Background
From the Hungarian Cavalry to America
Bertalan de Némethy was a Hungarian cavalry officer who became the long-serving show jumping coach of the United States Equestrian Team and one of the most influential figures in the development of modern show jumping. Over a quarter-century leading the U.S. squad, he is credited with bringing a disciplined, systematic foundation to American riders and shaping what became known internationally as the American jumping style.
De Némethy was born on February 24, 1911, in Győr, Hungary, and began riding as a child on the family farm. Encouraged by a horseman uncle, he attended the Ludovica Military Academy in Budapest, graduating in 1932 as a cavalry lieutenant. At the Hungarian cavalry school he rode six horses a day — starting on dressage horses, working on the longe line without stirrups, then riding young horses cross-country — and became an instructor in 1937. He was later sent to the German cavalry school at Hanover, the first Hungarian officer to do so, where he absorbed the German system of training.
Emigration
War, Exile, and a New Country
De Némethy's chance to compete at the Olympic Games was lost when the 1940 Games were cancelled by the Second World War. As the war reached Hungary and the Russian army approached Budapest, he and his fellow cadets fled, eventually reaching Denmark. He spent roughly six years in Copenhagen working as a riding instructor before emigrating to the United States in 1952, where he became a citizen in 1958. Settling in New Jersey, he taught riding and began designing jumping courses for horse shows in the region.
The USET Years
Building an American Powerhouse
In 1955, on the recommendation of riders William Steinkraus and Arthur McCashin, de Némethy was asked to become coach of the U.S. Equestrian Team's show jumping squad. He held the position until 1980. Inheriting talented but unpolished riders, he imposed a rigorous program built on dressage work, gymnastic jumping grids, and longeing without stirrups — fundamentals he believed horses and riders needed to reach their potential. The resulting precision and elegance became the hallmark "de Némethy style."
Under his coaching, the U.S. show jumping team won Olympic team silver in 1960 and 1972, the individual gold in 1968, and the individual bronze in 1972. His teams won Pan American Games team gold in 1959, 1963, 1975, and 1979, captured 71 of the 144 Nations Cups they contested, and won the FEI President's Trophy in 1966 and 1968. Although he retired in 1980, all four riders on the United States' 1984 Olympic gold-medal team had been trained by him, and he designed the jumping course for those Los Angeles Games.
- Coach, U.S. Equestrian Team show jumping — 1955 to 1980
- Olympic team silver — 1960 and 1972; individual gold — 1968; individual bronze — 1972
- Trained all four riders of the 1984 U.S. Olympic gold-medal team
- Designed the show jumping course for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
- Pan American Games team gold — 1959, 1963, 1975, 1979
- 71 of 144 Nations Cups won; FEI President's Trophy 1966 & 1968
- Author of The de Némethy Method (Classic Show Jumping)
- Charter inductee, Show Jumping Hall of Fame — 1987
- AHSA Lifetime Achievement Award — 1992
Method & Legacy
A System That Reshaped a Sport
De Némethy formulated his techniques from his Hungarian cavalry training and the principles of classical equitation, paying tribute to the Italian forward-seat pioneer Federico Caprilli. He was a pioneer in the American use of gymnastic cavalletti exercises to build elasticity, strength, and adjustability in the jumping horse. His methods were preserved in his classic book The de Némethy Method and an accompanying series of instructional videos.
His influence extended through the riders he developed — among them George Morris, Frank Chapot, Kathy Kusner, Joe Fargis, Conrad Homfeld, Michael Matz, Melanie Smith, Neal Shapiro, and William Steinkraus — many of whom went on to shape American show jumping for decades. De Némethy died on January 16, 2002, at the age of 90, remembered as the architect of a golden era in U.S. jumping.
