisher=Show Jumping Hall of Fame}}</ref> Her impact and work has had her featured in a variety of television shows, books, articles and a 2005 Library of Congress publication, ''Women Who Dare''. She was even featured in the Disney movie, The Horse in the Grey Flannel Suit, for long riding shots.
Outside of the horse world, Kusner is a licensed pilot with commercial, multi-engine, instrument, seaplane, and commercial glider ratings.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://www.kathykusner.com|title=HORSE EXPERT WITNESS – KATHY KUSNER|website=www.kathykusner.com|access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref> She obtained a Lear Jet-type rating, for the Lear 23 and 24, and became the first woman to work as a Lear Jet pilot for Executive Jet Aviation, which was the largest jet charter company in the world at that time.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" />
She is also a skilled flying acrobat, an experienced scuba, and an active marathon runner.<ref name=":4" /> She has completed 122 marathons as of September 2014 and 73 ultramarathons, including 20 races of 50 miles or longer.<ref name=":2" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Kathryn Kusner}} * http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/kathy-kusner-and-three-thoroughbreds-challenged-tradition *{{sports links}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kusner, Kathryn}} Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:Sportspeople from Gainesville, Florida Category:American female equestrians Category:American female jockeys Category:American jockeys Category:Equestrians at the 1964 Summer Olympics Category:Equestrians at the 1968 Summer Olympics Category:Equestrians at the 1972 Summer Olympics Category:Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in equestrian Category:Equestrians at the 1963 Pan American Games Category:Equestrians at the 1967 Pan American Games Category:Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Category:Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in equestrian Category:Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in equestrian Category:Aviators from Florida Category:20th-century American sportswomen