Three-time Olympic showjumper Dirk Demeersman has announced his retirement from the sport, aged 61.

The Belgian rider’s career spans decades; he competed at the European Championships on ponies aged 10 in and rode at his first Olympics, the 1992 Barcelona Games, aged 28.

Dirk represented his country at the 2004 Athens Olympics, finishing fourth individually with Clinton, and in 2012 he rode at the London Games aboard Befureo Van Het Panishof. In 2006 he helped the Belgian team to seventh at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, and in 2010 he was part of the bronze medal-winning WEG team at Kentucky.

This week Dirk announced his top stallion Cote D’Or, whom he bred and owns with his wife Kelly Pieck under their business Cavallini Horses, will make his competition debut with Olivier Philippaerts at the Chantilly CSI4*. Dirk’s last international competition with him was the CSIO3* Martofte Nations Cup in May.

“After 10 years together, Dirk has decided to hand over the reins of Cote D’Or Z to Olivier Philippaerts. Although his passion for the sport remains as strong as ever, he feels that, in the horse’s best interest, this is the right moment for Cote D’Or Z to continue his sporting career with a rider who can help him reach his full international potential,” said a Cavallini Horses spokesperson.

“At the same time, our home-bred horses Carrasco Z and Little Fellow Z have also joined Team Philippaerts. With this decision, Dirk officially brings his sporting career to a close.”

The spokesperson added that Kelly and Dirk “made this decision together, with the horses’ best interests always at heart”.

“They firmly believe this is the right time for each of them to begin a new chapter and wish Team Philippaerts every success and happiness with these exceptional horses,” he said.

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Tom Bombadill Too, the talented gelding Olympic rider Ruy Fonseca says “changed his life”, has died aged 26.

Ruy and Tom Bombadill Too (Tommy) represented Brazil in six championships – including the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics – and competed in 15 countries together.

“Last Sunday Tommy left us,” said Ruy, who named his business Bombadill Equestrian after the Holsteiner gelding.

“It’s been a hard few days but I’m sure he’s in a beautiful place up there and he deserved so. What a unique, unbelievable journey we had.”

Tommy started his career as a five-year-old competing in British Eventing with his previous owner Serena Urquhart. The Urquharts bought him as a “very flighty five-year-old” from Nikki Ryan, from a Horse & Hound advert. Serena produced him up to intermediate level then in 2009 Ruy took over the reins.

“In 14 months we went from novice to five-star, then four months later he was double clear at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky,” said Ruy.

“From there, we did two Pan American Games in Mexico and Canada, grabbing team bronze and individual bronze and team silver. We were so close to an individual gold in Toronto in 2015 where we led from the dressage until the last jump on the final day. The most little rub took the gold off our neck, but I would think I would be in that position with the little quirky 16hh horse together among the best. What pleasure and beautiful experience.”

Ruy Fonseca and Tom Bombadill Too rode at the London 2012 Olympics, where Brazil finished ninth, and Rio 2016, where the team was seventh. They completed the five-star at Luhmühlen Horse Trials in 2010, finishing 32nd.

“We ticked a few boxes that never in my life or career I thought I would,” said Ruy, adding that special memories include his mother hacking him, and his wife and father-in-law completing lower level events with Tommy aged 19.

“Winning Barroca d’Alva CCI3* in Portugal was very emotional because it was for a special friend who is up there with Tommy. It is the most beautiful trophy that I have here at home.”

“He was the most kind, easy and happy horse that changed my life, giving me opportunities, chances and plenty of learning experiences.”

Many top riders have paid tribute to Tommy; Ruy told H&H he was “privileged” to see the “amazing comments” from the many people who loved him.

“Mark Todd was our trainer during our best performances and we had great times and results together. I was very honoured to be trained by Toddy at the time and we are good friends,” said Ruy.

“Anna Ross was essential to the development of Tommy’s dressage, which gave us the best results at the 2014 World Equestrian Games. We were top 10 after the dressage.”

Ruy said Tommy “touched many people and hearts” – adding thanks to Tommy’s “partner, friend and groom” Caroline Gordon and everyone that was involved with him.

“A dream team and amazing memories,” said Ruy.

“I will miss you forever my friend.”

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German national eventing coach and double Olympic team gold medallist Peter Thomsen is being treated in hospital following a riding fall.

The German equestrian federation said Peter, 65, is “on the road to recovery” from the accident on 14 June.

“He has been receiving medical treatment in hospital ever since. His health has improved significantly in recent days,” said a federation spokesperson yesterday (22 June).

“Due to the fall, Peter was unable to attend the German championships in Luhmühlen last weekend. The coaching team took over his duties there, supported by team manager Dr Annette Wyrwoll of Equestrian Sport Germany.”

The spokesperson added that the federation’s eventing coaching team will “continue to provide athletic support for the national team athletes in the coming weeks”.

“Rodolphe Scherer, eventing coach, will temporarily assume the role of head coach, particularly with regard to the final selection and nomination process for the World Championships in Aachen in August,” he said.

“He will be assisted by dressage coach Anne-Kathrin Pohlmeier and showjumping coach Lara Weber, as well as eventing specialist and under-25 youth coach Andreas Dibowski. This arrangement will remain in place until further notice.”

Peter enjoyed a highly successful eventing career before he took over as national eventing coach following Hans Melzer’s retirement at the end of 2021.

He won team gold at the 2008 Olympics with The Ghost of Hamish, and was part of the gold medal-winning team at London 2012 with Barny. He competed in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, seven European Championships and four World Equestrian Games. He was seventh in his final four-star event in 2020, and competed up to CCI2* until spring 2022.

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US Olympic dressage rider Adrienne Lyle has paid tribute to her former top ride and London 2012 horse Wizard, who has died aged 27.

Adrienne and Wizard made their Olympic debut at London, finishing 35th individually. In 2014 they helped the US team to fourth place at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Normandy, France.

“Rest easy big boy. Wizard, you were larger than life and I loved you, and your many opinions, fiercely,” said Adrienne.

Adrienne got the ride on the Oldenburg gelding, owned by Peggy and Jane Thomas, through her trainer Debbie McDonald in 2007. They made their international grand prix debut together in February 2009 at the Burbank CDI-W in California.

Over the next few years Adrienne and Wizard were consistent on home soil, scoring wins at venues in California, Florida, Pennsylvania and New York, and rarely finishing outside the top 10.

“I will never forget the day Debbie first let me ride you in the jumper ring at River Grove. You were young and fiery and powerful, and I was in love,” said Adrienne.

“Because the Thomas family and the McDonalds chose to take a chance on a young girl from a farm in Washington state, my life was changed forever. Together you and I learned grand prix, became under-25 national champions and went on to represent the USA at the 2012 Olympics and 2014 World Equestrian Games.”

Wizard’s final international outing was WEG; Adrienne had hoped to aim for the 2015 World Cup Final, but she announced his retirement in January aged 16, after he sustained a field injury. He spent his retirement at home at the Thomas family’s River Grove Farm.

“You always kept life exciting and kept me laughing, while teaching me every day how to tame a dragon with love and patience,” she said. “I hope heaven knows what they are in for when you come charging through the gates.”

A spokesperson for US Equestrian said the governing body is saddened to learn of Wizard’s passing.

“USA Dressage sends our condolences to all who worked and loved Wizard throughout his life,” he said.

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Irish eventer Aoife Clark has paid tribute to her London 2012 Olympic ride Master Crusoe, who has died aged 25.

“Thank you for being my friend, my partner, for changing my life,” said Aoife (29 April).

Aoife produced the Master Imp son, known at home as Paddy, up the ranks from a six-year-old. The pair were fifth in their first advanced at Aston-le-Walls in July 2009, and that year finished 13th in the Blenheim eight-and-nine-year-olds. In 2010 they picked up top-10 placings at four-star at Chatsworth, Barbury and Blenheim and the following year completed their first Badminton, finishing 48th.

Aoife and Master Crusoe finished seventh individually at the London 2012 Games and were eighth at Badminton in 2013. Their last competition together was in April 2014 at Weston Park.

Aoife said Paddy was “truly one in a million”.

“I loved him unlike any other. Small in size, but huge in ability and heart, he has been such a huge part of my life, and I would not have the career I have without him,” she said.

“From Olympics, Badminton, to decking me in a dressage lesson with Carl Hester, and getting sent home from hunting for overtaking the hounds, it’s been a hell of a ride, and I wouldn’t change a thing.

“Jumping a triple clear at the London Olympics to finish seventh, and going into that huge atmosphere together, was the highlight of our competitive career, two hearts as one.”

Aoife added that Paddy was the sharpest horse she had ever sat on, but said he had the “hugest heart and will”.

“Wow, did he try me as a five-year-old, but I would get to 10-minutes on a cross-country and merely click to encourage him home and he would take off with me,” she said.

“He was the biggest dote in the stable, loved cuddles, super chilled, and had a wildness, and independence, to ride that taught me so much, as a rider and as a person.”

Paddy enjoyed his retirement with Aoife.

“He was hacked every other day and scared numerous grooms off hacking him with his antics, even recently,” she said.

“He will be hugely missed by everyone at home, and those who have had the pleasure of looking after him over the years.”

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Hopes of saving a London 2012 Olympic legacy equestrian centre have taken a notable step forward.

Cash-strapped Royal Borough of Greenwich Council’s decision-making cabinet voted to sell the £1.6m Greenwich Equestrian Centre, despite opposition (news, 23 January). The decision came under fire in a lively council overview and scrutiny committee meeting in January, but was upheld.

But since then, there has been “genuine progress” in work to try to protect and reopen the site, as well as a thawing of the council’s “hostility”.

The council met members of the community last month, including campaigners from the Save Greenwich Equestrian Community Group, at which the group shared a proposal for the centre’s future. The proposal shares a vision for the centre that goes beyond offering riding lessons, to benefit the local community in many ways.

These include learning skills linked to future careers, such as farriery, boosting health and wellbeing through riding and being around horses, working with partner organisations to provide an equine welfare and rehabilitation hub and more. It also spells out ways in which its proposals align with the council’s own policies and frameworks.

H&H understands the group has been in “positive” early discussions with Sport England around exploring a community asset transfer and establishing a charity to safeguard and run the facility; a meeting between the council, Sport England and Save Greenwich Equestrian is expected in the next weeks. It would also like to connect with riders, coaches, breeders, farmers and supporters who have faced similar challenges in protecting equestrian or sporting land.The group’s hope is that Greenwich could become a blueprint for how communities and national bodies can work together to revive and safeguard access to horses, sport and green space for future generations.

“The Greenwich Equestrian Centre isn’t just a facility – it’s part of our Olympic legacy and a space that has inspired generations. The community has shown it wants this site restored, not sold. With Sport England’s support, we’re proving that collaboration, not disposal, is the real legacy London deserves,” Tao Baker, who leads the Save Greenwich Equestrian Community Group, told H&H.

“This is a chance for Greenwich to lead by example – showing how councils, national sporting bodies and communities can work together to protect vital assets. It’s a positive story about people stepping up, not giving up.”

Neighbouring Woodlands Farm Trust, which is not connected to the Save Greenwich Equestrian Community Group, has also been lobbying to preserve the centre, but not for equestrian use.

Barry Gray, chairman of the trust – the UK’s largest independent working community farm – recently spoke at a Greenwich Council meeting, where he described receiving a letter from the council’s head of property to have “informal talks” as a “ray of sunshine”.

This is despite the “blow” that an application to have the site recognised as an asset of community value (ACV) was rejected by the council. ACV status gives buildings or pieces of land added protection from developers, buying time for local community groups interested in preserving them.

“Over spring and summer, we [Woodlands Farm Trust] have seen several high-ranking officials from national funding organisations, and I can reveal that we’ve just been invited to make a stage one application to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which is the third largest funder in the UK,” Dr Gray told the council.

“They have a specific interest in enlarging the farm along certain lines, including the equestrian centre. We also are having contact with Farms for City Children, which was founded by War Horse author Michael Morpurgo. The idea there is to use the wonderful 20-room Victorian farmhouse on the site to make these [visits into] residential holidays for deprived children.”

He added: “We’re so pleased that at last, the hostility is dying down and we will hopefully come to an agreement about the future of the site, which benefits the whole community.”

A council spokesperson told H&H: “Council members and officers have met with local organisations and members of the community to discuss the future of the former equestrian centre. These conversations are ongoing and no decisions have been made at this stage.”

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Eventer Vittoria Panizzon has come full circle by competing the three eldest offspring of her much-loved London 2012 Olympic ride Borough Pennyz.

Vittoria and Lindsay Bisiker’s eight-year-old gelding Borough Threpence, by Timolin, jumped double clear to finish ninth in the BE100 at South of England on 27 September.

