Gordon Wright

Gordon Wright (1903-1990) was an influential American show jumper.  In 1962, the National Horse Show held in New York honoured the winners of the Hunter Seat Equitation Championship:  over half of them were students, or former students, of Gordon Wright.  He trained members of the United States Equestrian Team, as well as having  a successful jumping career of his own, with such horses as Bartender and Sonny.  

In his youth, he worked as a cow puncher and rodeo rider, and served as an instructor at the Fort Riley Cavalry School during World War 2.  

He wrote just one fictional work of which I am aware, as well as several non fiction works.  Two of these were illustrated by Sam Savitt, and one (illustrated right Learn to Ride, Hunt and Show)  has been reissued.  

Many thanks to Susan Bourgeau for her help with this section.

Finding the book:  The Winning Streak is not impossible to find; good copies may well be expensive.

Sources:

Gordon Wright the showjumper

Sky Press, publishers of Learn to Ride, Hunt and Show

More on Gordon Wright

Bibliography - horse books only

The Winning Streak

Hillair Circle (no date)

illustrated by Jan Royce Conant

“Learning to be a gracious winner is even more difficult than learning to be a good loser. Daphne Van Allen thought
that she could short-cut sportsmanship and still come out on top. From the time she was nearly expelled from a
summer camp until the day when she was the cause of a near fatal accident, Daphne was able to rationalize her
behavior to herself.”

Also:

Learning to Ride, Hunt and Show

Secor Farms, 1950, illus Sam Savitt

The Riding Instructor’s Manual (with Michael Kelley)

Doubleday, New York, 1975, illus Sam Savitt