Steffen Peters (born September 18, 1964) is a German-born equestrian who competes for the United States in dressage.
In 1984, he spent the summer training in San Diego, California, before returning to Germany to perform his army service.
[4] Peters gained his US citizenship in 1992, saying, "The whole idea of being so patriotic, of feeling so close to one's country makes a difference.
[5] His staff call him "a machine" with regard to his training and competition schedule, and in addition to riding, he participates in swimming, cycling and tennis.
[10] Despite being gelded while in quarantine after his shipment from the Netherlands and suffering an injury in 2007 that prevented training, Ravel carried Peters to a qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
[12] In 2009, Peters and Ravel had the highest scores in all three portions of the prestigious German Aachen World Equestrian Festival Grand Prix competition, leading them to be the first American pair to be named the Aachen Grand Prix Champions.
[13] At the time, the Chronicle called him a "natural athlete with a balanced seat and an inherent understanding of the horse.
"[6] In 2011, riding Weltino's Magic, he took gold in both the team and individual dressage events at the 2011 Pan Am Games.
[2] Peters retired Ravel from competition after the 2012 Olympic Games,[14] after over 40 Grand Prix wins, and the same year the horse was inducted into the United States Dressage Federation Hall of Fame.