Vittoria and Borough Pennyz finished 11th individually at the London Olympics, and the following year were seventh at Badminton. They recorded four-star wins at Belton and Wellington and top-five places at Fontainebleau, Montbelletti and Bramham.

Pennyz has produced five offspring, three by embryo transfer, and they have now all been competed by Vittoria. The first was 10-year-old Borough Justapenny, who Vittoria rode as a young horse and is now based with Jane Holderness Roddam and ridden by Jack Ashworth, then embryo twins Borough Tuppence – who Vittoria is competing at three-star level – and Borough Threpence, who has recently joined her string.

“Threpence had a bit of a slower start but he’s very promising. He started competing with David Doel last year and I was lucky enough to have him come to me this summer,” said Vittoria. “In some ways he’s very different to his sister Tuppence, but in other ways similar, he’s a much bigger version of her.

“We’ll continue building his confidence and strength before he moves up a level. The plan is that he’s being produced to be sold, but I’d love him to stay with me. Pennyz was so special to me so it’s really great getting to ride her offspring.”

Vittoria also has a granddaughter of Pennyz; an embryo transfer filly out of Tuppence by Rock King, named Rock Florin. Rock King was owned by Vittoria’s long-term trainer Sarah Bullen.

“I wanted to mix all my Olympic horses together. I took Rock Model to Beijing and he was by Rock King. Pennyz went to London, and then Supercilious, who is a Rock King grandson on the dam side, went to Tokyo,” she said.

“Pennyz owner Sally Bullen and I were keen to keep Pennyz’ jump, but give a bit more movement. Pennyz always had a strong character, and it’s helpful to know how to work with her offspring; the girls in particular are all princesses. They all love jumping, and they’re not always big fans of flatwork – but I found particularly with Justapenny and Tuppence, if you get them jumping, it gets them on side and gets the best out of them.”

Pennyz, who is now 22, retired from competition in 2019, and lives with Sally.

“She’s very well and enjoying her retirement,” said Vittoria.

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London 2012 remains a golden glow in many memories – but could we see the Games return to the city in the not-too-distant future?

London mayor Sadiq Khan said he would like to see the Olympic and Paralympic Games return to London in 2040.

London has hosted the Games on three occasions: 1908, the rescheduled Olympics in 1948, and the spectacular 2012 edition. If Mr Khan gets his wish, London would become the first city to host the Games four times.

The news came with that of a report by the mayor’s office showing major sporting events hosted in the capital last year generated a £230m boost for London’s economy.

“Building on London’s success, the mayor has talked up his ambition to bring more of the biggest sporting events in the world to London. Sadiq has expressed his support for a bid for the Olympics and Paralympics to return to London in 2040,” said the announcement.

At 28 years between the last Games and 2040, it would be the shortest timeframe in which a city has rehosted a summer Olympic and Paralympics.

London and Paris are the only two cities to have hosted three runnings of the modern Games, although Los Angeles will soon join that exclusive club with LA28. Tokyo and Athens have also hosted twice.

A spokesperson for British Equestrian told H&H: “The spectacle and success of London 2012 was pivotal for sport in this country and positively impacted an entire generation. A bid to have the Games back on British soil – or any global Championships – would be very welcome and undoubtedly have our endorsement. We’ll watch with interest for any further developments.”

“I was in Paris last summer and I saw the transformation of their city,” said Mr Khan, in an exclusive interview with The Times. “But we could knock it out of the park in relation to the Olympics, using the assets we already have in the aquatics centre, the stadium, the velodrome. And we could have some events outside London too. London could be a hub.”

He said 2040 makes sense for London “because we could do it in a brilliant way, but also very cheaply”, in reference to existing infrastructure that already exists, adding that “the benefits would be humongous”.

In the announcement, Mr Khan added: “London is the sporting capital of the world and I am proud that we have such a strong track record of staging the biggest and best international events in our great city.

“This report highlights the significant economic and cultural benefits major sporting events provide for our city and the huge pride and excitement they create for Londoners and visitors.

“These events shine a global spotlight on the capital and inspire young Londoners to get involved in grassroots sport, and I am focused on bringing even more to our city as we work together to build a better, healthier, more prosperous London for all.”

UK Sport director of events Simon Morton said: “Live sport is a fundamental part of the UK’s social fabric, and this is embodied brilliantly by London and its love of hosting global sport.

“We welcome these findings as further, compelling evidence of the truly beneficial economic impact that is being felt by towns and cities that host major sporting events. With our event hosting partners, we aim to continue bringing more global sporting events to the UK that help reach, inspire and unite the nation.”

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The handling of the decision to sell a London 2012 Olympic legacy centre came under fire in a lively debate – but the resolution still stands.

H&H reported on questions surrounding the future of the Greenwich Equestrian Centre in Shooters Hill in 2024. The £1.6m venue had a significant amount of public funding, including a £250,000 direct investment from Sport England.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich’s decision-making cabinet agreed to dispose of the site in less than a minute during a meeting on 26 November. Members of the public contacted councillors, who called in the decision – asking for it to be looked at again.

The matter went before the council’s overview and scrutiny committee on Wednesday (8 January), when the handling of the decision on the equestrian centre was discussed in depth. This included hearing from a number of members of the community.

Cllr Matt Hartley, one of the signatories of the call-in, branded the decision-making process as a “complete contradiction” of the council’s own “very glossy” community engagement pledge and described the “disappointing” lack of engagement as making “a mockery of the council’s own words about engaging communities”.

“The panel will be aware that there is widespread public opposition to the disposal of the equestrian centre site,” he said.

“Two petitions have been handed in to the council with more than 1,400 signatures combined, and many of the residents signing the petition want to see a return to equestrian use, at least in part, as part of the future of the site.

“And that’s one option – there are surely lots of different options that could be explored with a bit of imagination. Explored together, collaborating with the community on how to utilise this asset to achieve everybody’s objectives, the community groups’ objectives, but also the council’s own corporate objectives and political objectives, not least around health and wellbeing in our borough.”

Members of the cabinet said the correct processes had been followed, it had engaged with certain parties, and that “being financially responsible means making tough decisions”. They also said a two-week consultation on the future of the site is yet to take place.

“To remain financially stable and deliver the frontline public services that our residents deserve, we have to make the best use of resources and land that we own,” said cabinet member Cllr Averil Lekau, who later added that the equestrian centre “is just not the luxury we can afford”.

“The recommended disposals mean that we can put more resources into protecting frontline council services that residents need,” she said.

“We’re going to have to make £33.7m in savings to balance the budget and protect these services. Next year, we’re forecasting a budget gap of another £27m. Cabinet considered the cost of running different services and facilities, including the business case for repurposing, and concluded that there was no reasonable prospect for these coming back into use for council priorities.”

She added: “We have a difficult choice to make. I don’t think any council wants to throw out the family silver here, but we’re in very, very challenging situations.”

In response to queries about the lack of engagement with British Equestrian (BEF) and Sport England, interim head of property Steve Dunevein told the meeting the council had met with both for an hour each in October.

BEF chief executive Jim Eyre said the briefing document for this meeting “inferred long consultation with us” which he described as “slightly disingenuous”.

“We did have a meeting. We had sought a meeting for quite some time, and actually, although it was an open meeting, the decision was a ‘fait accompli’ – there wasn’t much room for negotiation,” he said.

“The decision has clearly been made through an optic of finances without consideration of the social and community value these centres create.”

Mr Eyre “strongly” recommended the decision to dispose of the centre be reversed, that the council ensure any future consultation “is consultation” and that “there is sufficient opportunity” to enable the centre to “return to the valuable community asset it can be”.

He added: “The centre is not just about horses, it’s about people. It provides vital access to allow children from all backgrounds to have the opportunity to experience a unique relationship with the horse and have the opportunity to broaden their horizons. It can be transformative and aspirational. These are not just local benefits. They’re reasonable opportunities for inclusion, recreation, employment and even environmental stewardship.

“Like pitches and pools, it should be part of the council strategy for sports facilities focusing on the need for health and well being not marginalised because it doesn’t fit the norm. Once this land is lost, it’s lost for good.”

A member of the public added: “Disposing of a centre like this really doesn’t just mean losing a building, it means closing the door on future opportunities and possibilities, on untapped talent that we do’’t even know is out there. We’re constantly telling young people to dream big. How can we do that if we are not giving people opportunities?”

Tao Baker, who has been campaigning to save the centre with the hope of running it as a community facility once more, said: “The council’s decision to sell the site, made without notifying the community or seeking input, fails to follow proper process.

“Public open space must be protected by transparency and consultation, neither of which has occurred here. This undermines trust and contradicts the council’s own commitments to fairness and inclusion.”

She added that metropolitan open land “is protected” and can only be released under exceptional circumstances.

“Financial difficulty does not constitute exceptional circumstances,” she said.

Committee chair Lauren Dingsdale, who cast the deciding vote, said the original decision will stand. She also urged cabinet members to take into account what they had heard, in terms of engaging with interested parties when making subsequent decisions.

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A £1.6M city equestrian centre built as part of the London 2012 Olympic legacy is to be sold, in a “loss for the community and the sport as a whole”.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich’s cabinet approved the sale of the Greenwich Equestrian Centre in Shooters Hill in under a minute, during a meeting on 26 November. Documents cite “easing financial pressures” as a reason.

Council members have submitted a call-in of the decision; asking for it to be considered again.

The centre’s creation was funded by several sources, including the council, Hadlow College, direct investment by Sport England, plus financial backing from British Equestrian (BEF).

BEF head of participation Mandana Mehran Pour told H&H the BEF “was not consulted during the decision-making process” and was “first made aware of the closure of the site by concerned members of the local community”.

“Despite our efforts to engage with Greenwich council’s CEO and regeneration director, our offer to meet and discuss the matter was not accepted,” she said.

“It was only after involving Sport England who invested in that site – they have a 25-year agreement that prevents the council repurposing the site – that the council’s property team agreed to meet with us, but by then, the decision was too far advanced to influence the outcome.

“We are deeply disappointed by Greenwich council’s decision, especially without prior engagement with British Equestrian or Sport England.”

She added: “The loss of equestrian centres – especially in urban settings like Greenwich – is an alarming trend. These facilities are vital in providing accessible opportunities for people to connect with animals, develop new skills and benefit from the physical and mental health advantages of equestrianism.

“This decision is not only a loss for the local community but also for the sport as a whole.”

She added that the BEF “has been in continuous dialogue since this issue was raised with the council” and “will continue to do what we can”.

H&H has approached Sport England for comment.

A Change.org petition to save the centre, started by horse owner and businesswoman Tao Baker, had reached more than 1,000 signatures as H&H went to press on 9 December. Ms Baker has been urgently trying to save the venue, with the intention of running it as a community facility (news, 8 August).

“I’m not going to give up on this, as I think there is something special to offer disadvantaged communities and to give young people different career choices,” Ms Baker told H&H, voicing disappointment and frustration with the council, as well as a call for sporting and equestrian organisations to “step up” and do more to help.

Dr Barry Gray, chairman of Woodlands Farm Trust – the UK’s largest independent working community farm – which borders the equestrian centre, told H&H the farm is “really worried” about the potential impact of the sale and the “complete lack of consultation”.

He said the farm “wants to live at peace with the council”, adding: “[The equestrian centre] is a publicly owned site, with publicly owned buildings on it, and we feel the people of Greenwich ought to have a say in what happens to it.”

He added that it is “vital” to keep some form of equestrian use at the site, which he said also has “great potential to be a community hub”.

“I can’t believe anyone with that asset in their borough would want to sell it,” he said.

A council spokesperson told H&H that it is “a well-managed council, but to remain financially stable and provide the services that residents deserve, we must make the best use of the land and properties we own”.

“Councils all over London are reckoning with a legacy of slashed income, rising costs and increasing demand for adult and children’s social care, and a housing emergency,” they said.

“In the last year we have had to make £33.7m in savings to cover our shortfall and balance our budget, but next year we’re forecasting a budget gap of at least £27m. Our priority is to ensure we get the best possible results and deliver good value for money to benefit all our residents.”

The spokesperson added that for any site that is recommended to be sold, the council would invite bits through a transparent and comprehensive process. They declined to comment further, until the scrutiny panel has had the opportunity to discuss.

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Question mark over London 2012 Olympic legacy equestrian centre’s future

New legacy equestrian centre opens in Greenwich

A new equestrian centre set up as an Olympic legacy is now up and running near the site of the

New equestrian centre to form London’s 2012 Olympic legacy

A £250,000 investment is being used to set up a new equestrian training and rehabilitation centre on the border between

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A £1.6M equestrian facility created as part of the London 2012 Olympic legacy is facing an uncertain future after just 11 years.

