There are few people in the horse world who haven’t heard of Carl Hester. Reams of column inches have recorded the exploits of this most popular five-time British Olympian who has been winning over minds and hearts as well as medals over the course of his 26 years on the international scene. Team silver in Rio aboard the 12-year-old KWPN gelding Nip Tuck (“Barney”) was an unprecedented feat for the rider-trainer-coach who not only “produced” an entire British Olympic team (Charlotte Dujardin, Spencer Wilton, and Fiona Bigwood are all students of his) but also three of the four horses on it, including Valegro, the individual Olympic champion in both London and Rio.
Thirty-five years ago, a 15-year-old Carl thought he might like to be a competition rider. He left home, the tiny Channel Island of Sark, to learn his craft on the British mainland. After an all-round education which included sorting out horses with behavioural issues, eventing, and show jumping, Carl settled on dressage. His big breakthrough came in 1989 when he began working for dressage rider and businessman Dr. Wilfried Bechtolsheimer, who provided him with grand prix horses which took him to international championships.
In his Olympic debut in 1992, he was the youngest-ever British rider to compete in an Olympic Games. Today, Charlotte Dujardin lovingly calls him ‘grand-dad.’ At 49, ‘patriarch of modern British dressage’ would be a more appropriate moniker (added to which he is undoubtedly one of the cleverest, most likeable, and entertaining individuals I have come across in 20 years of reporting international horse sport.)
Since London’s historic team gold, Carl has been inducted into Guernsey’s Sporting Hall of Fame and become National Dressage Champion for the eighth time. In the New Year Honours List 2013, he was awarded an MBE for his services to equestrianism.
You’ve always been very self-motivated, but has your attitude changed at all from the days when Great Britain never came close to the podium, to the last half-dozen years when you’ve never been off it?
What’s changed over the years are expectations. I spent 19 years on the British team winning no medals – I was so used to it, it was easy not to expect to win one. Now it’s been seven years of winning medals and I can’t remember what it’s like not to win. I would have been devastated if we hadn’t won a medal in Rio.
What does a typical day and work week consist of?
The alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m., I watch the news at 7, and I’m usually on the yard by 7:45. Charlotte and I will ride and train all morning, four days a week. There are 18 horses on the yard split between Charlotte and myself and our students. In the afternoons there might be a photo shoot or some kind of media event, otherwise I’ll teach for four hours. Wednesdays and Saturdays I’ll hold a clinic or compete, Sundays I’ll take a half-day off if I’m not competing. I’ll take a shower at 7 p.m. and then start dinner. I love cooking. I eat very healthily these days … not like the old days! After dinner, I like to watch TV, shows like Escape to the Country and A Home in the Sun. I like seeing what kind of homes you can get and what they cost.
What’s your earliest horsey memory?
There are no cars on the island where I grew up, so everyone got around on ponies, or initially in my case, a donkey. In the summer holidays we would drive tourists around in carriages for pocket money. After leaving school, I got a job on the mainland at a riding center. I had the opportunity to compete and by some fluke won the national young rider dressage title. My next job, with Jannie and Christopher Taylor, really taught me the true nature of horsemanship. I rode a lot of difficult horses and with them you have to find a way – patiently, firmly, and kindly.
Can you identify a turning point in your career when you decided you could earn a living doing this and reach the top?
The Bechtolsheimers gave me the chance of a lifetime and in the three and a half years with them I went to my first world championships, first European championships, and first Olympics. But I would say the turning point came after I left. I felt anyone could have done what I did with that backing. I knew the sport, but I didn’t know anything ‘around the sport.’ Then one day Desi Dillingham, who ran British Dressage at the time [and later became special dressage advisor for Equine Canada], asked me to be one of the presenters in a demonstration event she was organizing. There were 2,000 people there. It was absolutely terrifying. I’d never done anything like it before, no one knew me or anything about me, but it was a huge success and I got paid about 1,000 quid, which was quite a lot of money then. A bit later Legal Democrat came into my life, a horse that cost very little money and had no known breeding, and we went from medium level to finishing in the top 15 at the European Championships. I was sure then, if I can do it like this, I can do anything.
Besides horsepower, is there another ingredient that gives you an edge?
Timing and management. Timing includes getting horses to peak at the right time, but it’s really all about management and managing your own expectations. Getting horses fit, keeping them fresh and bringing them out at their best.
How would your friends and family describe your character?
They would definitely say hard-working and driven. I hope they would say I am kind, funny, and helpful.
If life hadn’t taken you where it has, would you have had another profession?
Absolutely, and it would have been in tourism. I worked as a tour guide/taxi driver, barman, and hotel chauffer and I loved everything about it, especially meeting all kinds of people and interacting with them. When I retire I would love to own and run a hotel in the south of France.
Where is your favorite place in the world?
Andalucia in Spain. I’ve been going to ride on the Sunshine Tour there since 2000. It’s an all-round destination – as well as the riding, it has weather, wine, and tapas. I’ve made really good friends there and it feels familiar and comfortable. Jerez is a great city, too; great fun, old, gorgeous, and historic.
Where would you most like to go that you haven’t been?
I’ve always hankered after going on safari in South Africa.
Do you have a fitness regimen?
No. Luckily I’ve managed to keep my youthful good looks [laughs]. Thanks for the genes, ma!
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Gü chocolate pudding with Jersey cream. When I was ‘released’ home from boarding school, the first thing I’d do was buy a packet of biscuits and a pot of Jersey cream. I’ve never lost the love of the cream!
If you were having a dinner party and you could choose 4 guests, living or dead, who would you invite?
The comedienne Dawn French; she is extremely funny. And Sybil Hathaway, the Dame of Sark. Sark has its own government and she was the island’s ruler for 47 years. I remember as a child we’d have to bow if ever she went past in her buggy – she was the only one on the island allowed to have a motorized buggy. She was a very formidable and heroic lady who refused to evacuate during the German occupation. I would love to hear her story. I would also invite Burt Reynolds and find out if he is really that butch and Brigitte Bardot, who I much admire for her work in animal welfare. I am patron of several dog charities, so I really appreciate her real-life activism.
Money or medals – which is more important to you?
I count my blessings that I have managed to find both. Most important to me are medals, but most important to my five godchildren would be the money!
If you had a life lesson to share, what would it be?
From a professional point of view I would say learn to train your own horses. That’s the best way to becoming a good horseman. From a personal perspective, my motto “Making It Happen” is how I live my life. Wish, want, and do. Make it Happen!
“I spent 19 years on the British team winning no medals … now it’s been seven years of winning medals and I can’t remember what it’s like not to win.”
“Timing includes getting horses to peak at the right time, but it’s really all about management and managing your own expectations.”
