Hartwig Steenken
West German equestrian (1941-1978)
Hartwig Steenken (23 July 1941 – 10 January 1978) was a West German show jumper. He was born in Twistringen, and raised on his father's farm in Bowrede near Hoya in Lower Saxony.
Steenken won the individual title at the 1971 European Championships and the 1974 World Championships, and was on the West German team that won the gold medal at the 1972 Olympics, where he came fourth in the individual event. He won silver at the 1975 European Championships, and decided not to compete in the 1976 Olympics as he had no horse good enough to win; his earlier mount, Simona, being too old.
On 1 July 1977, Steenken broke the FEI's rules on amateurism by signing a sponsorship deal with Campari. Twelve days later, he sustained serious head injuries as a passenger in a car which crashed into a wall returning from an amateur football match in which he had played. He fell into a coma and died six months later in Hanover.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Hartwig Steenken” is west German equestrian (1941-1978). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Hartwig, Steenken and West, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “west German equestrian (1941-1978)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q241340. VIAF identifies the subject as 4002151247992144270001. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1941, 1978, 1971 and 1974.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hartwig Steenken”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hartwig Steenken primary sources, Hartwig Steenken archive and Hartwig research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hartwig Steenken”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hartwig Steenken” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.