The Royal Greenwich Equestrian Centre opened in 2013, offering training, part-time and degree courses run by Hadlow College. It featured arenas, a hydrotherapy pool, mechanical horse, treadmill, cold-water spa, paddocks, stabling for around 20 and more.

Funding for the centre came from a direct investment by Sport England, plus financial backing from British Equestrian (BEF), Hadlow College, Greenwich Council, the Olympic Development Authority, 2012 organisers LOCOG and the Mayor’s Fund for London.

H&H reported at the time that the foundation courses were “well booked” and that 40% of students were local residents. It also offered riding lessons to local people; a condition of its planning permission was to provide a minimum of 82 hours of community riding per week.

But as H&H went to press on Monday (5 August) a question mark hovered over its future. Hadlow College entered educational administration in 2019 and North Kent took over running its equestrian courses, among others, which are based at the Hadlow campus in Kent. On 1 August, a spokesperson for North Kent told H&H that it is no longer using the facilities at Greenwich.

A spokesperson for the local council, the Royal Borough of Greenwich, told H&H that “the council has made no decisions yet”.

Tao Baker was among those to enjoy the facility at its heights and is urgently trying to save the venue, with the intention of running it as a community facility.

Ms Baker told H&H the facilities are “fantastic”. She added that it gave young people exposure to the possibilities of careers in the equine world and had opportunities for adults wanting to further their equestrian knowledge. There were horse rehabilitation facilities, plus very popular riding lessons.

“A lot of people in the local community loved it, because the facilities were so good and the instruction was fantastic – no two lessons were ever the same,” she said.

In recent years, services offered to the public at the facility have reduced, the riding school has gone and the horses were removed from living at the site. The college continues to offer its equestrian courses at its Hadlow campus.

Ms Baker, a horse owner with a background in banking, is concerned that the centre will be lost forever. She wants to run the equestrian centre as a business to serve the community, focusing on promoting physical activity, supporting mental health and fostering inclusivity. But she said there has been a lack of engagement from the council, which she says is “beyond disappointing”.

She has challenged suggestions that the venue is not suitable for horses to live at, explaining that the facilities are “beautiful” and that there is turnout plus on-site accommodation – noting that it was purpose-built as an equestrian centre as part of its original planning permission.

“The Greenwich Equestrian Centre can become a model facility for the city, demonstrating how sports and recreational activities can drive social inclusion, mental health support, and physical wellbeing,” she said.

“The 2024 Olympics have shown us the power of sports to unite and inspire. The centre, with its roots in the London 2012 legacy, is a testament to this, offering our community a space to engage in equestrian activities and fostering a spirit of health and inclusivity.

“If the centre were to close, our community would lose a vital piece of our Olympic legacy and a unique sanctuary where people connect with the beauty and grace of horses. Some children might never get to experience the joy and therapeutic benefits of interacting with these magnificent creatures, which has inspired many and promoted well-being and community spirit.”

BEF head of participation Mandana Mehran Pour told H&H that the centre “has been a vital resource for promoting equestrian sports and providing accessible activities to the local community”.

“As one of the few riding schools in an urban setting, the centre delivers substantial health and wellbeing benefits to local residents, offering access to equestrian activities that enhance physical and mental wellbeing.

“Given British Equestrian’s commitment to creating a more inclusive and accessible sport under our diversity and inclusion strategy, Horses for All, a centre like this could significantly impact our efforts to ensure more people can benefit from the horse-human bond,” she said.

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New legacy equestrian centre opens in Greenwich

A new equestrian centre set up as an Olympic legacy is now up and running near the site of the

New equestrian centre to form London’s 2012 Olympic legacy

A £250,000 investment is being used to set up a new equestrian training and rehabilitation centre on the border between

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

A decade ago today (6 August) showjumping fans up and down the country erupted in delight as Great Britain’s quartet of Nick Skelton, Scott Brash, Peter Charles and Ben Maher won a glorious team gold medal in front of their home crowd at the London 2012 Olympics.

Tabloid headlines took great delight in highlighting the combined age of the team (two of whom were in their 50s), running with headlines about Britain’s “Golden oldies”.

“I’ve waited a long time for this,” said Nick, then 54 and riding at his sixth Olympics.

But it was a phenomenal team performance and possibly one of the biggest surprises of the Games because it had been a whopping 60 years since Great Britain had last won a showjumping gold medal at the Olympics – when Harry Llewellyn (Foxhunter), Douglas Stewart (Aherlow) and Wilfred White (Nizefela) took the crown in Helsinki in 1952.

We remember that momentous day in London like it were yesterday, but how many of these epic moments do you recall from the day British showjumpers won Olympic GOLD?

1. ‘The best day of our lives’

A real team effort from the riders, not to mention the grooms, owners, trainers, supporters and a hard-working crew behind the scenes, resulted in the highest accolade of the sport, an Olympic gold medal.

“This is the best day of my life – the best day of all our lives,” said an ecstatic Scott Brash.

“How fortunate we are to have a quartet of riders that came together at just the right time and did us all proud,” said Graham Fletcher at the time.

2. THAT electrifying jump-off

2008 was the first time the Olympic showjumping team gold medal was decided by a jump-off and Greenwich made it two on the trot. The British squad had to do it the hard way, going into battle with the Dutch, and all four riders from both nations had to jump once more against the clock over a shortened course.

Nick went first and delivered a flat-out clear, then Jur Vrieling matched his clear for the Netherlands. Ben Maher nailed a classy economical clear before Dutchman Maikel van der Vleuten dropped two poles. British hopes soared, but then Scott just rubbed the second fence for four faults. However, when Marc Houtzager hit one fence, the cogs began whirring as last British rider Peter Charles and Vindicat entered the ring, having yet to jump clear throughout the competition. But Peter dipped into every pot his great experience and rode the round of his life, leaving every fence standing and glorious gold was won.

3. The moment Peter Charles sealed gold

After Peter and Vindicat crossed the line to put that spectacular clear on the scorecard, a storm broke over the crowd and they lost all control, cheering, whistling, stamping and hugging with tears running down many a cheek. The champagne bar was the most popular spot in Greenwich within minutes of the team gold being won.

4. Nick Skelton’s premature leap on the podium

So excited was Nick about finally winning gold at his sixth Olympics, that he leapt on the podium too early – much to his team-mates’ amusement.

5. A packed podium

Great Britain won gold ahead of the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. Dutch team member Jur Vrieling reflected: “We were going for gold from the beginning. But of course, we are very happy to win silver.” Meanwhile the Saudi riders were delighted with their first Olympic team medal.

6. The tears, the emotion

Nick Skelton’s emotion after he won gold was plain for all to see – he’d set out his plan to win gold and so determined and focused had he been, that he’d galvanised those around him into believing that gold was their destiny. He received 345 text messages of congratulations in the immediate aftermath and even gave BBC presenter Clare Balding a huge on-camera hug after winning gold.

7. The fences and that stunning backdrop

Bob Ellis’s London and maritime-themed courses were masterful and having the City skyline as the backdrop proved spectacular, and a constant reminder of how lucky we were to have the greatest sporting event on home soil. On walking Bob’s track for the first time, Saudi rider Ramzy al Duhami quipped: “I wish I had shown my horse more postcards of London!”

8. The support of the crowd

For anyone lucky enough to bag a ticket to Greenwich that day through the official London 2012 ballot, the atmosphere was electric as we rode every rollercoaster of emotions through the afternoon – and well into the night as the celebrations rolled on. But the riders credited the passionate, hyper-excited crowd for lifting them to glory.

“Without this crowd, we could never have done it,” said Nick Skelton. “People said that riding in an Olympics at home would add pressure, but it was totally the opposite.”

In the crowd was showjumping legend John Whitaker, who recalls: “I was just enjoying myself, thinking I’d managed to stay anonymous, when they announced on the loudspeaker that it was my birthday and everyone turned round to look at me. It wasn’t so quiet after that!”

9. Look out, ladies

One of our favourite moments was when Scott Brash, in response to Clare Balding asking him how winning team gold would change his life, said: “To be honest, I’m hoping it will help me pull more women.”

10. The heroic horses

While the riders made showjumping history, the four horses – Big Star, Hello Sanctos, Tripple X III and Vindicat – became national heroes too.

Scott said of Sanctos: “He’s a joy to have in your stable, so easy to work with.”

“He’s amazing. He hasn’t got a negative. He’s the most perfect horse,” said Nick Skelton of the stallion, owned by Gary and Beverley Widdowson, who went on to take him to individual gold at the Rio Olympics four years later.

11. All the headlines

The British showjumpers made headline news around the world, unsurprisingly many of which featured the “Golden oldies” line but it was great to see equestrian sport receiving extensive coverage, including on both the BBC and ITV main news at 10pm. John Whitaker reflected: “What an unbelievable result for the British showjumpers – it’s been a long time coming!”

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Valegro was the guest of honour as a bronze statue of him in piaffe was unveiled in his home town Newent, Gloucestershire.

The Newent Initiative Trust was behind the project – with involvement from Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin and groom Alan Davies – and Georgie Welch was the sculptor. The statue was unveiled yesterday (27 October), and will complement the existing gold post box in honour of Charlotte’s London 2012 achievements.

A spokesman for the not-for-profit Newent Initiative Trust said it is hoped the statute will attract visitors to the town.

“Originally it had been planned to be a full-sized statue but it was decided by the committee and Carl that a half-life, similar to those at Cheltenham racecourse, would be a better fit and not be as costly,” said the spokesman.

“Georgie won the chance to make the statue in 2018 and has been working with Carl, Alan and Valegro (with, I am told, a lot of packets of Polos) to produce this wonderful statue, which will be going up by Market House in Newent soon after this unveiling.”

The statute was funded by selling 12 bronze maquettes, smaller models of the sculpture.

“Eleven were sold and the final one was kindly donated by Georgie and raffled. We would like to thank all the people who bought maquettes, particularly Anne Barrott (one of Valegro’s co-owners) who without hesitating, and having not even seen one, bought the first and most expensive maquette, which started the whole process,” said the spokesman.

“This statute was in effect funded by equestrian people for an equestrian purpose, to celebrate a wonderful horse.”

Carl, who attended the unveiling with Charlotte, Alan and Valegro, thanked the Newent Initiative Team, and said to follow the gold post box with a statue is “so exciting”.

“Valegro has taken to retirement very well,” said Carl. “Under his rug is a big tummy; anyone that knows horses will know that actually the most important thing isn’t gold medals, it’s eating food and he does that very well! He may have retired from competitions but we still have a lot of people who come to the yard to see him so he is a celebrity in his own right. He’s still a star.

“Many might imagine a gold medallist to be a fiery, wild beast that needed taming but as you can see with Valegro he’s far from it. We have sick and terminally ill children come to the yard and they can ride him, he brings so much pleasure to them. He’s regularly ridden by another Olympian who lives in Newent, Trish Gardner, who’s in her 80s and he takes her round the country lanes, eating the hedges as he goes and they have a fabulous time together twice a week.”

Carl thanked Georgie for “capturing Valegro brilliantly”.

“He’s captured in a piaffe which is the most difficult thing you can do in dressage. This is probably what Valegro is most famous for and regularly scored perfect 10s for. It’s a classic picture – it’s a 10 statue of a 10 horse,” he said.

“The equestrian community has contributed to this so thank you. Not only through buying replica statues but £1 raffle tickets and we were overwhelmed so many contributed to it as they wanted to see the statue in place. I hope everyone can visit once it’s placed in Newent.”

Article continued below…

‘I just want to do him justice’: sculptor reveals how she is creating a replica of Valegro

Ever wondered what goes into producing a replica of a living legend, such as Valegro?

Valegro to be immortalised in life-size bronze statue

A fund-raising campaign has been launched to create a life-size statue of Valegro

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Gloucestershire-based Georgie, who formerly worked with horses and specialises in animal sculptures, told H&H it had been “ a dream come true” meeting Valegro.

“I competed in dressage when I was younger and loved it so to meet such an amazing horse like Valegro was a lifetime ambition, and to sculpt him was just the icing on the cake,” she said.

“Carl, Charlotte and Alan have been fantastic and been involved all the way along. They know him better than anybody, not just his character but his shape and manner of movement which I wanted to capture in the piaffe he’s performing in the bronze,” she said.

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Charlotte Dujardin and Nick Skelton are among some of Britain’s most talented athletes included in a vote of greatest Olympic moments.

The BBC has asked the public to vote for their favourite British moment from a list of 25, from Tokyo 1964 to Rio 2016.

“There have been tear-jerkers, jaw-droppers and simply those that have been awe-inspiring,” said a BBC spokesman.

“Great Britain has enjoyed some incredible moments at the summer Olympics – but what is the greatest?”

