Lexington, Ky. -- Kevin Freeman was a renowned and distinguished equestrian in the United States, competing in three different Olympic Games for the U.S. Eventing Team. Freeman was born in Portland, Ore., in 1941 and grew up riding on the west coast before attending Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. He received his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia, Pa., before beginning his professional riding career in California after his graduation.

His first international championship for the team was at the 1963 Pan American Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he helped the team earn gold and earned individual silver. Freeman went on to be selected for three consecutive Olympic teams, first competing at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, aboard Gallopade, earning team silver and finishing in 12^th individually. He also earned U.S. National Three-Day Event Champion accolades in the same year, as well as winning the U.S. Eventing Olympic Trials in Gladstone, N.J. In 1968, Freeman piloted Chalan to a team silver at the Olympic Games in Mexico City, Mexico. His best Olympic finish came at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games where he finished as the highest-placed U.S. athlete, in fifth place overall, aboard Good Mixture, helping the U.S. Eventing Team earn their third consecutive team silver medal. Freeman was an avid equestrian, also competing nationally in steeplechase events, including the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup and New Jersey Hunt Cup, before fine-tuning his skills in show jumping to compete at international venues such as Spruce Meadows and Thunderbird Horse Park.

After his competitive career ended, Freeman was a major influence in the growth of eventing in Oregon and Area VII, including organizing the Freeman Farm Horse Trials and teaching hundreds of students over the years. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1991. He was inducted into the USEA Hall of Fame in 2009, alongside his 1972 mount, Good Mixture.

Freeman leaves behind his wife of 52 years, Barrie, along with four children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.