Blast from the past: 50 photos of Carl Hester to celebrate his birthday
Looking back at black and white photos of the dressage supremo competing on grass, or aboard his coloured ride from the 1980s Jolly Dolly, you’d be excused for struggling to recognise the Olympic gold medal-winning rider. To celebrate Carl Hester’s 53rd birthday today (29 June), we’ve dug deep into the archives to chart his rise to the top
1993
Carl at a selection trial in 1993 with Giorgione S. The previous year the pair had represented Britain at Carl’s first Olympics and had retained their 1991 title at the National Championships. Wilfried described “Gino” as “the dominating force in British dressage” during his career. His daughter, Olympic medallist Laura, rode Giorgione as a “little girl” and Wilfired has a statue of the horse overlooking his outdoor arena
Escapado
Carl with Escapado, affectionately known as “Peanuts”, who he rode at the 2004 Athens Olympics, finishing best of the Brits in 13th, and went on to ride into fifth at the 2005 European Championships. Escapado then went to Hans Peter Minderhoud, launching Hans Peter’s grand prix career, before joining Dolendo for retirement at Carl’s yard in 2011
2001
Carl with his great horse Dolendo, or “Donald” taking the medium championship in 2001. Donald went on to take national grand prix titles with Spencer Wilton before the ride passed back to Carl. Donald was ruled out of the 2008 Olympics due to injury and retired with Carl in 2011. He died in 2015
2012 LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 07: (L-R) Carl Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain celebrate with their gold medals during the medal cerermony for the Team Dressage on Day 11 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Greenwich Park on August 7, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