Among the shortlist, chosen by the BBC, is dressage superstar Charlotte Dujardin and her famous dancing partner Valegro’s double gold medal-winning performances of London 2012, and showjumping legend Nick Skelton and Big Star’s individual gold at Rio 2016.

Nick told H&H he was “very honoured” to be nominated, especially as there are only 25 nominees from across so many Games.

“Let’s hope all equestrians vote and we do well for our sport,” he said.

Charlotte and Nick face competition from the likes of pentathlete Mary Peter’s Munich 1972 gold medal, runner Kelly Holmes’ double gold at Athens 2004, cyclist Chris Hoy’s treble gold at Beijing 2008 and swimmer Becky Adlington, who aged 19 in Beijing became the first British woman to take a swimming gold since 1960 – she went on to a second gold days later. Britain’s ”Super Saturday” at London 2012, when Jessica Ennis-Hill, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all won individual golds within 44 minutes, is also on the list.

Article continued below…

Charlotte Dujardin wins second Olympic gold medal

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The public has until 10am on 25 July to vote. Television presenters Clare Balding and Gabby Logan will count down the moments during a special BBC One programme from 1.15pm on 25 July, on what should have been the opening weekend of Tokyo 2020.

“We will be counting down with them via a live text, so get involved with your favourite moments using #bbcOlympics,” said the spokesman.

To vote, visit the BBC website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/53221821

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Tributes and a final farewell have been paid to a horse who won triple Paralympic and European and double World Championship gold for Great Britain.

Sophie Christiansen’s London 2012 superstar Janeiro 6 (Rio) has been put down aged 23. The combination finished in the top three in every international competition they contested, taking the freestyle in London with 84.75%, their personal best.

Rio was bought from Ferdi Eilberg, who had won the advanced medium national championship on him.

Sophie’s coach Clive Milkins said he “snuck off to ride him without anyone knowing”.

“The first time I sat on him, I knew he would win golds in London,” he said.

Rio went to Sophie in May 2011.

“The rest is history,” Clive said. “The 30 international classes. Triple Paralympic, European and double gold at [the 2014 World Equestrian Games], only beaten because he was tired after a very late night session in the doping box the night before. The highest score at a Paralympics. Sophie’s personal best, and a record not yet beaten.”

After his retirement in 2017, Rio became a schoolmaster for young para riders, cared for by Jo Alderton-Whitwoth and Jane Alderton, competing at the Riding for the Disabled Association national championships, and winning there in 2018.

“He was treated like a king by Jo – he had his harem of donkeys, pigs and even on his last day, he was rearing and yelling when his girlfriend was taken out of sight,” Clive said.

“He was a tough old goat with a sense of humour. Virtually impossible to hack out without coming home alone, he allowed you to ride him and if you picked up a whip he would remind you that he knew his job.

“He adored Sophie and loved dancing with her. In the stables, he was my buddy.”

Sophie told H&H she was delighted her partner had gone on to give young people the experience of riding a Paralympic champion – one who had originally been her back-up horse for London.

“When my top horse had to be put down, he had to step up,” she said. “He took it all on board really well.

“He taught me about trusting. I had to be in the right mindset to ride him but once I’d learned that, and to relax, our scores were phenomenal.”

Sophie said London 2012 was an “unbelievable” experience, and she trusted Rio implicitly.

“He was my favourite of the horses I’ve ridden, because of his personality,” she said. “I prefer them to have a bit of something and he was cheeky. My balance isn’t the best but he knew that, and he looked after me.”

Sophie said Rio loved cuddles – even from her non-horsey boyfriend – and described him as “my best friend”.

“Gone, but never forgotten,” she said. “He’s up there with Britain’s greatest horses. Not many horses have done what he did.”

Clive said he always had faith in Rio, and confidence he would do the job.

“In the arena, he knew he had to walk – and what a walk,” he said. “Big, powerful and like a panther; if you rode him on the buckle end, you would feel seasick with the trunk rotation. His temperament made him a great team horse, with a guaranteed high score as well as that extra something that made him a top individual.

“Who will ever forget Sophie’s freestyle in London? It was more like the last night of the proms, with Land of Hope and Glory, the Shakespeare quotes and the Union Flags; a totally unique British way of winning a dressage gold medal.

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“So many people contributed to Rio and Sophie’s success. From Jane [Goldsmith] for finding him, to Michel Assouline for keeping us all trained up for peak performance on any given day, to the whole of Team GBR for their constant health and welfare support, and to both South Bucks RDA and Ride to Achieve, who kept him in the best of health the whole time I cared for him.

“Many will say he was just a horse, but for me he was such an important part of Sophie’s dream team, he was my confidante, my team manager, and at many times my best friend as we shared so many journeys, and times together.

“If he was just a horse, what a horse – what a legacy.”

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Olympic hero Tripple X III retired from competition in front of an adoring home crowd in Hickstead’s international arena yesterday (28 July).

The 17-year-old stallion, bred by his London 2012 gold medal-winning rider Ben Maher, looked fit and well as he walked into the ring with Ben in the saddle.

His current rider, Canada’s Tiffany Foster, walked in alongside the pair with the horse’s British and Canadian grooms, Daley Fisher and Caroline Holmberg, as music from Hans Zimmer’s Gladiator soundtrack filled the arena.

The ceremony took place during the coursewalk for the King George V Gold Cup, which the horse won in 2013.

The son of Namelus R looked every inch the champion he is as a highlights reel of his achievements was broadcast on the big screen, pricking his ears as he heard the cheers from crowds witnessing his previous triumphs.

During his 11-year career, Tripple X III helped the British team to European bronze date and won numerous major international grands prix across the world, including Olympia in 2013.

Tiffany took over the reins in 2015 and the horse continued his phenomenal form, including winning team gold at Canada’s home Pan-American Games in 2015 and representing the nation at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“I just love him so much,” said a tearful Tiffany. “It means a lot to me to be able to come here with Ben and for all his British fans to be here, I’m so happy Hickstead has allowed us to do this.”

Article continues below…

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Tiffany reflected on what it has been like to compete the horse.

“I think Ben did all the hard work with him and I just got to sail through,” she laughed. “He has never let me down.”

She added it is “really important” to them that the horse retired sound and happy and he will continue to enjoy being ridden and relaxing in his field every day.

Ben then hopped off and unsaddled. A commemorative rug was put on the horse and he paraded around the iconic international arena for a final time to the sound of applause from his fans and Queen’s We Are The Champions playing through the loud speakers.

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Legendary showjumping course designer Bob Ellis will be taking a step back after a distinguished career spanning more than 40 years.

Bob has designed courses across the UK’s major international and county shows for decades, plus the London 2012 Olympics, European Championships and in 33 countries around the world.

This week marked the last time he would design at the Great Yorkshire Show and October will be his final Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) as he plans to cut down on course designing from the end of the year.

“There comes a time in everybody’s life when it’s got to be,” Bob told H&H.

“I have a lot of brilliant memories, the places my career has taken me to have been amazing. I’m getting no younger.”

He added that all being well, he plans to do Bolesworth, Windsor, Olympia and the three Hickstead meetings next year, but not as designer.

“I’ve been doing Horse of the Year Show on and off from 1975 and this year is my 44th consecutive Royal International,” said Bob, 72, adding he would like to stay involved with British Showjumping.

“I will certainly miss a lot of the camaraderie. I’ve made so many friends; riders, course builders, judges, but I don’t intend to stop coming to the shows. I’ll be there for days out with the grandchildren. It will be nice then with no pressure.”

He added he also plans to spend more time following his football team, the Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Bob has designed from Brazil to New Zealand, with Mexico and South Africa favourites abroad, and Hickstead, Windsor, Olympia and the South of England among his favourites at home.

His fondest memory is of Britain winning team gold at the London 2012 Olympics.

“When Britain won the team gold in London I cried — we all cried — that was some moment,” remembers Bob.

But his career started from humble beginnings.

“When I was in my early 20s I went to ride for Stephen Hadley and he had just put up an indoor school. He decided to have some shows and somebody needed to build the courses, so I was designated course designer,” he said.

“I used to build a course for the unaffiliated shows on the Wednesday evening, then go and fetch a horse out and ride round it to see if it was jumpable.”

He knew renowned course designers Jon Donley and Alan Ball via the showjumping circuit and in 1975, Alan asked if he would go with him to HOYS as an assistant. The following year, he went to the Royal international and the rest is history.

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‘Say a small prayer before tackling one of my courses’: meet course designer Bob Ellis

From his secret weapon to his guilty pleasure, find out more about the showjumping course designer

“I start with a graph with the measurements of the arena on,” said Bob, explaining how he goes about designing a course.

“If you haven’t been before, that gives you an idea of the size of the arena, where the judges are, where the sun goes down or comes up, these are the sort of things you need to know.

“Then I just doodle — put some fences down and try and get some routes, the ways you want to go and add some fences to it, it sounds simple! Some days you can rattle plans off one after another and other times you can look at a blank piece of paper for about five days.”

He added he tries to go to a show a day early to visualise where fences will go and which lines will work.

“It’s not an exact science and you are dealing with animals so anything can happen, and usually does somewhere along the line!”

And advice for aspiring designers? “It is hard work to start off with as you start by picking up poles for little or no money, but the rewards come if you work hard enough.”

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Sophie Christiansen’s multiple medal-winning ride Janeiro 6 has retired aged 20.

The combination finished in the top three in every international competition they contested.

Among their many achievements was their London 2012 freestyle win, the pair clinching gold with a huge 84.75%.

The horse was previously partnered by Michael Eilberg, who won the advanced medium national title with him in 2008, and came to Sophie in May 2011.

Sophie told H&H Ferdi Eilberg called her coach, Clive Milkins, to say they he had “this really great horse with a great walk”.

“At the time I was aiming him as my reserve horse for London as I had another horse at the time, Robin, who was phenomenal,” said Sophie.

Sadly, Robin developed head-shaking issues.

“All of a sudden, Rio became my main aim for London,” she said.

Sophie added that the horse is very sensitive and quick to pick up on how a rider is feeling, which hugely affected his walk.

“When he is nice and relaxed and forward thinking, he has that lovely, panther-like movement he showed at London 2012,” said Sophie.

“When the rider is a bit uptight, he tends to shorten his stride — I had to really work on how I was feeling mentally to get the best out of him.

“He really taught me how to be in the best place mentally for a competition.”

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Nick Skelton third and Sophie Christiansen fifth in BBC SPOTY

It was a podium finish for Nick in

She added that 2012 was a tough year as she had not planned to have Rio as her main horse and desperately wanted to be on the team, but their early scores together were not what she would have liked.

“That was when I met my mentor, Leon Taylor, who used to be an Olympic diver,” she said.

“He really helped me get rid of those demons in my head and brought it back to being about having fun.

“You forget why you start sport sometimes, which is to have fun. It’s easy to get caught up in ‘I have to win gold medals and make teams’.

“Leon really helped me with that — as soon as I started relaxing and smiling, Rio came into a different league and my results rocketed.

“I still get chills thinking about London. It was a massive atmosphere and one I’m not sure para dressage will have again any time soon.”

Sophie and Rio also won individual and team gold at the 2012 Paralympics, before repeating their treble gold success at the 2013 European Championships.

They also won team and individual gold and freestyle silver at the 2014 para dressage World Championships.

Sophie added Rio’s personality is her favourite thing about him.

“He loves people and will always come and say ‘hi’ when you walk into the stables,” she said.

“He still needs a bit of riding as he has been in work all his life — I didn’t want him just to stop.

“He has gone to live with Janet Alderton, who specialises in rehabilitation — she knows not to overdo it with him, while still giving him the right amount of exercise.

“He has been making friends with the pigs and donkeys who also live there!”

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On the fifth anniversary of Britain winning our first Olympic dressage gold medal in Greenwich in 2012, we look back at pictures of that historic day

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Olympic Games always throw up the unexpected and London was no exception. With Rio now just days away, we remember some of the biggest surprises of the equestrianism at Greenwich Park

1. Britain’s showjumping team gold

It seems disloyal and unpatriotic, with the benefit of hindsight, but the truth is that we had less faith in Britain’s showjumpers to deliver a team medal than our eventers or dressage riders.

Nations Cup results this year had been average and, while Nick Skelton’s Big Star and Ben Maher’s Tripple X were on tremendous form, selection for the other two spots was more controversial — especially when Michael Whitaker and GIG Amai won the prestigious Aachen grand prix a week after being left off the squad.

Not only was it 28 years since Britain’s jumpers collected any Olympic medal and 60 since they last won team gold at a Games, it was also 23 years since they took team gold at any championship.

A team bronze in Greenwich would have been a super result, but the Brits surpassed

all expectations to win gold.

