‘He looked after me and helped me out’ — and more emotional quotes from Rio
The Olympics can do funny things to the most stoic of people. You find yourself welling up watching the taekwondo medal ceremony and the Brownlee brothers lying on the ground post-triathlon triumph can make your bottom lip quiver. And so it’s no surprise, that when it comes the equestrian sport, we’re an emotional wreck.
With soaring highs and crashing lows, here are some of the brilliant horse sport quotes from Rio 2016 that have got us going…
“I owe it to [Valegro] to finish his career at the top”
Charlotte Dujardin, only the second female British Olympian to win three gold medals, on it being unlikely that superstar Valegro will contest another championship
“My buddy, my friend, the horse that has given everything for me his whole life does not deserve this”
Dutch dressage rider Adelinde Cornelissen, on retiring Parzival from the grand prix, after he was suffering from a toxic fever
“This time it was me letting [Super Nova II] down; often it’s him that gets stage fright”
Spencer Wilton on a blip in the special
“Blueberry knew I was nervous. He looked after me and helped me out. Trotting round the edge, he picked up and I knew we were ready to go”
Charlotte Dujardin on pre-freestyle nerves, and Valegro’s helping hand
“There were many up-and-coming horses to catch the eye and the future of international dressage looks exciting. But none show the magic of “the special one” — Valegro — as great as Mohamad Ali”
Strong praise from Richard Davison for the gold medal-winning Valegro
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“There was lots of crying — and every time the guys ran into someone else, there was more crying”
Chef d’equipe Michel Asseray on the French team’s reaction to their gold medal
“You need a bit of luck in this sport and we didn’t have that. You have to have someone praying for you and perhaps he was on holiday”
William Fox-Pitt sums up the British eventing team’s disappointment on missing out on a medal
“I think that will be the last time I ride him. It’s tempting because he’s well and sound to have another go, but he’s given me so much”
William Fox-Pitt on retiring Chilli Morning to stud
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Tales from Rio: ‘We had no money; I did Polly Pocket commercials to pay for lessons’
Tales from Rio: A million reasons to love this rider
“I didn’t think we did much wrong, we’re a bit short of luck on our team right now”
Ben Maher on Britain’s failure to clinch a team showjumping medal as the defending champions
“I’m so proud of Reveur De Hurtebise today, he did an amazing job. He’s 15 but feels as young as ever”
Kevin Staut after taking showjumping team gold for France
“We’ve nursed him and nursed him and nursed him and he’s come good for me”
Nick Skelton, after taking individual gold in the showjumping with Big Star
Don’t miss the full report from the Olympic dressage in this week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine (18 August 2016), and the full showjumping report in next week’s issue (25 August)
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A graduate from Durham University, Madeleine joined H&H in 2011 and became Features Editor — producing content across the magazine and website, including the popular inside back cover article ‘The horse that made me’ and the weekly ‘The best of my fun…’ interview. She has written on topics as diverse as hay making and headcams, to hot totty in the horse world and circus horses. Madeleine now works as a freelance feature writer for Country Life, The Telegraph, Horse & Hound, cntraveller.com, The Spectator and The Field, as well as writing obituaries for The Times.