The KonyoT Family l egacy

Tina’s family legacy is one to amaze because she truly comes from a long line of equestrians from all walks of life. Tina’s great-grandfather, Leopold Konyot, was owner of Circus Leopold. His passion for the circus began when he ran away from his Hungarian home in 1870 at 15 to join the circus.

Leopold and his wife Henrietta had 12 children (yep 12). All were known for their bareback riding skills as they performed in many European circuses. In 1907 John Ringling brought them into his Barnum and Bailey Circus. They did that until 1912, at which time they went back to Europe to start their own Konyot Bros. Great American Circus and Wild West Show.

Among the 12 children was Arthur Konyot who was known for his Dressage expertise. After a stint in the Austro-Hungarian Army, the lure of the circus pulled him back into that arena. He managed a circus in Italy and performed in French circuses. This was in the 1920s. Arthur was especially known for his work with horses at liberty.

The legacy continued as Arthur, his wife and their two children, Alex and Dorita, continued to move around with their horses and other animals always focusing on a circus-like life and also started to focus on Classical Dressage.

In time the Konyots rode Andalusians and Lusitanos and performed a high school act throughout Europe. Then in 1940 the family was part of the opening of the John Ringling’s circus which took place at Madison Square Garden.

In 1950, Arthur and his daughter Dorita headed for Chicago where Arthur opened the Riding Academy and School of Equitation. Among the famed horses and riders they trained was Arthur Godfrey. In 1961 Arthur Konyot’s story was told in his autobiography “The White Rider: My 60 Years as a Circus Equestrienne.”

Death for Arthur came in 1966 when he was 78 years old. While he never made it into the Circus Hall of Fame while he was alive, it was awarded to him posthumously.

Now this is where Tina’s parents enter the story. Alex was married to Tina’s mom, Josephine Berosini, a Czechoslovakian high wire artiste whose nickname was “Fina.” In 1939 she came to the U.S. for the World’s Fair and performed for the Ringling Circus. Alex and Josephine met and were married in 1952. Alex eventually opened an equestrian school in Florida focused on Dressage. In 2006 Tina lost her dad to heart disease. He was 91.

Tina credits her dad with teaching her horsemanship, care and feeding, managing horses and showmanship. Her riding career began when she was just a baby riding in front of her dad on the saddle while she held on to the horse’s mane. In her early years riding was fun, going bareback with hands spread eagle jumping fences. As she got older she began to focus.

Her training included five years in Europe, two years studying with noted trainer Herbert Rehbein and later with Rudolf Zeilinger and Klaus Balkenhol. She was short-listed for the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 on a horse named Justice and for the Athens Olympics in 2004 with Anna Karinina. Finally in 2010 she made it on to the 2010 World Equestrian Games U.S. team.

Tina is more than a Dressage rider. Rather she has the genetics from an astute family of equestrians from all walks of life. That influence helped bring her to where she is today, heading to England as a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Games team.

SUNDAY, JULY 29 2012 / PUBLISHED IN WHAT'S HAPPENIN'