Laura Bechtolsheimer to marry Mark Tomlinson
Olympic gold and bronze medal winning dressage rider Laura Bechtolsheimer is to marry her long-term boyfriend, England polo player Mark Tomlinson.
Mark, who is 29, proposed to 27-year-old Laura last week (22 August). The pair haven’t set plans yet but are hoping for a spring wedding next year.
“We were out walking my dog, when he proposed,” Laura told H&H.
“I was completely unsuspecting – I was wearing my riding breeches! He’d already gone and prepared — there were flowers by a fence and he had the ring.
“It was very exciting – I was a little bit shocked and took a while to find my words. I did manage to say yes though!”
The couple have been together for about three and a half years, after meeting through friends.
“He asked for my number from my friends, saying he wanted a lesson, quite sneaky!” she added.
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Mark’s parents Simon and Claire own the Beaufort Polo Club. His brother Luke, England captain and H&H polo columnist, is engaged to marry his long-term girlfriend Cata Zavaleta.
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.