Today we take for granted that equestrian disciplines are the only Olympic sports in which men and women compete on equal footing, but it wasn’t that long ago that remarkable female riders were shattering the glass ceiling. During March, we’re looking back at some of them. A version of this story first appeared in Untacked magazine.

Known to her friends as “Sis,” Helen Ziegler Steinkraus was a sought-after FEI dressage judge, a successful competitor and a powerful proponent of the sport in the United States, but she also deserves quite a bit of credit for the behind-the-scenes contributions she made to the career of her husband, the legendary show jumper and Olympic gold medalist William C. Steinkraus.

Originally from New York, Helen spent most of her life in Connecticut following her marriage to “Bill,” and she devoted a great deal of time to supporting his career and raising their three sons, Eric, Phillip and Edward.

“Being married to Bill was a full-time job,” said Olympic dressage rider and former U.S. chef d’equipe Jessica Ransehousen. “It’s hard to realize how important that was for her and the part she played in his life. She was a real help to him in many ways, always being there for him.”

Helen was known for her gregarious nature. That, as well as her academic background at Columbia University (New York) and the Hunter College of The City University New York, served her well as she joined governance committees and embarked on a quest to create more and better U.S. horse shows, not only on Long Island but also in Wellington, Florida. The smorgasbord of competitions up and down the East Coast that riders enjoy today can be directly linked to Helen’s advocacy.

As a dressage judge, Helen was an early proponent of the freestyle, convinced of what we now know to be absolutely true: that music can make the sport accessible to a much wider audience. And as an amateur rider, she sought every opportunity to train with European masters such as Gunnar Ostergaard of Denmark, former Spanish Riding School bereiter Karl Mikolka and French Olympic team gold medalist Jean Saint-Fort Paillard.

Helen was always noted for her elegance, both in and out of the saddle, and with her partner Natu she rode to three consecutive USDF Horse of the Year titles, at second, third and fourth levels. In 1975 she also won the Eastern National title at fourth level.

“She was a very nice amateur rider and had a lot of fun with her horse,” recalled Ransehousen, who rode and competed alongside Helen for years.

In addition to hunting to hounds in the United states and Ireland, Helen was a keen all-round sportswoman, adept at snorkeling and at home on the tennis court. She could be found hunting wildfowl from the Eastern Seaboard to Mexico or cutting fresh tracks on the ski slopes of Europe, and she enjoyed yacht racing with her brother on their family’s boats on Long Island Sound or crewing in races in Hawaii and Bermuda. Helen was an accomplished upland hunter and bird dog trainer, embarked on both photographic and hunting safaris in Africa, and was an avid patron of the ballet and figure skating.

Helen, whose family founded the E. Matilda Ziegler Foundation for the Blind, was also a student of medicine in addition to her sporting pursuits. After college she worked as a research assistant for Dr. Ernst Wynder on lung cancer studies at Sloan-Kettering Institute and made several trips abroad to collect medical samples. Later in life she took a special interest in the ambulance service of her hometown, Darien, Connecticut, and decided to earn her EMt-1 certification. 

At the age of 81, Helen passed away in 2012. 

“She was always open to new challenges, new people and new experiences,” said Bill, her husband of 51 years, who died in 2017. “All in all, she had an extraordinary range of interests, a lot of courage and a lot of determination.” 

A version of this article originally appeared in the Summer 2014, issue of Untacked. You can subscribe and get online access to a digital version and then enjoy a year of The Chronicle of the Horse and our lifestyle publication, Untacked. If you’re just following COTH online, you’re missing so much great unique content. Each print issue of the Chronicle is full of in-depth competition news, fascinating features, probing looks at issues within the sports of hunter/jumper, eventing and dressage, and stunning photography.