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‘Hearing the national anthem play and seeing the Union Flag rise are among my most precious memories’: British Olympic rider calls time on competition career
Medal-winning British dressage rider Emma Hindle has retired from competition after a career that encompassed two Olympic Games, a brace of medals on home soil, and countless more senior team appearances.
Emma, 49, represented Britain at multiple European Championships, at the 2006 World Equestrian Games and the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Her international breakthrough was with Wie Weltmeyer (“Wally”), the stallion with whom she was shortlisted for the 2000 Sydney Olympics and helped Britain to team bronze at the 2003 home Europeans. He would take Emma to her first Games in Athens, and the pair also contested the World Cup final the same year.
Lancet (“Lance”), a former Dutch Olympic team horse, would become Emma’s next great championship campaigner. The pair competed at the 2005, 2007 and 2009 Europeans, winning team silver at Windsor in 2009, and the World Championships in Aachen. They were also the highest-scoring British dressage combination at Beijing, finishing seventh individually and fifth with the team.
“Some of my fondest memories have to be the 2003 European Championships with Wally and the 2008 Beijing Olympics with Lance, but really it was the journey to both that made the outcome so sweet,” she said.
“The joy was the process of getting there and the amazing people and animals that supported me, picked me up when I fell, gave me a shoulder to cry on and pulled me back when I got carried away. I have been so privileged to have had such people and animals in my life – thank you to you all. I am eternally grateful.”
Emma’s career started with lessons at her aunt’s stables as a child and she enjoyed showing and eventing, before finding her passion in pure dressage.
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Emma said that representing Great Britain over the years “meant everything”.
“Hearing your anthem play and watching the Union Flag rise – those moments are some of the most precious memories I have in my life,” she said.
Following the passing of her father John Hindle in 2012, Emma stepped back from full-time competition to take on her father’s real estate business and raise her son, Luke.
In 2017, she returned to the international grand prix circuit with Romy del Sol and Diesel S. Inspired by the upcoming Paris Olympics, Emma reignited her top-level ambition in 2023 and acquired Zippo M.I. from Daniel Bachmann Andersen. Emma campaigned him and her other grand prix ride, Rosmarin, internationally until earlier this year.
When asked what’s next, Emma said: “Life is often a process of elimination, and right now it’s easier to say the things I don’t need in my life. You can only appreciate the right now, cherish beautiful memories from the past and dream that you make more in the future.”
She added: “I love the words of Thomas Edison, ‘Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.’ I wish everyone the very best of luck. Dream big and don’t ever give up – if you haven’t failed, you haven’t tried.”
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
