Acclaimed Team GB dressage rider Carl Hester, regarded as one of the greatest jockeys of all time, is turning his life into a new biopic, Stride.
The 57-year-old, who won gold in 2012 in London, will be the oldest member of Team GB when he competes in Paris, marking the second time the rider has claimed the title of oldest British Olympian.
Ahead of the Games which begin this week in France, Hester has been looking back on her illustrious career in the upcoming biopic.
The dressage rider will face his seventh Olympic Games in Paris, which begin on Friday, astride his faithful steed, Fame, a 14-year-old stallion.
When he goes out to compete, he will be only the second British athlete, after Nick Skeleton, to compete in seven Olympic Games.
Dressage rider Carl Hester will be back in the saddle at the age of 57 in Paris next week. Pictured: Carl competing for Great Britain at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on his horse En Vogue
The equestrian is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time.
While he now holds pride of place as a medal-winning rider on the great British team, Carl comes from humble beginnings, having spent the early part of his life on the tiny Channel Island of Sark.
The dressage rider previously said his love of horse riding stemmed from the fact that there were no cars on the island he grew up on, making horse riding a necessary skill to get around.
His younger days were marked by far less glamorous pursuits than now, where time spent on horseback would probably have been spent on the back of a donkey collecting groceries from the village store.
Talking about how he broke into the equestrian world Sport rhythmHe said: ‘I didn’t have a horse background and I moved to England to live.
‘Actually, you can do it another way, because a lot of people assume that you just have rich parents who support your sport.
‘Not in my case, my parents could never finance me, so I had to start from the bottom as a boyfriend.’
Later in 1985, when Carl was a teenager, he won the Young Riders’ Dressage Championship at the Fortune Centre in Hampshire with his horse, Jolly Dolly.
The victory led him to move to the Cotswolds, where he competed in the inaugural Blenheim Horse Trials.
At this point, Carl honed his skills as a rider while working on Janine and Christopher Taylor’s farm, where he spent several years battling difficult horses to eventually develop his ‘touchpatience, firmness and kindness in dealing with horses with behavioral problems.”
A young Carl pictured right; the equestrian star began life as a stable boy after moving from the tiny Channel Island of Sark to pursue his passion.
Carl, 57, pictured during a training session for the upcoming Paris Olympics. He now lives in Gloucester
Hester (left) and Charlotte Dujardin (right) raise the Union flag to celebrate their medals at Tokyo 2020
Equipped with his new skills, Carl came into the sight of Dr. Bechtolsheimer, or “Dr. B,” a German jockey and trainer who is often credited with jump-starting Carl’s career.
At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Carl rode one of Dr B’s horses, Georgione, and became the youngest Briton to take part in the games.
Although Carl is now the oldest cyclist to compete at the Olympic Games, it wasn’t always this way: at just 25, Carl set the record as the youngest British cyclist at the Barcelona Games.
She has since described the pivotal moment saying: “It was the most incredible thing that had ever happened to me and a period that changed the course of my life.”
Later in his career, Carl achieved a large number of medals, notably alongside his beloved horse Valegro, with whom he competed to win three Olympic golds and two world championships with Charlotte Dujardin, who was his pupil.
At his next Games, in Rio 2016, he took home a silver medal. At the Tokyo 2020 Games, where he was also the oldest rider at 54, the team took home bronze medals.
A golden win in 2012 on home turf followed an impressive victory the previous year when he was crowned champion at the 2011 European Dressage Championships.
His string of achievements led him to be named the 12th best rider in the world by the International Federation of Equestrian Sports.
She has won medals at the last three Olympic Games she has competed in, including gold at the 2012 London Games alongside Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte Dujardin, riding Uthopia.
The new documentary about Carl’s life is produced by Drew Curtis and Richard Conway, who will retell his story in the biopic to be called Stride.
Drew Curtis said Variety‘Carl Hester’s journey has been for dressage what Billy Elliot did for ballet.’
Speaking about his new biopic, Carl said he was excited to bring the story to the screen, and hoped his dedication and hard work would pay off.
‘Looking In 2012, it was an incredible journey and a fairytale outcome. Without a doubt, the best moment of my career to date.
The dressage will take place between Tuesday 30 July and Sunday 4 August at the Palace of Versailles.
For more information and updates on Stride, visit Britishdressage.co.uk
