{"piano":{"sandbox":"false","aid":"u28R38WdMo","rid":"R7EKS5F","offerId":"OF3HQTHR122A","offerTemplateId":"OTQ347EHGCHM"}}
Trending:

Blast from the past: 50 photos of Carl Hester to celebrate his birthday

Madeleine Silver

    • Looking back at black and white photos of the dressage supremo competing on grass, or aboard his coloured ride from the 1980s Jolly Dolly, you’d be excused for struggling to recognise the Olympic gold medal-winning rider. To celebrate Carl Hester’s 53rd birthday today (29 June), we’ve dug deep into the archives to chart his rise to the top

    Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout major shows like London International and more with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

    This is an image 1 of 36

    Back to the very beginning…

    Carl lived on the Isle of Sark from the age of four, where he learnt to ride on a donkey called Jacko

    This is an image 2 of 36

    The next step

    When Carl was 16 he was offered a job at the Fortune Centre of Riding Therapy in Dorset

    This is an image 3 of 36

    1985

    Carl with the Fortune Centre’s Jolly Dolly, winning the 1985 Young Rider title

    This is an image 4 of 36

    1985

    Carl is crowned the Young Rider National Dressage Champion in 1985, riding Jolly Dolly

    This is an image 5 of 36

    1988

    Carl with Janni and Christopher Taylor’s schoolmaster Slightly Trendy, with whom he was selected for the Young Rider team, at a competition at B.E.C in 1988

    This is an image 6 of 36

    1990

    A sight seldom seen! Carl Hester performs on grass with Wesley, at Barnsley in 1990

    Rubelit Von Unkenriff and Carl at Addington in 1990
    This is an image 7 of 36

    1990 Rubelit Von Unkenriff and Carl at Addington in 1990

    This is an image 8 of 36

    1990

    Carl at his first international competition — the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, where the British team finished in fifth place

    This is an image 9 of 36

    1990

    Clad in a top hat at the 1990 World Championships

    This is an image 10 of 36

    1992

    Carl and Dr. Wilfried Bechtolsheimer's grand prix horse Giorgione S. The pair competed at the 1992 Olympic Games together

    This is an image 11 of 36

    Some light relief from the top competition…

    Carl dressed as “The Explorer” riding the leading British stallion Jumbo at a Christmas pantomime event

    This is an image 12 of 36

    1992

    Carl and Dr. Wilfried Bectolsheimer’s stallion Giorgione S in Wiesbaden, Germany

    This is an image 13 of 36

    1993

    Carl at a selection trial in 1993 with Giorgione S. The previous year the pair had represented Britain at Carl’s first Olympics and had retained their 1991 title at the National Championships. Wilfried described “Gino” as “the dominating force in British dressage” during his career. His daughter, Olympic medallist Laura, rode Giorgione as a “little girl” and Wilfired has a statue of the horse overlooking his outdoor arena

    This is an image 14 of 36

    1994

    Carl and Boucheron, winners of the medium and advanced medium classes at the Midland Dressage Championships in 1994

    This is an image 15 of 36

    1994

    Carl with Boucheron at Talland in 1994

    This is an image 16 of 36

    Escapado

    Carl with Escapado, affectionately known as “Peanuts”, who he rode at the 2004 Athens Olympics, finishing best of the Brits in 13th, and went on to ride into fifth at the 2005 European Championships. Escapado then went to Hans Peter Minderhoud, launching Hans Peter’s grand prix career, before joining Dolendo for retirement at Carl’s yard in 2011

    This is an image 17 of 36

    1995

    Carl and Gershwin at Horse of the Year Show in 1995

    This is an image 18 of 36

    1999

    Carl riding Donner Rhapsody, a full sister to the great Donnersong, with whom he took the national medium and advanced medium classes in 1999 and was fourth in the prix st georges championship in 2001

    This is an image 19 of 36

    Donnersong

    Carl with Donnersong, who he described as “king of the small tour”. Donnersong was retired to stud in 2003 and died after recurring bouts of laminitis in 2012, having enjoyed retirement with owner-breeder Kate Carter

    This is an image 20 of 36

    2001

    Carl with his great horse Dolendo, or “Donald” taking the medium championship in 2001. Donald went on to take national grand prix titles with Spencer Wilton before the ride passed back to Carl. Donald was ruled out of the 2008 Olympics due to injury and retired with Carl in 2011. He died in 2015

    This is an image 21 of 36

    2001

    Carl and Dolendo enjoy a lap of honour after triumphing at the South West regionals. In 2001, Donald qualified for the National championships with both Carl and Spencer Wilton, going on to win the medium championship with Carl and take fourth in the elementary with Spencer

    Image credit: EMPICS Sport
    This is an image 22 of 36

    2004

    Carl in the grand prix freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics with Escapado, where they finished in seventh place individually

    Image credit: Corbis via Getty Images
    This is an image 23 of 36

    2009

    Carl and Liebling II during the 2009 World Festival CHIO in Aachen, Germany

    Image credit: Getty Images
    This is an image 24 of 36

    2012

    Carl and Uthopia in action in Greenwich Park during the London 2012 Olympic Games

    LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 07: (L-R) Carl Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain celebrate with their gold medals during the medal cerermony for the Team Dressage on Day 11 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Greenwich Park on August 7, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
    Image credit: Getty Images
    This is an image 25 of 36

    2012 LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 07: (L-R) Carl Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain celebrate with their gold medals during the medal cerermony for the Team Dressage on Day 11 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Greenwich Park on August 7, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

    Carl Hester and Uthopia
    Image credit: Phil Mingo/Pinnacle
    This is an image 26 of 36

    Uthopia

    Carl strikes a pose with the gold medal-winning Uthopia

    Image credit: Getty Images
    This is an image 27 of 36

    2013

    The Olympic gold medal-winning rider after he is made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by The Queen during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on 19 July 2013

    Image credit: Corbis via Getty Images
    This is an image 28 of 36

    2014

    Nip Tuck delights crowds during the grand prix freestyle at the Royal Windsor Horse Show

    Image credit: AFP/Getty Images
    This is an image 29 of 36

    2014

    Carl and Nip Tuck in August 2014 during the grand prix of the FEI World Equestrian Games at D'Ornano Stadium in Caen, France

    Dressage; du jardin; hester; lucinda green; valegro
    Image credit: Jon Stroud
    This is an image 30 of 36

    Valegro

    Catching up with Valegro, Charlotte Dujardin's gold medal-winning ride

    Image credit: Peter Nixon
    This is an image 31 of 36

    2015

    Carl is presented with the British Horse Society Award by Her Majesty The Queen the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May 2015

    Carl and Nip Tuck during the 2015 European Championships in Aachen, where they took home the team silver medal
    Image credit: Bongarts/Getty Images
    This is an image 32 of 36

    2015

    Image credit: Peter Nixon
    This is an image 33 of 36

    2016

    Carl and Nip Tuck during the horse inspection at the 2016 Rio Olympics

    Image credit: ddp USA/REX/Shutterstock
    This is an image 34 of 36

    2016

    Alan Davies, Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin with Valegro
    Image credit: Peter Nixon
    This is an image 35 of 36

    Carl, Valegro, Charlotte and Alan line up for the cameras

    Carl Hester World Cup final
    This is an image 36 of 36

    2017

    Carl salutes the crowd after his freestyle at the 2017 World Cup final

    You may like...