Wilhelm, Count von Hohenau was an active officer in the Royal Prussian Army and a show jumper. He came in sixth in the individual event at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics on his horse Pretty Girl, and won a bronze medal in team jumping. For decades, Count von Hohenau was considered Germany’s most successful show jumper. In the years 1920-33, he earned 227 wins and countless podiums on various courses in Europe.
Count von Hohenau attended various schools and the cadet corps in Berlin-Lichterfelde. As an active officer he served in the Gardes du Corps, then in Leibkürassier Regiment No. 1 in Wrocław. From 1911-14 he was commandant of the Military Riding Institute in Hannover, where he worked as a riding teacher from 1918-20 after the end of World War I. He later worked as a private riding teacher.