Karen Stives and Ben Arthur at the 1984 Olympics. Photo via Flickr Creative Commons.
It is with heavy hearts we report that USEA Hall of Fame member Karen Stives has passed away at the age of 64. Karen bravely battled lung cancer, and we now mourn her loss and remember her legacy.
Karen was a member of the gold medal winning U.S. team at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, also winning individual silver aboard Ben Arthur. She represented the U.S. in international competition for many years until her retirement from the international competition world in 1990. From there, she became an FEI judge and was a member of the USET Selection Committee.
And she just kept giving to the sport that she loved so dearly. Last year, Karen donated $1 million to the USET Foundation, better known as the Karen E. Stives Endowment Fund for High Performance Eventing. This generous donation has helped U.S. talent achieve success and exposure on the world stage — a gesture which will never be forgotten.
In fact, two of the riders who received grants for Aachen contributed to a third place finish for Team USA at Aachen just today: Phillip Dutton and Lauren Kieffer.
Attempting to put into words the impact Karen has had on our sport is impossible as the words would truly never do her justice. We will be forever grateful for your ongoing contribution to the sport of eventing, Karen. The team results today are for you — and here’s to many more, thanks in large part to your generosity.
