HESTER Carl

Great Britain

Equestrian

Date of Birth: 29 Jun 1967

Age: 54

Gender: Male

Birth Country:

Great Britain

Place of residence : NEWENT

Residence Country:

Great Britain

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Equestrian	Dressage Team GBR Great Britain	3
	Dressage Individual	8

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Equestrian Park	Dressage Team Grand Prix Special	Finished
	Equestrian Park	Dressage Individual Grand Prix Freestyle	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Olympic Games

Year	Location	Dressage Individual	Dressage Team
2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	7	2
2012	London, GBR	5	1
2004	Athens, GRE	13	7
2000	Sydney, NSW, AUS	31	8
1992	Barcelona, ESP	16	7

World Equestrian Games

Year	Location	Dressage Individual	GP Special	GP Freestyle	Dressage Team
2018	Tryon, NC, USA	-	9	-	3
2014	Normandy, FRA	-	12	12	2
2010	Lexington, KY, USA	-	17	-	2
1990	Stockholm, SWE	18	-	-	5

European Championships

Year	Location	GP Special	GP Freestyle	Dressage Team
2019	Rotterdam, NED	9	14	4
2017	Gothenburg, SWE	5	4	4

World Cup Final

Rank	Event	Year	Location
3	Grand Prix Freestyle	2017	Omaha, NE, USA

World Cup Western European League

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Grand Prix Freestyle	2016/2017	London, GBR
2	Grand Prix Freestyle	2019/2020	London, GBR
2	Grand Prix Freestyle	2016/2017	Amsterdam, NED
2	Grand Prix Freestyle	2016/2017	Lyon, FRA

Legend
GP - Grand Prix, NS - Not Started, RT - Retired, WD - Withdrawn, EL - Eliminated

Nickname:

Grandad (horsetalk.co.nz, 18 Dec 2015; everythinghorseuk.co.uk, 15 Jun 2020)

Occupation:

Athlete, Business Owner, Coach, Horse Trainer

Family:

Partner Ben Neal

Languages spoken:

English

Club name:

Hester Dressage [Newent, GBR]

Start:

He would ride on a donkey when he was young and learnt how to ride a horse at age 16. He tried eventing before settling on dressage. (carlhester.co.uk, 01 Jan 2021)

Reason:

He was brought up on Sark [an island that lies between Guernsey and Jersey, off the coast of Normandy, France], where the only transport available was by horse. At age 19 he applied for a job at a riding centre in Hampshire, England, and was given his first opportunity to compete. (carlhester.co.uk, 01 Jan 2021)

Ambition:

To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (eurodressage.com, 20 Apr 2020)

Memorable:

Winning gold in team dressage at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (metro.news, 07 May 2019)

Influence:

Horse trainer Wilfried Bechtolsheimer. (premierequestrian.com, 19 Feb 2019; carlhester.co.uk, 26 Oct 2015)

Philosophy:

"I love riding, so that will never disappear. Competing isn't my huge joy. I do it, because I want to go to championships. If I am one of the top four in my country, then I'll go. I want to continue riding, train other people. The challenge I love about riding is training." (eurodressage.com, 20 Apr 2020)

Award:

He was named Channel Islands Sports Personality of the Year for 2016. (horseandhound.co.uk, 01 Feb 2017)

He was the recipient of the 2016 Global Dressage Visionary Award. (eurodressage.com, 22 Feb 2016)

He received the 2015 British Horse Society Queen's Award for Equestrianism. (bhs.org.uk, 19 May 2015)

He was named the 2014 Best Rider of the Year by the French equestrian yearbook 'L'Annee Hippique'. (itv.com, 18 Nov 2014)

He was named Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE] in the 2013 New Year's Honours list. (carlhesterrein.co.uk, 11 May 2013)

In 2011 he was named the British Olympic Association [BOA] Equestrian Athlete of the Year. (yahoo.com, 21 Dec 2011)

General Interest

General
STABLES
In 2004 he set up his own stables at Oaklebrook Mill near Newent, England, where he coaches riders and trains horses for dressage. (carlhester.co.uk, 01 Jan 2021; horseandhound.co.uk, 21 Mar 2018; fandiassociation.co.uk, 21 Aug 2015)

AUTHOR
He co-wrote 'Down to Earth Dressage' with Bernadette Faurie and 'Real Life Dressage' with Polly Ellison. He has also released an autobiography called 'Making it Happen' and a book about the horse Valegro, which Charlotte Dujardin won gold with at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (carlhester.co.uk, 27 Apr 2016; cotswoldlife.co.uk, 14 Dec 2015)

VALEGRO STATUE
In October 2020 in Newent, Gloucestershire, England, a bronze statue of the horse Valegro was unveiled. The horse trained at Hester's stable in Newent, and was ridden by Charlotte Dujardin to gold medals at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. "He changed so many of our lives and elevated our sport so this is a really proud moment for myself, Charlotte and everyone who has been involved with this very special horse." (horseandhound.co.uk, 23 Feb 2021; fei.org, 04 Dec 2020)

Milestones

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro he became the first British equestrian to compete in dressage at five editions of the Olympic Games. His silver medal in the team event in Rio made him the first male British equestrian to have won two career Olympic medals in dressage. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jun 2021)

At the 2012 Olympic Games in London he was part of the first British dressage team, alongside Laura Tomlinson and Charlotte Dujardin, to win an Olympic gold medal in dressage. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jun 2021)

At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona he became the youngest male British equestrian to compete in dressage at an Olympic Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jun 2021)

Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/carl.hester.77
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/www.carlhester.co.uk
https://instagram.com/carlhestermbe
https://twitter.com/HesterDressage
Athlete Website: http://www.carlhester.co.uk/

Legend

:: Bronze Medal
:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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