Charles de Kunffy was born in Hungary in 1936, a member of Austro-Hungarian nobility. In 1952 he was admitted to the Budapest’s Riding Academy and became the youngest student in the school’s history, later escaping the war-torn country to the United States following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Taught in the classical tradition and a firm believer in schooling the horse in a comprehensive system of training, whether for dressage, cross-country, or jumping, he began to impart his wisdom on American students. He eventually became an FEI dressage judge, wrote seven books including Training Strategies for Dressage Riders, The Ethics and Passion of Dressage, and Creative Horsemanship, as well as and numerous articles about dressage and equitation, and became a sought-after clinician. De Kunffy was inducted into the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame in 2013.
Close friend and longtime student Jessica Jo Tate posted a tribute to her mentor on Facebook:
“The world has lost a true gentleman, a man who had a deep love for horses, and the most knowledgeable gift of teaching the people who love them as well. I don’t think I’ve ever know anyone who could actually claim “am I right, or am I always right?” On so many horses, and in so many lessons (on life lessons as well) he was always right.