Emile Faurie, British dressage rider
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Emile Faurie – born on 15 October 1963 – is a British dressage rider based at Heath Farm, Oxfordshire.
Despite not riding a horse until he was 16, Emile has now represented Britain at two Olympic games, three World Equestrian Games and three European Championships.
In 1980 Emile moved to England and spent three years at the Talland School of Equitation with Molly Sivewright as a working pupil.
He then went on to work at the prestigious young horse sales, PSI (Performance Sales International) in Germany in 1984 where he helped back and prepare youngsters for auction.
He had his lucky break when he was given the ride on Virtu, when Carl Hester – his previous rider – went to work for Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer.
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With Virtu, Emile went on to win the individual bronze and team silver medals at the 1993 European Championships as well as becoming British Champions in1993 and 1994.
Legrini was his next team horse, competing at the 1997 European Championships and the 1998 World Championships with him.
In 2003, he won a bronze team medal at the European Championships with Rascher Hopes.
For the 2004 Athens Olympics, Emile was named travelling reserve following his success at Hickstead in July with Rascher Hopes, finishing second in the grand prix and the grand prix special.
Following his international success, Emile set up the Emile Faurie Foundation in 2006.
The foundation aims to show children how fulfilling equine sports and careers can be, helping them to develop personal and social skills along the way. So far it has given almost 6000 children the opportunity to ride and have contact with horses.
Emile is also a British Dressage judge and the World Class coach for the National Start and Potential squad.
In 2010 Emile made a stand for improved rider safety following the injuries of several dressage riders, introducing a ‘hats only‘ policy at his yard.
Emile was selected as a reserve for the British team at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
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