Swedish born American dressage rider Hokan Thorn has passed away. He was 65 years old.
From Sweden to Germany
Born on 21 August 1959, Hokan grew up in Visby, Sweden and built his life around horses.
He began working as an apprentice at the Swedish state stud in Flyinge at age 14 and then in the government riding programme at Stromsholm. He rode dressage, show jumping and eventing at that time.
He then worked at a sales barn in Denmark before moving to Germany to work under Udo Lange and Alain Gaihede for four years.
Life in the U.S.A.
In 1983 he moved to the U.S.A. after spending a holiday with friends there and liking what he saw. He accepting a riding job in Aiken, SC.
The highlight of his competitive career was in the 1990s when he actively showed horses such as Joyce Hardesty's Hanoverian Dacapo, Virginia Fox' Oldenburg Imperiale (by Inschallah AA), and Friesian Bold Contender (by Ulke). His most successful Grand Prix horse was Jennifer Brinkley’s KPWN bred Bas (by Pretendent) with whom he was short listed for the US team for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
In the 2000s his FEI level show horses were Winthrop (by Wendepunkt x Gepard), Fox (by Astronaut), ,Manassas, Karaat (by Fair Play x Wolfgang), Flamenco (by Flamingo x Lansiar), Coalhouse, Decorated Debut (by Dominator x Well Decorated), Stonefire (by D-Day x Roderik), Sauvignon, and many more. In 2005 Thorn competed at the World Young Horse Championships in Verden on Donegal (by Davingport x Grundstein).
In the 2010s Thorn was based at Katherine Pfaff's Cross Creek Farm farm in Columbus, NC. He married husband Richard Ruben in 2013.
In 2019 Thorn moved to Patti Shedlow’ China Farm in N.C. His last competition year was 2020 when he spent the winter in Florida showing Django (by Jazz x Flemmingh) and Aragon, before moving back to North Carolina, where he continued to campaign Django at Grand prix level and Aragon at small tour level in Tryon.
Hokan's last show in his career was Tryon Fall Dressage in 30 October - 1 November, aboard Django.
The USDF database has recorded 1555 competition rides in the USA on 104 (!) different horses.
Health Issues
On 2 November 2020 Hokan Thorn was found unresponsive and got rushed to the hospital, where he spent two weeks in an artificial coma, but returned back to the saddle at the end of the month.
Unfortunately Hokan's health declined and he lost his battle with Frontotemporal dementia (FTD). He passed away in hospice.
Photos © private - Mary Phelps
Related Links
U.S Grand Prix Rider Hokan Thorn Found Unresponsive, Two Weeks in Coma