Fritz Ligges
Fritz Ligges ( born July 29, 1938 in isopods, † 21 May 1996 in Herbern ) was a German eventing and show jumping and national coach of the youth. He has enjoyed success in the 1960s to the 1980s, among other things, he won individual and team medals at Olympic Games.
Biography
Private
Ligges was born into a family of farmers. His father bred draft horses as working animals for the sale and stopped a few ponies. On these ponies Ligges learned at an early age to ride and handle horses. He attended secondary school in Dortmund and after graduating there, the agricultural college to one day take over the farm of his father. His two years' practical training in a farm he broke off prematurely, to devote himself entirely to the horse riding can.
In 1968 he married his wife Ulrike (born Lauter Jung), with whom he had two sons.
Sporty
In 1959 he drew attention to himself by successes on rural tournaments and was invited by DOKR to courses to Warendorf, where he was instructed by Hans Günter Winkler. At this time Ligges main focus was still on the versatility cavalry. As early as 1960 he qualified in this discipline for the Olympic Games, but was still not nominated because they were more experienced riders prefer. 1961 and 1962 he won the German championship with a hair dryer in each of Eventing.
In order to optimally prepare for the Olympic Games in 1964, he settled in 1962 for two years with his horses in Warendorf over. The qualification was successful and this time also no doubt as to his nomination was, even though his best horse turned out injured hairdryer. On his second horse, Don Cossack, he won at the Olympic competitions bronze medals in the team and in the individual standings. After the games, he oriented around and dedicated himself primarily to the show jumping.
From 1967 to Ligges committed more and more as a coach, which he nicknamed "Ladies Coach " got missed by his rider colleagues because he mostly taught Amazons.
For the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Ligges could re-qualify and was also nominated for the team. And although he and his horse Robin were assessed prior to the weakest pair of German quartet with Gerd Wiltfang, Hartwig Steenken and Hans Günter Winkler, they demonstrated their skill and finished as the best German couple the team competition, the team finished with the gold medal.
Shortly after the Olympic competition, his horse Robin broke his leg and had to be euthanized after a long battle eventually. That was another reason that Ligges be focused more and more on the training of young horses and riders. For example, the former Swiss talent Markus Fuchs was trained at Ligges.
Parallel to his career Ligges also engaged in breeding and built his own stud, whose first was a figurehead until its sale in 1979 to Leon Melchior Zangersheide stallion by Ramiro. Also in 1979 Ligges sold the family farm and built in Munster a new property, where the stud is located Ligges today.
For the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, he qualified for the last time and won on Ramzes team bronze medal.
1986 Ligges retired from active sports and assumed the post of national coach of the junior and young riders, with whom he won a total of 34 medals at international championships until 1996. In 1990 the title of the riding master, he was awarded by the FN. In addition, he was strongly committed to the Westphalian Studbook, whose board he served for ten years and where he was a member of the Evaluation Committee and the auction team.
May 21, 1996 Ligges died of a heart attack in his hometown Herbern. In his memory a newly built street was named as Fritz Ligges Street in 2010 in the Dortmund district isopods.
Achievements
- Olympic Games: 1964 Tokyo: Bronze medal team, bronze medal individual on Don Cossack in eventing
- 1972 Munich: Gold medal team, individual ranking eighth on Robin in the show jumping
- 1984 Los Angeles: Bronze medal team at Ramzes Jumping
- 2x German Champion of Eventing (1961 and 1962 respectively on hair )
- Winner of the Grand Prix of Germany ( 1966 Finette )