- Christopher Bartle
-
Personal information Full name Christopher John Bartle Nationality 
EnglandBorn 19 February 1952
HarrogateResidence Harrogate, North Yorkshire, UK Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight 143 lb (65 kg; 10.2 st) Website [1] Sport Country 
United KingdomSport Equestrianism Event(s) Dressage, Eventing Turned pro 1976 Coached by Mrs Nicole Bartle, Hans von Blixen-Finecke, Jr. Retired 2003 Achievements and titles World finals 2nd - 1992 Nashua Dressage World Cup National finals 1st - 1984, 1985 Olympic finals 6th - 84' Los Angeles (Holds British Record) Personal best(s) Individual C'ship Dressage - 6th (1984, NR) Medal record Eventing Competitor for United KingdomEuropean Eventing Championships Gold 1997 Burghley Team Eventing Christopher Bartle (born 19 February 1952 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire) is a British equestrian who has enjoyed success in both Dressage and Eventing. He is currently the Managing Director of the Yorkshire Riding Centre[1] and from 2001 together with Hans Melzer, he is the German 3 Day Eventing National Team Trainer.[2] Chris is the brother of Jane Bartle-Wilson, who was also an Olympian in the 84' Los Angeles Olympics.
Contents
The Early Years
Chris was educated at Ampleforth College and the University of Bristol were he obtained a BSc(Econ) with honours in Economics. After his university years Chris was an amateur jockey, but being 5ft11 he struggled to keep his weight down in order to establish himself. This prompted his first spell in Three day eventing. He was initially trained by his mother, Mrs Nicole Bartle and then later by Hans von Blixen-Finecke, Jr., (A Double Gold Medalist @ the 1952 Helsinki Olympics for Three day Eventing).
Competitor
Dressage
Most notably while preparing for the 76' Burghley Horse Trials his horse picked up a tendon injury that forced the horse into retirement from eventing. But as one door closed another opened, and the same horse showed potential in Dressage. 1 year later he was competing at the World Championships as an individual. That horse was Wily Trout. The combination went on to become part of the British Dressage Team from 1981-1987. In this time he competed at the 84' Summer Olympics in Los Angeles for the British team. The team came 8th, but Chris Bartle tied for 6th in the individual event to make history by becoming the highest placed Brit. A record he still holds to this day (As of January 2011). Chris and Wily Trout's last major contribution in dressage came when they won a Silver medal in the first Nashua Dressage World Cup in S'hertogenbosch, Holland 1986. This period was capped off when he was awarded the British Equestrian Federation's Medal of Honour in 1986.
Three Day Eventing
Bartle then took the opportunity to turn back to eventing and had a whole host of successes which included winning team Gold at the 1997 European Championships with the British Event Team, before winning the prestigious Badminton Horse Trials in 1998, on his horse Word Perfect II.[3] He also travelled with Word Perfect to the Sydney Olympics in 2000, as reserve.
Past Rides
- Dressage - Wily Trout & Honey Tangle
- Eventing - Wily Trout, Up River, Castle Hill, Word Perfect II, Oscar
Trainer
British National Team
After his successful Dressage period Chris was invited to train the British Eventing team, where he went to the 96' Atlanta[2] and 00' Sydney[3] Olympic games. In 1995 Christopher received the British Horse Society's Trainers Award and in 2001 was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the British Horse Society
German National Team
Since 2001 Chris has been the National Coach to the German Olympic Three Day Event Team - Winners of Team and Individual Gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and Michael Jung, Individual World Champion Kentucky 2010. His wealth of experience lead to him writing Training the Sport Horse, which he co-authored with Gilliam Newsum. The book was published by J. A. Allen in 2004.[4]
Training Individuals
Locally Christopher trains many British International level riders, notably for many years the British team rider Nicola Wilson from Northallerton, North Yorkshire.
Yorkshire Riding Centre
Chris has been the Managing Director and resident instructor at the Yorkshire Riding Centre for many years, developing a wealth of knowledge. He does not exclusively teach international or high level competition riders, and is known to teach developing riders on their own horses.
Accomplishments
Dressage
- Highest placed British Dressage rider in the Olympic Games to date (6th, 1984 Los Angeles Olympics)
- National Dressage Champion in 1984 and 1985
- 4th place at the 1985 European Championships
- 2nd place at the 1986 Nashua Dressage World Cup
- Awarded the British Equestrian Federation's Medal of Honour in 1986.
Eventing
- 1991 Scottish Open Champion (Up River)
- Placed at 1995 Burghley CCI**** (Castle Hill)
- 3rd at 1996 Blenheim ***
- 5th at 1996 Bramham ***
- Completed 1997 Badminton ****
- 1997 Scottish Open Champion (Word Perfect)
- Team Gold Medal at the 1997 European Championships
- 1st at the 1998 Badminton Horse Trials CCI**** (Word Perfect)
- 1st at the 1999 Achselschwang Horse Trials *** (Oscar)
- 5th at the 2000 Burghley **** (Word Perfect)
- Reserve for Sydney 2000 British Event Team (Word Perfect)
Training
- Was awarded the British Horse Society's Trainers Award in 1995
- Dressage Trainer to British Event Team at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Games
- German National Trainer Eventing since 2001 (together with Hans Melzer)
- Was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the British Horse Society in 2001
Citations
- ^ http://www.yrc.co.uk/instructor/christopher-bartle-fbhs
- ^ a b short biography of Chris Bartle, Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung (German Equestrian Federation)
- ^ a b Murphy "Bartle finds right lines" The Independent
- ^ "Training the Sport Horse" Amazon.com
References
- "Current Profession". Yorkshire Riding Centre. http://www.yrc.co.uk/instructor/christopher-bartle-fbhs. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- "Christopher Bartle". Sports Reference. http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/christopher-bartle-1.html. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
- Murphy, Genevieve. "Bartle finds right lines on Word Perfect". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/bartle-finds-right-lines-on-word-perfect-700479.html. Retrieved 2 September 2000.
- "Training the Sport Horse". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Training-Sport-Horse-Christopher-Bartle/dp/0851318541. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
Categories:- Dressage riders
- Event riders
- British equestrians
- Living people
- 1952 births
- Olympic equestrians of Great Britain
- Equestrians at the 1984 Summer Olympics
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