2. A Japanese rider leading eventing dressage

Did anyone pick Yoshiaki Oiwa as the eventing dressage leader? I’d be surprised. Japan has never won an Olympic eventing medal and came into this championship well outside the leading seven or eight nations.

Yes, Yoshi was the most experienced of the Japanese team and has long competed on the European circuit — he was based with Andrew and Bettina Hoy for some time (before their separation).

He rode at the 2008 Olympics and has contested two World Equestrian Games (WEG) since bursting on to the scene with 11th at Badminton in 2005.

But no one would have expected Yoshi to head the first phase in London, against the brilliant Germans and numerous other smart tests. He and the mare Noonday De Conde had only once previously broken the 40-barrier at CIC***, but 29 July 2012 was their day.

With the ground jury rewarding softness and harmony, Yoshi’s consistent test scored 38.1, propelling him to the top of the leader board.

Sadly, that was the best part of Japan’s equestrian Games. Yoshi failed to slip his reins as he came off the big drop at fence 20a and fell off, while two of his team-mates also took tumbles, leaving Japan 12th of 13 teams after a promising dressage sixth.

3. Canada’s terrible luck

The fortunes that befell Canada in any one of the equestrian competitions would have been hard to stomach. That one nation suffered such ill luck not once, not twice, but three times is still scarcely believable. Canadian journalists must have been near-suicidal.

It started with the eventing. Canada has struggled to maintain form since their 2010 WEG team silver, but they could have hoped for a fair result here.

But no — three of their five pairs fell across country, with Hawley Bennett-Awad shipped off to hospital due to concussion and a sacral fracture.

One of the survivors, Michelle Mueller’s Amistad, incurred a tendon injury so bad that he has now been retired from eventing.

Dressage? Surely nothing terrible could happen in this tamest of the equestrian disciplines. Never underestimate the unpredictability of horses.

The Canadian team’s campaign came to an abrupt end when David Marcus’ Capital was spooked by a camera halfway through his test and reared and spun in fright.

He was eliminated for exceeding the time limit for resistance — and with him went the whole Canadian team’s chances, because the dressage format now requires all the three team horses to count.

All hopes now rested on the showjumping team. But the drama continued when Olympic debutante Tiffany Foster’s horse Victor failed a hypersensitivity test just minutes before he was due in the ring for the first team round. With instant disqualification and no appeal, the team was down to three riders.

Fifth was an honourable result, but London 2012 are probably swear words in Canadian equestrian circles by now.

4. Michael Jung being a dressage discard score

Being off the pace after dressage was predicted to be favourite Michael Jung’s only concern in his bid for gold. But few would have expected him and Sam to be fourth of the five Germans after the first phase and, as such, a discard score.

The pair made two mistakes in their test, breaking in the medium trot and the walk — incredibly rare in such a consistent partnership — and found themselves languishing in 11th.

With Dirk Schrade’s strong test added to the expected excellent performances of Ingrid Klimke and Sandra Auffarth, Michael’s score didn’t contribute to the German’s leading position at this stage.

But it takes more than a couple of small errors to keep a rider of Michael’s class off the podium. As the competition progressed, every person ahead of him faltered until the individual gold medal was placed round his neck.

The winners were the only pair to finish on their dressage score, becoming worthy of the honour of being the first rider, horse and combination to simultaneously hold the eventing Olympic, world and European titles.

5. Germany’s early departure from team showjumping contest

Showjumping is perhaps the least predictable of the equestrian sports, with success or failure hanging on touching a pole. The mighty Germans found themselves on the downside of that when they failed even to qualify for the second round of the team contest.

Although they were missing some stars due to injury and lack of horsepower, the Germans fielded three of the four riders who secured team gold at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and were named as the “ones to beat” in H&H’s preview.

They lost one of their chosen pairs before the start when Philipp Weishaupt’s Monte Bellini fell ill. Substitute Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum became the drop score from the first team round with eight faults on the talented but inexperienced Bella Donna.

Each of the other German riders — Marcus Ehning (Plot Blue), Janne-Friederike Meyer (Lambrasco) and Christian Ahlmann (Codex One) — recorded four faults and a total of 12 was too many for progression to the next stage.

Further surprise losses at the halfway point were the world silver and bronze medallists, France and Belgium.

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6. Charlotte Dujardin‘s fluffed centre line

Let us take nothing away from Charlotte and Valegro — they performed magnificently three times to secure two gold medals for Britain. It is precisely because they had been so foot-perfect to that point that their final centre line in the freestyle came as a shock.

Until that point, their test had been poetry in motion, a delightful dance to wonderfully appropriate patriotic tunes. We all fully expected them to continue that way to the final halt, when suddenly, on the last centre line, something went slightly wrong.

A little misunderstanding, slight greenness and tiredness and, for an instant, the perfection of Charlotte and Valegro was compromised.

A packed crowd at Greenwich and thousands in front of televisions around the globe held their breath. Had Charlotte lost it?

Would Adelinde Cornelissen and Parzival take individual gold?

But no — the final marks showed Charlotte 1.89% ahead of Adelinde, with British judge Stephen Clarke explaining: “Adelinde’s [test]… needed a little more lightness and self-carriage… Charlotte’s [test] had a little more harmony… The decision was for the harmony.”

Don’t miss our special Rio 2016 preview in 28 July issue of Horse & Hound magazine, out now

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Everyone loves an individual Olympic medallist, but others made an indelible mark at London 2012, too. While we eagerly await the stories that will arise from Rio, Paula Lester and Catherine Austen remember some of the eventers who won our hearts with their skill, flamboyance and courage in London

Italy’s Vittoria Panizzon and Borough Pennyz

After Michael Jung, this perfectly suited pair came closest to finishing on their dressage score, adding just one time-fault in the second, individual showjumping phase. Super-fit and super-nippy, the Gloucestershire-based rider and her then nine-year-old mare, bred and owned by Sally Bullen, jumped impeccably. If their dressage warm-up had gone to plan, they would have finished higher than 11th.

Belgium’s Karin Donckers and Gazelle De La Brasserie

Karin Donckers retired her consistent and long-serving 18-year-old Swiss warmblood mare after finishing 15th — the best of the Belgians — at London 2012. Their harmonious dressage tests scored highly for years — seventh here and second in the 2008 Games — and they were good showjumpers, with just one down in each round at Greenwich. But time-penalties across country once again caught them out.

Italy’s Stefano Brecciaroli and Apollo VD Wendi Kurt Hoeve

This horse’s stunning test, scoring 38.5, left them second after dressage. Could they follow up on this start and take a medal home to Italy? Sadly not. Stefano set off across country like a man possessed but they picked up time-penalties. Stefano was resigned to dropping down the order, explaining with affection: “My horse is very special, but he cannot gallop for 10 minutes. I respect him and do not want to push him. We took the direct routes and did as much as we could.”

Thailand’s Nina Ligon and Butts Leon

The first Asian woman to ride in the Olympic eventing was only 20 years old. We waited with bated breath to see if Nina would finish her first Games. She did. Although down the pack in 41st, she impressed onlookers with her quiet riding.

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New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson and Nereo

Fourth is the worst place to finish — so near, yet so far. Andrew was furious to have his dressage preparation interrupted by the judges halting the competition for 10min during an electrical storm. An effortless cross-country round and one fence down in the two showjumping rounds couldn’t make up the deficit.

Don’t miss our bumper Olympic preview issue of Horse & Hound, out this Thursday (28 July 2016)

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Owners looking to secure new horses ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics have until 15 January next year to complete the deal. 

The “transfer window” of December is usually a busy time ahead of the Olympics.

Riders and producers of all disciplines will be involved in the process

For London 2012 several top horses were sold ahead of the deadline, including Titus (pictured, above), who went to Edwina Tops-Alexander of Australia from Britain’s Guy Williams. 

He was swiftly reunited with Guy Williams — but too late to be re-registered to Team GBR for a chance to compete at the London Games.

British showjumper Talan was also sold — this time by Robert Smith and Di Cornish to Saudi Equestrian Fund for Prince Faisal, but didn’t make it onto their 2012 bronze medal-winning squad.

The Olympic transfer deadline usually falls on 31 December. This time it is 15 January, so a flurry of sales is expected in the coming weeks.

“This was voted in at the 2013 FEI general assembly,” said a spokesman for the FEI.

“The reason for changing the date to 15 January from 31 December is to take account of office closures over the Christmas and New Year period for all associated organisations.”

For more on horses that have transferred riders ahead of the deadline don’t miss next week’s issue of H&H, out 10 December.

For H&H showjumping columnist William Funnell’s thoughts, don’t miss his comment in this week’s issue of H&H — out now (4 December).

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Olympic gold medal winner Big Star will be making his return to the show ring next week.

Nick Skelton’s London 2012 partner has not been seen at a competition since the Global Champions Tour grand prix in Estoril in 2014.

The pair will be competing in Vilamoura, Portugal, at the Atlantic Tour, which started on Thursday (24 September) and runs until 18 October.

“Big Star is making a comeback,” Nick told H&H.

“He looks good and has been jumping at home for about 12 weeks. I will start him off in the small classes and see how we go, as he hasn’t been in the ring for 16 months.”

The 12-year-old stallion has been off following the recurrence of a leg injury.

Following the GCT in 2014 he was found to have torn his lower suspensory.

Nick told H&H at the time that it meant “a good amount of time off”.

The son of Quick Star, owned by Beverley Widdowson, was sidelined for nine months from September 2013 with a similar injury and was brought back extremely carefully by Nick and his team.

The injury has meant Nick has been missing from championship teams the past two summers, missing the 2014 World Equestrian Games and the Europeans this summer

Nick has been competing Untouched, Cliff 67 and Curious George this season. He last competed at the CSI2* in Brussels in early September.

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

As the Rio 2016 Olympics loom large on the horizon, there is no better time to look back to that heady day (6 August) in 2012 when the British showjumping team delighted equestrian fans by winning Olympic gold in Greenwich. This was the first time Britain’s showjumpers had been crowned Olympic champions in 60 years.

Currently we’re all waiting with baited breath to find out who will make up the British showjumping team for the Games in Rio. It had looked touch and go as to whether we would have the chance to defend our title when team qualification went down to the wire at the FEI 2015 European Showjumping Championships in Aachen. But some great performances by Team GBR saw the country finish fourth, which was enough to ensure qualification.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy looking back at some of the iconic images of British success at London 2012 and remind ourselves of that very special jump off, which kept us all right on the edge of our seats…

How Britain won Olympic showjumping gold in London

The typical British weather couldn’t put a dampner on the action, as Britain was forced to jump off for the gold medal against the Netherlands after both teams finished on eight faults after two rounds.

Nick Skelton, first to go, jumped his fourth clear round of the Games on Big Star.

“He is a freak, there really isn’t anything he can’t do,” Nick said of Beverley Widdowson’s brilliant stallion. “He’s an absolute genius”.

Ben Maher also jumped clear in the jump off on Tripple X.  The horse has since been sold to Canada and helped their team qualify for Rio at the Pan Am Games.

Scott Brash and Hello Sanctos just tipped the second fence in the Olympic team jump-off for four faults. His owner Lord Harris has confirmed that Rio will be Sanctos’ last championship team appearance and is backing Scott to add individual gold to his outstanding achievements to date.

When Peter Charles came back into the arena as the final British rider to jump, he needed to collect four faults or less with the inexperienced Vindicat for Britain to take gold.

Although Vindicat had grown in confidence throughout the team competition, the partnership’s performances had been patchy to say the least, collecting nine faults on the first day and eight in the first round on the second day.

It’s unsurprising that chef d’equipe Rob Hoekstra, course designer Bob Ellis and rider Nick Skelton were looking a little tense…

But Peter produced the ride of his life as Vindicat tried his heart out to jump clear and give Britain Olympic gold — the first time since the team that contained Harry Llewellyn and Foxhunter in 1952.

The home crowds were absolutely delighted and gave our riders and their horses a rousing reception.

“I’ve waited a long time for this,” said Nick Skelton. “I’ve been to a lot of Games, made a lot of mistakes. We couldn’t have done it in a better place; the crowd have been incredible and really helped us along.”

London 2012 Olympic team showjumping results

Gold: Great Britain

Silver: The Netherlands

Bronze: Saudi Arabia.

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The British para dressage riders dominated London 2012, bringing home 14 medals in total — five individual gold, five individual silver, one bronze and team gold — and making it Britain’s most successful games ever.

And to celebrate the magic of those games, the British Paralympic Association introduced National Paralympic Day, now in its third year, which is being celebrated across the country today (26 July, 2015).

