Team GB's Olympic Dressage Doyen Hester Still In Vogue

London, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Jul, 2021 ) :Carl Hester sets out on his sixth Olympic Games campaign having traversed the ages, from the Team GB dressage team being no hopers to Olympic champions and once again the outfit to beat in Tokyo.

The 54-year-old -- who will ride En Vogue in the team competition that gets under way on Saturday -- says he is as laid-back as he was when he became the youngest ever British rider at the 1992 Games.

However, the times have changed, unlike his character.

He shakes his head in wonderment at his picturesque stables in Gloucestershire, southwest England, at how almost three decades later the "laughter" and "fun" have gone, replaced by a hard-edged competitive mentality.

This has happened since the team went from also-rans to gold medallists in 2012 and silver medal winners in 2016.

Leading the way has been the 'girl on the dancing horse' -- his protegee Charlotte Dujardin -- who he shares the stables with and first came to work for him as a groom 14 years ago.

"I am older but not grumpier and I try to be as jolly as possible," Hester told AFP in mid-June.

"The funny thing is in 1992 when I competed for the first time I was overawed but it was so much fun and there was no pressure.

"We were all having a laugh as there was no expectancy to win anything as no (British) team had ever even medalled." Hester, speaking as peacocks and boxers strutted around his property, remarked how success had a knock-on effect in keeping the sport growing.

"In those days and indeed until London it was literally the taking part," he said.

"However, as I have got older with Lottery money and medals the expectation is about winning.

"We all try to get that medal slot as it is very important for the grassroots level to be successful." - 'Full of surprises' - Hester said his feelings prior to the London Games ran contrary to the sentiments of many home-based athletes.

"I was one of the few athletes who did not enjoy 2012 because of the pressure," he said.

"For I was not just a competitor but also a trainer to Charlotte so I was responsible for her, her horse and my horse and it drained me.

"The minute it was over I thought 'Wow it is amazing, team gold for the first time' and that it happened when it happened, (London 2012) although it was more a huge sense of relief than euphoria." Hester also gives lessons to aspiring riders and while he is outstanding at motivating them, he concedes he needs geeing up by Dujardin to keep him competing.

"The year it (the Olympic Games) happens my enthusiasm comes back," he said.

"If I was doing it on my own I am not sure that would be the case, but as I work four days a week with Charlotte it is very much a case of us helping each other.

"We have been going together for coming up to 14 years.

"She loves giving me a kick up the bum and I am the one who calms her down and says 'patience'." He is upbeat about carrying on until Paris in 2024, albeit more for aesthetic reasons.

"Versailles is such a stunning setting. I have seen the virtual images of it (the venue) and it is so sensational and beautiful. I don't think I would be able to miss it," he said.

Hester admits his journey from riding carriage horses on the island of Sark -- where no cars are permitted -- to Olympic champion, commemorated by the only gold post box on the tiny Channel Island, has been quite a ride.

"It has been a wonderful journey full of surprises" he said.

"Not just that I have done it, but that it shows people who come from a non horsey family or cannot afford ponies you can make it to the Olympics."