Charlotte Dujardin

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Charlotte Dujardin CBE is one of the most successful dressage riders in history and the joint most decorated British female Olympian of all time. A triple Olympic gold medallist, she has set world records, rewritten expectations and changed the face of the sport.

Charlotte first rose to prominence with the legendary Valegro, with whom she won double gold at London 2012, team silver and individual gold at Rio 2016, and team and individual bronze at Tokyo 2020 – making her the first British woman to win medals at three consecutive Olympic Games. Together, they still hold the world record scores in all three grand prix dressage tests.

Born in Enfield in 1985, Charlotte Dujardin was brought up in Hertfordshire and started riding at the age of two. After she left school at the age of 16, Charlotte worked for top dressage rider and trainer Judy Harvey. In early 2007, at Judy’s suggestion, Charlotte went to Carl Hester’s yard for some lessons, and he asked her to stay on for 10 days to cover for a staff member who was on leave. She ended up never leaving and produced Valegro from the early days of his career under the watchful eye of Carl, who owns the horse in conjunction with Roly Luard and Anne Barrott.

Valegro was retired in 2016 following an emotional ceremony at Olympia. Since then, Charlotte has continued to compete at the top level with a new generation of horses. With Mount St John Freestyle, she won team and individual bronze at the 2018 World Equestrian Games. She earned team and individual bronze at the Tokyo Olympics with Gio, and followed that with team silver and individual bronze at the 2021 European Championships.

Her most recent top ride, Imhotep, helped Britain to team silver at the 2022 World Championships, then delivered team gold and double individual bronze at the 2023 Europeans.

In total, Charlotte has won six Olympic medals across three Games, including three golds, making her one of the sport’s most decorated riders. She was crowned double world champion with Valegro in 2014 and collected team and individual bronze in 2018 with Freestyle. Her European Championship career spans over a decade, with multiple team and individual medals between 2013 and 2023. She also claimed consecutive World Cup titles with Valegro in 2014 and 2015.

On the national stage, she became British national champion in 2015 with Barolo and again in 2020 with Mount St John Freestyle, setting a freestyle scoring record of 90.2%.

Charlotte still holds the world records for grand prix (87.46%), grand prix special (88.022%), and grand prix freestyle (94.3%). Her accolades include Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswoman of the Year in 2014, fourth place in BBC Sports Personality of the Year that same year, and being named Horse & Hound’s Professional Rider of the Decade in 2020.

Shortly after returning from the 2022 Herning World Championships, Charlotte announced that she was pregnant with her first child. Her baby daughter, Isabella Rose, was born to Charlotte and her fiancé, Dean Golding, on 6 March 2023.

On 23 July 2024, Charlotte Dujardin voluntarily withdrew from the Paris Olympics after a training video surfaced showing her repeatedly using a whip on a horse.

After an initial provisional suspension, the FEI announced its final ruling on 5 December: a one-year ban and a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs (£8,885). British Dressage mirrored the decision.

Charlotte expressed deep regret, acknowledging her responsibility and committing to doing better in future.