Edwin Argo

Who was Edwin Argo?

Edwin "Ed" Yancey Argo was an American horse rider who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics.

Argo was a field artillery officer in the U.S. Army. The three-man team for the Three-Day Event was made up of Argo, Maj. Harry D. Chamberlin and 1st Lt. Earl T. Thomson, both of the 9th Cavalry Regiment, Fort Riley, Kansas. The three faced the best military riders of Holland, Sweden, Japan and Mexico.

On the first day of the event, all riders faced a training test. The second day was an endurance ride of 22 ½ miles over five different courses and the last day was stadium jumping where riders a course of 12 jumps at a 14 mile per hour gait. Argo, the only field artillery officer in this part of the competition, rode Honolulu Tom Boy in a remarkable performance without a fault at a jump during the stadium jumping—the only rider without a fault that day. The U.S. team led from the start and was described by the 1932 Field Artillery Journal as a “glorious achievement for our riders and horses,” as they took the gold medal. In the individual standings, Thomson took the silver for the U.S., Chamberlin finished fourth and Argo eighth.

In 1932 he and his horse Honolulu Tom Boy won the gold medal as member of the American eventing team in the team eventing competition after finishing eighth in the individual eventing.