Bertalan de Némethy

Bertalan de Némethy (February 24, 1911 – January 16, 2002) was a cavalry officer in Hungary and later became the show jumping coach for the United States Equestrian Team. He was influential in developing riding and training methods used by show jumpers today.

De Némethy began riding as a child in Győr, Hungary, the son of a governor who controlled three of the nineteen states. He began competing in show jumping in his teens. Due to his uncle's employment as a cavalry officer, de Némethy attended the Ludovica Military Academy, in Budapest, and graduated in 1932 with the rank of lieutenant. He then entered the cavalry, riding six horses each day at the school, beginning with dressage horses, before having a lesson on the longe without stirrups, and then riding young horses cross-country. In 1937 he became an instructor.

De Némethy's skill as a rider was exceptional, but he lost his opportunity for competition at the Olympics due to the cancellation of the 1940 Games. Instead, de Némethy was sent to train at the German cavalry school in Hanover, the first Hungarian officer to do so. There he was taught by the likes of Otto Lörke, Fritz Stecken, and Bubi Günther. He also learned the German system of training horses.

World War II forced de Némethy to return to Hungary, but as the Russian Army approached Budapest, he and his fellow cadets decided to flee yet again, this time, they went to Denmark. De Némethy remained in Copenhagen for six years, employed as a riding instructor.

In 1952, U. S. Embassy permitted de Némethy to emigrate and he became a citizen in 1958. He moved to Far Hills, New Jersey, and began teaching at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York. He later designed jumping courses for horse shows held in the region.

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