British Olympians celebrate their Greenwich medals

What else for the architect of Team GBR’s dressage revival and his prot ©g ©e but a white Rolls-Royce to speed them home to Gloucestershire?

Carl Hester also hosted the hottest-ticket-in-town party on the night of Charlotte Dujardin’s individual gold triumph – on a boat on the Thames. He is now kicking back in his native Sark with some 60 friends.

Team GBR’s victorious showjumpers convened in the Greenwich Tavern (renamed the Gold & Saddle, in honour of our medallists) after celebratory dinners. They broke off for a memorable TV interview with Clare Balding – in which Scott Brash declared he hoped his gold medal would “improve his pulling power with women”.

There was no time for our silver medal-winning eventers to celebrate as a group – most were back out competing within the week. But Tina Cook, William Fox-Pitt and Zara Phillips made it to the closing ceremony, alongside Laura Bechtolsheimer, plus all the showjumpers and their manager Rob Hoekstra.

And Mary King is due to ride through her local town of Sidmouth on Imperial Cavalier today (17 August) to thank the community for its support.

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

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