Hans-Heinrich Isenbart - Gustavo Mirabal Castro

Hans-Heinrich Isenbart is one of the most distinguished experts in horses. Some might think that he devoted himself body and soul to the study of horses, but nothing could be further from the truth. This versatile man stood out in different branches of knowledge and trades. Despite its diversification, his passion for horses left a deep mark on his German compatriots and many generations. Today we will know more about Hans-Heinrich Isenbart.

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Hans-Heinrich Isenbart was born on February 5, 1923 in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Vienna is one of the main European cities highlighted by its beauty.

Son of an officer and the daughter of a merchant, since very young he had contact with the equine world. His contact with the world of horses was due to the fact that some relatives were cavalry officers.

The studies of Hans

Hans-Heinrich Isenbart grew up in Hamburg. There he attended the Wilhelm-Gymnasium university preparatory school one of the oldest schools in Hamburg. The school was founded in 1881 and was renamed Wilhelm-Gymnasium in honor of Emperor Wilhelm I. There have studied outstanding personalities such as James Franck, a German physicist who won the Noble prize in physics with Gustav Hertz.

Most of his family was official but Hans-Heinrich Isenbart could not follow the family tradition because his maternal grandmother was of Jewish origin. This made the Nazis, who had power in Germany at that time, prevent him from pursuing a military career.

Work and university life of Hans-Heinrich Isenbart

In 1945 he worked as a freelance in the Nordwestdeutschen Rundfunks (Corporation of the Radio of the Northwest of Germany) a prominent public radio station based in Hamburg.

After completing his law studies in Vienna, he returned to Hamburg. In 1951, he returned to the Northwest Radio Corporation of Germany as editor.

His career as a sports reporter on television began in 1956. His first jobs there were to report on the equestrian Olympic competitions held in Stockholm, Sweden. He also had to make the journalistic reviews of other Olympic competitions held in Melbourne. It was through television coverage that for the first time he achieved fame.

TV coverage Winkler-Halla

Hans-Heinrich Isenbart gained fame through television coverage on June 17, 1956. During the Olympic Games in Melbourne Australia, but whose Olympic equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden, one of the most interesting events of the history of Olympic equestrian competitions.

There the jumping rider Hans Günter Winkler suffered a muscular tear in the groin in the individual team qualifying round. Despite the tear, Hans Günter Winkler continued in the fight with Halla, the mare he rode. Despite the difficulties, Winkler and Halla achieved double Olympic gold, in individual and team competition.

Not to let the German team leave the classification, Hans Günter Winkler participated with Halla in the second round despite great pain. As a result of the pain and analgesic injections and suppositories, many sources indicate that it was morphine, Winkler was so dizzy that he had to take a very strong black coffee to avoid falling asleep.

Before starting Winler was shaking. In this condition, Winkler could barely ride on Halla. Both reached the obstacles but without transmitting the usual signals through the pressure of the thigh. Despite this and thanks to Halla’s intelligence, they managed to overcome obstacles and win gold.

In the television coverage made by Isenbart during the last obstacle he shouted a legendary phrase that would remain for the story:

“Und Halla lacht, als wüsste sie, um was es geht”
And Halla laughs, as if she knows what it is.
Hans-Heinrich Isenbart

Hans-Heinrich Isenbart is a legend for sports commentators but he was also the author of numerous books, among other things. In the next article we will discover more about him, an integral man who loved horses.