Kevin Freeman - Equestrian

Kevin Freeman represented the state at the Olympic level as part of a lengthy international career far outside the media glare.

Born in 1941, Freeman grew up on a farm in Molalla and learned about the equestian sport that came to be known as Eventing only casually as most of the competitions were in Kentucky and Virginia.

Freeman attended Cornell University and developed into an international rider with the help of Richard Collins at the Pebble Beach, Calif., Equestrian Center. He won a gold medal at the 1963 Pan-Am Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as part of the U.S. team. He also won a silver medal as an individual rider.

Freeman competed in the 1964, ‘68 and ’72 Olympics as part of the U.S. team in the Three-Day Event, which includes dressage, cross country galloping and jumping and show jumping. The U.S. won silver in ’64, placing behind Italy, and silver in ‘72, placing behind Great Britain. Freeman finished 12th individually in ’64.

In the late ‘60s, Freeman honed his riding skills on one horse, Good Mixture, which he rode at the ’72 Munich Games.

Following his international career, Freeman has contributed to the development of riding in Oregon, particularly through organizing the Freeman Farms Horse Trials, and helped mentor many other successful riders at the national level.

Freeman was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 and into the U.S. Eventing Association’s Hall of Fame in 2009 along with Good Mixture.