Take a look back at some of those glory moments from Greenwich…

Sophie Christiansen

Time to celebrate: Sophie Christiansen is the first British Paralympian in 2012 to win three gold medals

Sophie Christiansen

Britain’s Sophie Christiansen, who took gold with Janeiro 6 in the grade Ia individual competition, embraces Singapore’s Laurentia Tan, who took bronze with Ruben James 2.

Sophie Wells

Sophie Wells poses with a union flag to celebrate her silver medal in the grade IV individual freestyle, with Pinocchio. “He’s got such power and gives you an amazing feel,” she said about her ride.

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Does seeing female competitors without hairnets make your stomach do a little flip? And is all your kit patent or

Deb Criddle and LJT Akilles

Soaking up the atmosphere at Greenwich: Deb Criddle and LJT Akilles take silver in the grade III freestyle competition.

Lee Pearson and Gentleman

Umbrellas at the ready: Lee Pearson CBE and Gentleman brave the rain in the team test.

Natasha Baker

Grade II individual gold medalist Natasha Baker takes a lap of honour at Greenwich Park. “This is the most incredible feeling in the world,” she said. About her ride Cabral she added: “He’s just the best horser ever, a dream.”

Natasha Baker

Savouring the moment: Natasha Baker with her gold medal. “It’s so heavy!” she exclaimed at the time. “I nearly fell over when they put it on me.”

Bring on Rio 2016 — only 409 days to go…

Find out more about National Paralympic Day at paralympics.org.uk/npd2015

Don’t miss our feature about how para dressage riders make it work in the 13 August issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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Gonçalo Carvalho inspired many British riders to become interested in Iberian horses after his performance at London 2012 on the Lusitano stallion Rubi. H&H's Helen Triggs meets him to find out why judges are starting to sit up and take notice

Gonçalo Carvalho was the most successful member of the Portuguese Olympic team at London 2012, with Christine Jacoberger’s Lusitano stallion Rubi. The pair was ranked 19th on the World Dressage rankings in 2013 and they retired after the European Championships in Herning, Denmark in 2013.

Rubi was bred by the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art where he was picked out by Gonçalo, 33, who studied as a rider at the Portuguese School.

Rubi has Alter Real bloodlines — the only breeding line used by the Portuguese school.

Q. Many people were impressed with Rubi at the Olympics. Were you surprised by the reaction to Rubi?

Gonçalo Carvalho: The Olympics was a dream and the public were amazing, especially the British fans. When I arrived at the Olympics I thought “what am I doing here?”, but we focused, worked hard and got good results.

Q. Do you think Iberians get the marks they deserve in dressage competition?

Gonçalo Carvalho: I think step by step Rubi earned the points he deserved. Now with [my new ride] Batuta I don’t feel any prejudice. People and judges are starting to like the Iberian horses when they are good. When a horse is good, it doesn’t matter about the breed.

Q. Are people getting more interested in Iberian horses?

Gonçalo Carvalho: When people see how good they can be, they begin to be interested. It’s hard to find a good Lusitano. Breeders aren’t focussed on breeding for one discipline and that’s the big problem. They breed horses that can do everything. But now more and more are investing in breeding just for dressage.

Q. What is Rubi doing now?

Gonçalo Carvalho: He is back with his owner who is riding him and he is a breeding stallion. One of his sons is competing at PSG. His sons look to have good potential.

Q. Do you ride and train Iberians differently to warmbloods?

Gonçalo Carvalho: Yes. It is completely different. Most Iberian horses need to be taught to work with a short base, slowly and in a shorter outline so they can take bigger steps. They are more sensitive, but they have great elasticity and so training is becoming more similar. Iberian horses are great for competition at the higher levels.

Read the full article about Iberians in this week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine (30 April 2015)

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Tim Hadaway, FEI director of games and championships, has been awarded a medal of honour by the British Equestrian Federation (BEF).

This is in recognition of his role as competition manager for the London 2012 equestrian events.

BEF chairman Keith Taylor presented the award at Badminton on Sunday (11 May).

Tim was credited with bringing equestrian sport back to the heart of the Olympics and increasing the visibility of the sport to a global audience.

He started out in the Pony Club, before working as a cross-country course builder and designer and then moving into event management. He was director of Blair horse trials in the 1990s, and has since held technical advisory positions within British Eventing.

Dutch showjumper Gerco Schroder’s Olympic 2012 silver medallist London is one of several international horses going under the hammer next month.

This follows a ruling by Dutch courts that Rabobank has a right to collect assets from the bankrupt Eurocommerce Stables.

Eurocommerce Holdings filed for bankruptcy in July 2012, and the horses’ destination has been under discussion since.

London was seized shortly after the Olympic Games, but was returned to Mr Schroder while proceedings were underway. However, since a judge ruled on 5 March that the bank has a right to €38,250,000 (£32,000,000), all the horses, stables and trucks will be sold at BVA Auctions (4-7 April). Many international prospective buyers have already registered their interest in the online auction.

A price-tag of around €10million (£8.3million) was rumoured when London was seized in 2012.

The provisional list of lots up for auction includes other top Dutch showjumpers, such as the Gerco Schroder-ridden New Orleans, Callahan and Seoul; Wout-Jan van der Schan’s Capetown and Sacramento; Albert Voorn’s Tobalio, as well as breeding stallions.

Eurocommerce said in a statement that the receivers and the bank had “determined that the stables are not profitable to run and therefore cannot see any other responsible option than a forced auction, which is also deemed in the interest of all creditors”.

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The most successful Olympics ever for British riders piqued interest in horse sport.

A year on more people are competing, watching and hoping to work in the industry than ever before.

But key figures from Greenwich say that has not translated into new owners and sponsors coming through — crucial to replicating the success of London in Rio 2016.

So what does this mean for our sport and what can we do about it?

Find out what Olympic riders Laura Tomlinson, Carl Hester, Ben Maher and Tina Cook have to say in this week’s issue of H&H, out today (Thursday 15 August).

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A year ago today (6 August) in Greenwich, London, Team GBR celebrated its first Olympic showjumping gold medal in 60 years. We look back in pictures at that heady day…

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

Britain’s four gold medal-winning showjumpers will be able relive their London victory at home, after receiving a replica Olympic fence.

Ben Maher, Nick Skelton, Peter Charles and Scott Brash have each been given a version of the Olympic rings jump used at Greenwich, by British Showjumping (BS).

“We wanted to thank the riders who secured a gold medal for Great Britain with a tangible gift to remember it by,” said BS chief executive Iain Graham.

“We couldn’t think of anything more fitting than building them a fence to use at home.”

Peter Charles, who already has Abbey Road and Tower Bridge fence replicas — one of which he commissioned, the other was a gift — added: “They are iconic and part of history. Mine will never be jumped again, but will be displayed at the height we jumped them around the farm. They are something to inspire those who see them.”

Ben Maher thanked BS for the “memories” when he saw the fence on a 24hr visit back to Hertfordshire to exercise his horses, before flying back to the USA to compete in Florida.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (28 February 2013)

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2012 was, for me, the Year of the Olympics. I was Horse & Hound’s accredited journalist at Greenwich, and covered all three disciplines. I’d like to say that it’s because I am some sort of superhumanly brilliant reporter, but I’m pretty sure that it’s just because, at time when the Editor was deciding who would get the gig, my boyfriend dumped me and she felt sorry for me…

Since the Olympics finished, I have made a conscious effort not to use words such as “awesome”, “amazing”, “incredible”, “superb” or “thrilling”. Now, life is “fine” or “quite good”. The summer of superlatives is over, and we’ve returned to life at working trot.

It almost seems like a dream — was I really there? Did I actually write 25,000 words in the magazine and on the H&H website? Did the terrific team who ran the media centre really have to lock me in on the night the Brits won eventing silver as it was 11pm and I still had a couple of thousand words to write? Did I walk each and every showjumping course at Greenwich and get my photo taken beside the Post Box fence? Were all those interviews I did for Al-Jazeera TV ever aired? And what about that photo of the H&H girls — including me — with the showjumpers, all high as kites on Champagne and overexcitement the night the Brits grabbed team gold…?

One highlight from a fortnight with as many as an upmarket hairdresser’s? The showjumpers jumping off for, and winning, team gold. I watched it alone at the very top of the press tribune — most of the press viewed it on screens in the mixed zone, where riders came to talk to the press, but I just felt I HAD to see it live.

Heart hammering and stomach churning, I couldn’t sit still and paced along the top of the stands. I know it’s a horrible cliché to say that the tension was palpable, but it honestly was — somehow the air thickened, and the stands became swamped with a weird flood of adrenalin.

I’m not sure I even believe it now — did Peter Charles really jump clear? I wasn’t sure I trusted my eyes, but the roar of surprise and joy as it was announced that Britain, astonishingly, had taken gold, was verification. Sad as it may sound, I nearly passed out with excitement.

And now? As Shakespeare so perspicaciously said: “Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.”

I definitely have more than a touch of Post-Olympic Disorder. Will anything even half as amazing ever happen again? Why aren’t the Olympics an annual event? And if I get a new boyfriend now and organise for him to dump me in a callous manner before Rio, can I please report in 2016?

Catherine

Horse & Hound celebrates an incredible 12 months for the equestrian world in our 2012 Review of the Year magazine (6 December, 2012). Grab your copy from your local stockist or buy a digital issue online now.

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The red pillar box that featured in the showjumping and eventing competitions at this summer’s London Olympics caused no end of trouble.

It was responsible for medals won and lost and was the subject of much discussion among those in the know.

The fence went on to feature at Burghley and then Horse of the Year Show (HOYS), where it also proved influential.

There is some science to explain why this might be.

Studies of equine colour perception indicate that horses possess dichromatic vision, which allows perception of greens and yellows, and blues and greys.

They do not see reds — this colour will appear to them grey or neutral.

This means that horses may experience difficulty in identifying red objects, for example a solid or mono-coloured red fence on a showjumping course.

This is likely to be particularly marked in poor lighting conditions, where the backdrop is “busy” or where the object is static and its appearance or design does not create sufficient contrast for recognition.

In these circumstances, it would be easy for the horse to make visual misjudgements.

Further, the density of cones (colour receptors) in the equine retina is significantly reduced compared with a human’s.

This means horses are likely to see colours as being desaturated or washed out.

This is particularly the case in the peripheral visual fields, suggesting that how a horse perceives colour contrast on the margins of his vision may be significantly reduced.

Turning too tightly into a red obstacle is therefore risky, as the horse may fail to identify the fence immediately.

Interestingly, at Burghley, the pillar box fence was situated off of a sharp left-hand turn. Clear presentation was key.

Knowing how and what horses see is useful only if we use it to influence their ability to meet the challenges of domestication and athletic demand.

It will be interesting to see how this increasing body of knowledge is used in the future.

To read the full veterinary article about how horses see colour see the current issue of H&H (29 November 2012)

Read more articles about horses’ vision

I’m sure I’m not alone among eventers in saying 2012 has been characterised by the huge lows of cancellations and the huge high of the Olympics.

On the weather front, I’m one of the lucky ones — I no longer event myself, so I wasn’t losing money, nor suffering weekly disappointment, nor trying to keep a fit horse amused with nowhere to go. I’m also not an organiser, with a year’s work and thousands of pounds invested in a water-logged field.

In H&H towers, we’ve had frequent cries of “I need to drop that page for xxx horse trials” and weekend text messages between freelancers and staff members as we re-allocate space. Reporters have got used to last-minute deployment to re-scheduled events.

Badminton was a strange one — I was spending the 10 preceding days in Cornwall on a family holiday, so I heard the news via twitter as we prepared to head out for a blustery coastal walk.

Again I was fortunate, cushioned from the blow by being away, although an extra few days holiday certainly didn’t make up for being deprived of my Badminton fix.

As Chatsworth too went down, I found myself asking if we would be forced to choose our Olympic team via a tiddlywinks tournament…

Enough of the doom and gloom.

Like everyone else I will remember the Olympics for the wonderful performance of Britain’s teams, the amazing vista and huge success of the Greenwich venue. So instead of repeating that, here are a few of my personal London 2012 memories:

• Working like a demon on our preview pull-out — “a programme for every reader” sounds great until you realise someone’s got to write all those biogs… but it was worth it when we spotted lots of people using it at Greenwich.
• The twitter-alympics — this Games has been played out on social media to an unprecedented extent. The British eventing team being leaked through twitter — leading to staff rushing back to the office and late-night calls to columnists to alter our pages — was a prime example.
• Coming into work early on cross-country day with a knot in my stomach — checking into twitter it seemed every eventer in Britain was awake and buzzing, sending good luck messages, getting horses ridden so they could spend the day in front of the telly.
• Providing H&H Live during the cross-country from a meeting room in our central London office alongside H&H website editor Carol Phillips, watching it all on television and sharing the experience with followers around the world — a strangely sanitised cross-country day experience, but oddly exciting.
• Going home after that long day — with the prospect of an even longer press day to follow — and realising on arriving that I’d left my door keys in the office. Thank god my brother lives nearby and has an air bed…
• Two 20-hour press days on the Olympic eventing and team dressage pages — particularly “interesting” when all the lights went out at midnight, leaving us toiling in the dark, with editor Lucy Higginson raiding desktop lights from other magazines…
• Waking the day after that eventing press day to realise Roger Federer was first up on the Olympic tennis court I had tickets for — all thoughts of a lie-in were soon forgotten.

