Have you ever wondered what music the top riders love to listen to – and what songs form the soundtrack to their schooling sessions? Dressage legend Carl Hester has revealed the eight tunes that mean the most to him on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. Although Carl admits that as a social person he would struggle to be cast away on a desert island with nobody there to talk to, this collection of music would help make it bearable….
Carl named this track as the one that instantly gives him a lift if it comes on the radio while he’s riding at home.
“Every time it comes on, my poor horse has to suffer it going up to top notch on the volume, but they always seem to go better to this particular track.”
2, The one that reminds Carl – and the rest of us – of London 2012
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
For anyone who was lucky enough to witness Carl’s epic freestyle test on Uthopia at the London Olympics in 2012, this tune will invoke memories and probably goosebumps – it certainly does for Carl. This emotive piece featured in his canter section, proving the perfect accompaniment to Uthopia’s lovely tempi changes.
“My mother had just married my stepfather, Jess Hester, on Sark and this record was obviously their favourite,” explains Carl, who was brought up on the tiny Channel island. “I just remember sitting on the floor at a very young age and Melanie got played again and again. I especially loved the bit about roller skates – I always wanted to roller skate.”
“When I was at boarding school we had what we called ‘dens’, right down in the bottom corridors. They were rooms where each year group went to play music, play games and chill out. We had a bean bag and a tuck box and, in some cases, a record player, and Some Girls by Racey was the first record I ever bought,” reveals Carl.
“This is a beautiful song and it has some really incredible lyrics in it,” says Carl. “I remember in my moody teens listening to Bryan Ferry all the time. Some of it was crazy dance stuff, but this puts me in a really soft, sleepy mood.”
6, A throwback tune to Carl’s first Olympic Games
Barcelona (Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé)
Carl’s first ever Olympics was the Barcelona Games in 1992, where he rode Georgione alongside Emile Faurie, Laura Fry and Carol Parsons, and it’s hardly surprising that one of his desert island choices is a song that reminds him of that milestone.
“It reminds me of my first opening ceremony,” he says. “I had never experienced such an enormous situation and to be in the main arena and to see this song performed on a hot, summer night in Barcelona… the song brings back incredible memories for me.”
7, The song he loves to sing along to after a glass of wine
“I have been fortunate to meet lots of interesting, different people in the horse world, and a friend of mine from the past is Harriet Harrison, whose father is Noel Harrison,” Carl explains. “She has two grown-up boys now, who are my godsons and we love spending time together. Whenever we’ve had a bit too much to drink, this is the song we sing – very badly.”
Carl names this as the final record he would take onto a desert island with him.
“I am pretty obsessive when I find a song I love and I tend to play it endlessly, until finally I can’t bear it any longer. But this song just never gets boring and I’m never tired of it,” he explains, adding this if he had to choose just one track from his Desert Island Discs choice, this would be it.
“However hungry I was, however much I wished there was a bar on the desert island, I could play this and I’d feel very happy.”
Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
