Colonel John Russell

Colonel John Russell has dedicated his life to horses and the sport of riding, and to training young people to represent our country with honor at future national and international competitions.

Colonel Russell's riding activities include coaching of the Equestrian Team in North Italy in 1946 and 1947. He was the first American to win the Prize of Nations in Milano, Italy, Prize of Bologna, Italy, and was the leading rider of north Italy in 1947. In 1948, his assignment was to Fort Riley, Kansas, where he was an instructor of Advanced Horsemanship, and a member of the U.S. Equestrian Team. At this time his duty included the rewriting of the Manual of Horsemanship.

He placed second in the Olympic Trials for the 1948 Olympic Team. He won the individual Prize of Nations in Lucerne, Switzerland. He rode his horse, Blue Devil, named after the Division under which he served in Italy. He was jumper champion and leading rider of the Aachen Horse Show in Germany. He won the Prize of the Nations and the Puissance class in Dublin, Ireland. The same year he was the first American to win the Aga Khan Trophy and again he was the leading rider of the show. In London, White City, England, he won both the Edward, Prince of Wales, Moss Bros. Trophy and the Prize of the Nations. Representing the United States, he rode in the 1948 Olympic Games in London, England. In 1949, he won the Prize of Paris in Paris, France, the Prize of the Nations in Paris, France, and the Puissance class in Vichy, France.

At the end of 1951 he rejoined the U.S. Equestrian Team, and in 1952 won the Olympic Trials at Fort Riley, Kansas. From there he went to Monterrey, Mexico where he won the Prize of the Nations. The same year he won the West Point Challenge Trophy at Madison Square Garden, and he also participated at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with the team. In 1952, he was assigned to Germany where he took part in horse shows in Hanover, Germany, and won the Prize of the Nations. From there, he traveled to Hamburg, Germany, and won the Hamburg Derby, where he was honored as the first foreigner to ever receive an award and trophy for the best rider with best style and form in the show.

Riding his famous jumper, Democrat, he competed in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland, as a member of the first civilian U.S. Equestrian Team squad, and won the Bronze Medal.

From 1953 to 1955, Colonel Russell was assigned as Headquarters Commandant of II Corps in Germany and his riding was limited to Germany and Austria. He won the Prize of the Nations in Vienna and Graz, Austria, and was the leading rider at Tübingen, Bad Godesberg and Wiesbaden, Germany.

In 1956, Colonel Russell was reassigned to the United States and became the Officer in Charge of the U.S. Modern Pentathlon Training Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. To date, Colonel Russell has competed in three Olympic Games as a rider and coached six Olympic competitions as Chef d'Equipe for the U.S. Modern Pentathlon team. He also participated as organizer and coach in the 22nd World Championships and a number of International Competitions.

In 1959, he organized the Modern Pentathlon portion of the Pan American Games and also the first Pentathlon World Championship to be held in the United States at Hershey, Pennsylvania. In 1978, at the World Championships in Jonkoping, Sweden, he coached the U.S. Men's Pentathlon Team to first place in the riding event, and he also coached the individual winner of the Junior competition.

After his retirement from military service, Colonel Russell was the riding coach of the U.S. Modern Pentathlon Training Center at Fort Sam Houston, where he served as Officer in Charge and riding coach for twenty-five years. Since his retirement from Civil Service, he has concentrated on his riding stable, the Russell Equestrian Center, in San Antonio, Texas, where he runs a stable for hunters, jumpers, combined training, and dressage events. Some of his duties also include judging horse shows, and for many years he judged and designed the course of the Pennsylvania National Horse Show. Among his many students for the past six years, he has trained the Texas Hunt and Jumper Equitation Champion.

In 2001 Colonel Russell was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. He was also awarded the Gold Medal of Honor by the International Pentathalon Association (UIPMB).