So, that was my 2012. How was it for you?

Pippa

Horse & Hound celebrates an incredible 12 months for the equestrian world in our 2012 Review of the Year magazine (6 December, 2012). Grab your copy from your local stockist or buy a digital issue online now.

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Murka’s Vindicat W – the horse whose clear round clinched team gold for Team GBR at Greenwich – has been sold abroad.

The 10-year-old KWPN gelding, who is owned by Peter Charles’ wife, Tara and his long-term backer Olga White, has gone to the young American showjumper Jessica Springsteen.

Peter made the announcement on his Facebook page.

“Vinnie is one of the best horses I have ever ridden, so the decision to move him on has not come lightly,” he said.

“In order to invest in a new string of young horses in preparation for Rio, we have had to make the decision to allow him to move to another rider,” he added.

Vindicat looked green and intimdated at the start of the Olympics, racking up nine faults on the first day of the showjumping and eight faults in the first round of the Nations Cup.

In the second round, he hit one and collected a time fault – but he improved throughout the Games and jumped clear when it really mattered, to give Britain Olympic gold for the first time since 1952.

“He produced an outstanding performance to secure team gold for Britain for the first time in 60 years, and I will never forget how that felt and how unbelievably proud he made me and my team feel,” said Peter.

“I wish Jessica the best of luck with him and I am sure he will make her proud, too.”

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All human and equine samples taken at the London 2012 equestrian competitions have tested negative, the FEI has revealed.

More human and equine tests took place at London 2012 than at any previous Games, with the top four riders and horses being tested from every class. Further random tests were chosen by computerised selection.

FEI President HRH Princess Haya said: “These were the most tested Games ever and we also tested for more substances than ever before.

“We worked hand-in-hand with the Horseracing Forensic Laboratory in Newmarket and thank them for the speed with which they processed all the samples so that we could maintain a level playing field throughout the Games.

“Now that we’ve had three major championships that were the most heavily tested ever and they were 100% clean, we can hold our heads up high and say that yes, this is a victory.”

The news comes as a great triumph to the equestrian community, after doping scandals at the previous two Games, Athens and Beijing.

Ingmar de Vos, FEI Secretary General, said: “Today’s news demonstrates the resounding success of the FEI Clean Sport campaign, which has been fully embraced by the international equestrian community. The International Paralympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency have also gone to great lengths to ensure a clean Games.”

For more information on the FEI’s Clean Sport campaign, head to www.feicleansport.org

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Team GB’s medal-winning Olympic and Paralympic riders will be among the 800 athletes taking part in a victory parade through central London on Monday, 11 September.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the route of the parade, from Mansion House, in the City of London, to Buckingham Palace.

All our Olympic dressage riders and eventers will be on board the floats, alongside our Paralympic riders, and the showjumpers are flying back from the Masters at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Canada in order to take part.

Claire Shand from the British Equestrian Federation told H&H: “Scott Brash doesn’t land from Calgary in time to be on a float, but he will be a ticketed guest in the VIP area.

“Britain’s riders will be sharing a float with the Olympic divers,” she added.

This was our most successful Olympic equestrian team ever. Team GB’s dressage riders secured an historic team gold, with individual gold for Charlotte Dujardin. Our showjumpers won the first team gold since 1952, while Team GB’s eventers took team silver.

Britain’s para riders maintained their 100 per cent record of team gold at the Games. Sophie Christiansen added individual and freestyle gold medals to her tally, while Natasha Baker won two gold medals. For the first time, Britain fielded riders in all five categories, winning medals in each section.

The parade starts at 1.30pm and is an unticketed event.

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A new girth being launched today (Thursday 30 August) at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials is set to revolutionise the way riders think about girths.

At the beginning of 2011 the British Equestrian Federation, through the World Class Performance programme, were involved in the testing of a new design of girth that they felt was so influential on a horse’s performance they asked the manufacturers, Fairfax Saddles, to hold the launch until after the London 2012 to prevent details leaking to our rivals.

Tested by our Olympic eventers and dressage riders and used for Olympic competition by several team members including Carl Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mary King, this girth is now available to the general public.

This girth claims to:

• reduce peak pressure testing by as much as 85%
• increase fore and hind limb extension
• improve symmetry of movement

and it’s all backed by months of scientific testing using Pliance pressure pads (usually used to measure pressure undersaddles) and gait analysis by Centaur Biomechanics.

So how is the Fairfax Performance Girth different from others on the market? Vanessa Fairfax of Fairfax Saddles discovered using Pliance testing that the peak pressure points beneath a girth are not on the sternum, as previously thought, but just behind the elbow.

She designed a girth that is cut back dramatically behind the elbow and also has what she describes as a “floating edge” — a soft edge that guides the muscles in that area back beneath the girth rather than blocking them as many traditional girths do.

However, for the moment, you’ll have to be prepared to fork out £220- £390 to own a girth from the range — unless you take advantage of a 10% discount available to H&H readers in today’s magazine. The girth comes in long or short (dressage), long stud guard or short stud girth options.

To understand how this girth works, read about what it can do and to take advantage of your discount offer, see today’s Horse & Hound.

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The iconic cross-country fences that wowed at Greenwich Park will be reappearing at events up and down the country this autumn.

Burghley (30 August-2 September) and Blenheim (6-9 September) are among the first beneficiaries, while other advanced three- and four-star events have been allowed to bid to British Eventing (BE) for the fences.


Three obstacles – the Planet, which stood near the Observatory in Greenwich Park; the Sundials, which perched on the downward slope towards the main arena, and the final fence, the Olympic Games Horseshoes – have found a new home in Burghley’s main arena, which traditionally has a different theme every year.


Blenheim has secured two fences – the Altar (fence 21 at Greenwich) will now feature in the CIC course and the Saxon Village (fence 27ab at Greenwich) will be used in the training ground.

The fences, constructed by Olympic course-builders London Eventing, have been leaving Greenwich in batches on the back of a lorry.

They are being stored at BE’s Stoneleigh headquarters until the bids have been processed.

More fences can be seen at Allerton (15-16 September) – the Olympic chestnut logs and East End barrows – while the flowerboxes were on display at Wellington (25-27 August).

And the carved sheep by the log pile trailer will be installed in the children’s playground in Greenwich Park.

Dominic Lawrence, who worked with London Eventing, told H&H: “They all look exactly how they did at Greenwich – even down to the flags. It’s awesome for more people to be able to see them.”

Olympic eventing manager Alec Lochore added: “The aim is for all the props and equipment from the Olympics to be distributed as widely as possible and recycled as part of the Legacy programme.

“Riders will definitely be seeing more of the cross-country fences before the end of the season.”

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (30 August 2012)

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Greenwich was the final time that equestrian fans got to see a number of top horses in competition. Dressage stars Salinero and Ravel, eventers Gazelle De Le Brasserie and Amistad and showjumper Vigo d’Arsouilles were all retired from international competition after the Games.

Anky van Grusven retired Salinero after helping the Netherlands to secure the team bronze medal, making her the most medalled Olympic rider in history. Salinero’s record includes two individual Olympic gold medals, as well as team silver and bronze. This incredible partnership, who reigned at the very top of the sport for so many years, finished on a high with a brilliant freestyle scoring 82% for sixth place.

America’s Steffen Peters also decided to make the London Games the final competition for his 14-year-old partner, Ravel. An American team stalwart and one of the few horses that can claim to have beaten Olympic champion Valegro, unfortunately Ravel didn’t go out in a blaze of glory, looking distracted in his freestyle to score 77.268% and finish 17th.

“That’s it for Ravel,” said Steffen after the freestyle. “I will remember him for his great career. If you put it all together, today was only a glitch. He has given us all so much.”

Eventer Karin Donkers brought the competitive career of her consistent and long-serving Gazelle De Le Brasserie to a close after finishing 15th and best of the Belgians in London.

The 18-year-old Swiss warmblood is known for her attractive dressage tests — she was seventh in London and second at the 2008 Olympics after this phase — and good showjumping technique. Unfortunately their success at the highest level has always been thwarted by time penalties on the cross-country.

The career of Canadian rider Michelle Mueller‘s mount Amistad came to a premature end after the cross-country phase in London. One of only two Canadian partnerships to complete the testing track, the 13-year-old gelding was found to have damaged his tendon and has been retired from the sport as a result.

And last, but by no means least, the reigning showjumping world champion Vigo d’Arsouilles was retired from competition after picking up an injury on the second day of the jumping competition. The 14-year-old stallion will continue to stand at stud.

His Belgian rider Philippe Le Jeune said: “I wanted to finish in style with a great Olympic result. Unfortunately, fate has decided otherwise.”

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The rumour mill is in overdrive about the future of Britain’s top dressage horses following team gold at the London 2012 Games.

With multi-million pound offers believed to be pouring in for Uthopia and Valegro – it’s understood other offers were rebuffed before the Games to keep the horses with their British riders for London – both could soon be leaving Britain.

“I presume the plan will still go ahead and he will be sold,” said Carl – who has a stake in the horse who is owned by Irish former eventer Sasha Stewart – to H&H at Greenwich. “But I’d rather dwell on the fact that the people who own these horses decided to keep them for the Olympics.”

Valegro, whom Carl also part-owns, with Roly Luard, is on the market for a rumoured £6m.

Mrs Luard told H&H: “It is not in my nature to sell horses, but we are not all able to hang on to very expensive horses.”

She said the money would be reinvested into the sport and she hoped to attract further owners into syndicates, so Britain’s best horses do not have to be sold on in the future.

Carl and Charlotte have sold their top rides before. Carl sold Escapado, also part-owned by Mrs Luard, in 2005. “Peanut” recently returned to his yard in retirement.

And Charlotte sold her first grand prix partner, Fernandez, in September last year, to enable her to buy a house with her fiancé.

The 11-year old chestnut Westphalian went to Norwegian team rider Cathrine Rasmussen.

Contrary to some reports, Mistral Hojris is not on the market and Laura hasn’t dismissed another championship for 17-year-old “Alf”.

“He’ll have a big, well-earned holiday and chill out, and when I pick him up again it’s really up to him,” Laura told H&H. “We’ll keep going until I get the feeling he’s done enough.”

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound’s Olympic souvenir issue (16 August, 2012)

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The Canadian Equestrian Federation has expressed its disappointment at Tiffany Foster’s disqualification at the Olympics.

A strong stance on hypersensitivity was displayed by the FEI at the London Games when Canadian rider Tiffany Foster was disqualified from the team showjumping.

Canadian team manager Terrance Millar said: “We are very unhappy about this. It is a decision that lacks any common sense. It is just blind application of a rule. It lacks judgement.”

Tiffany’s horse Victor was found to have “clear and obvious hypersensitivity on the front of the coronary band on the left forelimb” by FEI vets on 5 August, just 15 minutes before the start of the team jumping.

Vets said there was “no accusation of malpractice”, but the horse was deemed unfit to compete.

But teammate and 2008 Olympic gold medallist Eric Lamaze was outraged and at the time said he would not compete for his country again until the Canadian Equestrian Federation stepped up its support for Tiffany.

A protest lodged by the Canadian chef d’equipe was denied by the FEI Appeal Committee, as there is no right of appeal to elimination for veterinary reasons.

Canadian Olympic team vet Dr Sylvie Surprenant added: “In our opinion, the horse was fit to compete. However, the FEI hypersensitivity protocol is such that if the horse is sensitive to the touch, regardless of the cause, the horse is disqualified. While the FEI rules were followed, we believe there should be a review of this protocol.”

But FEI secretary general Ingmar de Vos said it was “an obvious case of hypersensitivity”.

It is the second time the condition has been in the news in relation to the Olympics. Last month, Ireland’s Denis Lynch was dropped as an individual for his country at the Games after his horse Lantinus 3 tested positive for hypersensitivity (news, 12 July). Again, there was no suggestion of malpractice, but it was the third such incident for Denis in 12 months.

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British athlete Samantha Murray – who learned to ride her grandmother’s horses as a child – won an Olympic silver medal in the modern pentathlon (12 August).

The 22-year-old from Clitheroe, Lancs, was in third after the fencing and swimming phases as she headed into the showjumping. Riding Glen Gold, Samantha had two fences down and a time-penalty and started the run/shoot finale in fourth place.

“Four years ago, I was doing my A levels,” said Samantha. “I’d started pentathlon, but I was by no means performing on an international level.”

The gold medal was won by Laura Asadauskaite from Lithuania, while the bronze went to Brazil’s Yane Marques.

This news story was first published in our Olympic souvenir issue of Horse & Hound (16 August, 2012)

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Olympic medal-winning horse London has been removed from Dutch showjumper Gerco Schroder as part of bankruptcy proceedings against Dutch estate agency and building company Eurocommerce.

Gerco and London won both individual and team silver at Greenwich, but the horse was seized shortly after the conclusion of the jumping competition by Dutch government officials.

The 10-year-old warmblood stallion is owned by Ger Visser Jnr, the son of the Eurocommerce boss.

Eurocommerce filed for bankruptcy in July.

London is believed to have been moved to Ben Maher’s Cambridgeshire yard.

Ben told H&H he was not able to comment on the matter.

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“Horse dancing” took the world by storm during the London Olympic Games.

Last week, as the world’s top dressage riders performed their best Olympic freestyle to carefully chosen music, the equestrian community weren’t the only ones glued to their televisions – and the sport has attracted a range of opinions, knowledgeable and not so.

Many of the wider public marvelled at the Olympic sport, not even knowing it was one, while others claimed it shouldn’t be one.

And the world’s press adopted the term “horse dancing”, referring to it as such online, in print and on the radio.

“This is what the Olympics is all about – dancing horses followed by women trying to kick each other’s heads off,” said one Five Live commentator.

And Twitter went wild with celebrities from Hollywood star Zach Braff to former footballer Gary Linekar remarking on the horse dancing.

Radio 1 DJ Matt Edmonson tweeted: “I’ve just seen the horse dancing. What a bizarre sport!”

And journalist Hugo Rifkind commented: “Synchronised swimming. Whose IDEA was this? It’d be better with horses, obvs.”

While restaurant reviewer and journalist Giles Coren, who was at Greenwich, was less positive: “This dressage is utter bollocks. I don’t care if we do win gold. I’m off to the boxing.”

At one point Phil Collins was trending on Twitter, due to routines by Austrian and Danish riders using his music.

But as Dubai Racing Channel presenter Brett Williams tweeted: “All publicity is good publicity I suppose!”

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As well as Britain’s incredible gold medals, equestrian fans were dazzled by the fabulous showjumps created by course-designer Bob Ellis and his team.

On their way to gold, the British boys jumped their way over an amazing array of British icons and London landmarks – including Tower Bridge, a London bus, the lions and Nelson’s Column from Trafalgar Square and Stonehenge.

And these fabulous jumps could be coming to a show near you. After the Games, they will go to the British Showjumping (BS) jump store in Hampshire, which provides jumps for hire and sale.

Bob told H&H: “Most of the jumps were built for us by BS and they will go back to them after the Games, so I believe we have not seen the last of them.

“Kelvin [Bywater] and I have been working on the designs since we got the contract in June 2010. We wanted to make it all about the UK, with London featuring prominently.”

Thirty-two unique jumps were displayed across the competitions by Bob and Kelvin, who drew the original designs.

“We spent quite a few days in London going to museums and landmarks. Then Kelvin sketched them down roughly and we took those designs to Christine Bousfield,” said Bob.

Mrs Bousfield is an Oxfordshire-based artist. She was commissioned to produce fence drawings for the 1976 Montreal Olympics and creates the detailed drawings of the fences each year for the Blenheim and Gatcombe horse trials programmes.

The 50 initial ideas were whittled down to the 32 that were approved by the FEI, before being made from wood and polystyrene by the BS team.

The end result has received plaudits from all over the world. Commentator Mike Tucker, who has seen many Olympic courses over the years, described them as being on “a level of design and attention to detail never seen before“.

Bob said his phone and email have not stopped pinging.

“It’s brilliant that people have taken the trouble to email me,” he said.

And which is his favourite? As H&H went to press, Bob’s most impressive jump was still to come – he was saving it for the individual competition.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (10 August 2012)

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We’ve all heard the words amazing, incredible and unbelievable about Charlotte Dujardin’s performances at these Olympics.

I beg to differ. There was nothing incredible or unbelievable about what she achieved out there: Charlotte has earned her medals through sheer hard work and ultimate focus. It was fortune that brought together Britain’s best trainer, the world’s best horse and the ideal rider for that horse, but Charlotte made it happen.

“I want that gold,” she said to me in Hagen, Germany, after breaking the grand prix special record back in April. And she did everything in her power to get it.

The pressure on this young rider’s shoulders – and let’s not forget she only rode her first grand prix last January – was immense.

Until the final centre line, when Blueberry wasn’t sure if Charlotte wanted piaffe or canter, I was sure she had the gold nailed. Then I wasn’t sure. Charlotte, pleased with her performance nevertheless, wasn’t sure either.

23,000 people sat in hushed silence staring at the giant score board in the corner which would reveal the score. When the 90% flashed up, the crowd (bar the Dutch) erupted to their feet and cheered like crazy. Even the most stoic (me included, again) wiped tears away, as did Charlotte – who doesn’t usually do emotional.

But why the waterworks? It’s so touching to see a talented young horse in harmony with his rider. Valegro gives the impression that he would willingly do anything for Charlotte. At the end of a long show, having had a disrupted schedule with none of his customary hacking or turnout, he was tired. But he tried his heart out and we love him for that.

Sour grapes

To those (mostly Dutch) who think Adelinde Cornelissen’s test on Parzival was better than Charlotte’s I’d say: did Adelinde’s test look light and easy? No. It was mistake-free, but it seemed like Adelinde was using every inch of her pilates-enhanced core plus the rigid curb rein to hold Parzival together. It just wasn’t quite as beautiful as Charlotte’s; Parzival is resistant in the mouth, lacks self-carriage at times and doesn’t truly transfer the weight back to his hindquarters in piaffe.

As president of the ground jury Stephen Clarke explained afterwards, it was harmony that won out here.

The Netherlands’ Wim Ernes was the only judge to have Adelinde first and Charlotte second.

And, despite the Mexican judge having Laura Bechtolsheimer and “Alf” in fifth, they hung on to the bronze by 0.036%. A fabulous result for these international troopers.

One horse I totally fell for over the past week was Dorothee Schneider’s Diva Royal. At only 10, this mare has a head like a breeze block but a heart like a lion.

The last dance?

We all knew that the plan was to sell Uthopia and Valegro after these Games. Rather than griping about it, or losing respect for these riders (a preposterous comment I read on a faceless forum) – let’s remember that all owners concerned were under huge pressure to sell these remarkable horses before the Olympic cut-off of 31 January.

That everyone involved worked so hard to ensure that didn’t happen and gave our home team the opportunity to bring home British dressage’s first ever Olympic medals should be applauded loud and long.

Dressage riders (and owners) need to eat and pay the mortgage. I do wish that Charlotte’s family could land the lottery win they so wish for to make sure that “Blueberry” stays with Charlotte forever, but should they not strike lucky, I’m sure whoever buys Uti and Blueberry – and there are all sorts of rumours flying about who it might be (the Dutch, the Germans, the Spanish etc) – will make sure that these world-class athletes get the very best of care and attention.

Full report on the individual dressage final in H&H out next Thursday, 16 August.

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A ticket to the kur: I felt like Charlie fingering the golden ticket to visit Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. British hopes burned brightly for more gold, but the Dutch were out in force too to support Adelinde Cornellissen and Edward Gal.

On a thrilling, tense, stunning and hot day, it did not go Carl’s way. After a couple of major errors on an otherwise slightly flat Uti, Carl knew it. Ever the pro, he smiled at the crowds, but could barely find the will for a wave. My heart bled for him. The pupil seemed set to beat the master – and on the master’s own horse. He has been so selfless, generous and loyal helping Charlotte to this point – all Britain would have loved to have seen him land an individual medal.

Laura B and Alf really pulled it out of the bag with her fabulous Lion King-themed test, much more stirring, I thought, than her old kur. Alf certainly belied his 17-years as they produced their best test of the Games. Some horses seemed ‘overcooked’ by the third and final test of the Games – not Alf. I wonder what determines which way a horse will go by the final phase of an intense competition? Is it experience? Strength? No doubt team managers will be scrutinising this issue for future championships.

Then Adeleinde produced a sublime test – those rotating piaffes, the beautifully choreographed canter pirouettes, executed bang on the beat of the music. It left me mesmerised from my seat in the stands – and a little tense. That’s it, I thought. The Dutch may have won it.

Charlotte’s London-themed test – complete with Big Ben’s chimes and lighter moments of music from The Great Escape – was perfectly pitched for this occasion. But was it sparkling enough to beat Adelinde, particularly with the chunky error before the final centre line? Sitting in the grandstands, without the benefit of seeing anything close up, I wasn’t sure.

The good news is I’m not a judge, and the judges get to sit right next to the boards. The people who can really see gave their verdict and it was decisive. Charlotte melted into tears, and so might I if this fairy tale Olympics for British equestrianism has closed with narrow defeat for Britain.

Three golds, silver and bronze – it’s a hell of a medal tally, a new British record. Team GB we salute you.

Lucy

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Britian has nailed its first ever Olympic medal in dressage after two sensational performances from Charlotte Dujardin, brilliantly backed up by Laura Bechtolsheimer and Carl Hester – who is also Charlotte’s mentor and the glue that binds the team together. H&H looks at the team’s improvement over the last six years.

2007

Britain finishes fifth at the European Championships in Turin, Italy, following sixth at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, Germany, the previous year. Medals seem a distant dream.

Best British score in team test: 69.583% (Laura Bechtolsheimer on Mistral Hojris)

2008

Sixth as a team again, this time at the Olympics in Hong Kong, but Emma Hindle and Lancet are seventh individually. This is only one place lower than Britain’s highest ever placing at an Olympics at this point, Christopher Bartle and Wily Trout’s equal sixth at Los Angeles 1984.

Best British score in team test: 71.125% (Emma on Lancet)

2009

Hopes of bronze turn to amazed delight at a British European team silver on home turf at Windsor. Laura and Mistral Hojris take an individual bronze and Carl Hester, riding Liebling II, wins the first medal of his long career.

Best British score in team test: 76.638% (Laura on Mistral Hojris)

2010

Expectations are rising now, but the Brits handle the pressure at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky with another silver – Britain’s first world team dressage medal – while Laura and Mistral Hojris also take two individual silvers.

Best British score in team test: 82.511% (Laura on Mistral Hojris)

2011

Carl on Uthopia and Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro join Laura and Mistral Hojris on the team to provide two more high scores. The result? Britain’s first ever dressage team gold medal, at the Europeans in Rotterdam. Carl also wins two individual silvers and Laura a bronze.

Best British score in team test: 82.568% (Carl on Uthopia)

2012

Five years of improving results culminate in Britain’s first ever Olympic dressage medal, team gold in front of a home crowd in London.

Best British scores in team test: 83.784% (grand prix) and 83.286% (special, counting for team result for first time) (both Charlotte and Valegro)

To read the full reports on all the team dressage and showjumping action from Greenwich see the current issue of H&H (10 August)

Read all the latest Olympic news

Read all the latest dressage news

Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin has won individual gold in the dressage at the Olympics.

She and the 10-year-old Valegro scored 90.089% in the freestyle to an epic “British” sound track — the chimes of Big Ben, Land of Hope and Glory and Bond music — to add another gold to their team medal.

“It’s unbelievable — very emotional,” said Charlotte. “He gave it everything. I can’t believe it was only last January that we did our first grand prix and now we have two Olympic gold medals!”

And Laura Bechtolsheimer won Britain a second individual dressage medal by taking bronze with her wonderful campaigner Mistral Hojris. They scored 84.339%.

“For a horse of his age, at 17, to move like that and give his all is beyond words,” said Laura. “It was definitely the best ride I have ever had on him.”

Sandwiched between them was the Netherlands’ Adelinde Cornelissen, who rode a brilliant test on Parsival for 88.250% and a silver medal.

Carl Hester and Uthopia, the third members of Britain’s gold medal-winning team, made a couple of little mistakes for 82.857%, fifth behind Germany’s Helen Langehanenberg and Damon Hill on 84.196%.

And Anky van Grunsven, competing her multiple champion Salinero for the final time, finished sixth with 82%.

Olympic individual medals

Gold: Charlotte Dujardin (Valegro) GBR

Silver: Adelinde Cornelissen (Parzival) NED

Bronze: Laura Bechtolsheimer (Mistral Hojris) GBR

View full results

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