Carl Hester
Carl Hester MBE (born 29 June 1967 in Cambridgeshire, England)[1] is a British dressage rider competing at Olympic level.[2] As of 8 August 2012, the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) rank him 12th in the world riding Uthopia.[3] In 2012, Hester formed part of the Great Britain Dressage team that won gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[4]
Early life and career
[edit | edit source]Hester was raised by his mother and stepfather. He lived on the Channel Island of Sark from the age of four,[5] and was educated at Elizabeth College in Guernsey. His biological father is the actor Tony Smee.[6]
Aged 19 he applied for a job with horses in the UK at The Fortune Centre of Riding Therapy and on the centre's skewbald mare, Jolly Dolly, he won the 1985 Young Dressage Rider Championship. Moving to Bourton-on-the-Hill he competed at the first Blenheim Horse Trials and won the Spillers Dressage with Jumping Championship. He next rode for Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer[5] (father of Laura Bechtolsheimer) and in 1990 went to the World Championships on Rubelit von Unkenriff, the European Championships in 1991 and in 1992 the Barcelona Olympics on Georgioni. Hester became the youngest British rider ever to compete in an Olympic Games. He next went into a business partnership with Kate Carter at her yard at Stow-on-the-Wold until Carter decided to move for more space. Hester too moved to buy his own yard at Oaklebrook Mill, near Newent, Gloucestershire.[7][8]
2011 European Dressage Championship
[edit | edit source]In 2011 Hester riding the horse Uthopia was part of the British team that won the team gold medal at the 2011 European Dressage Championship in Rotterdam.[5][9] Hester also won individual silver medals in the Grand Prix Freestyle and Grand Prix Special.[10]
As of 8 August 2012 the (FEI) ranked him 12th in the world riding Uthopia.[3]
2012 Olympics
[edit | edit source]In 2012, Hester was selected with three others to represent the United Kingdom at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the Individual and Team Dressage events.[11] The UK dressage team won the gold medal with Hester riding Uthopia.[12][13]
Hester was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism.[14][15]
International Championship results
[edit | edit source]| Results | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Event | Horse | Score | Placing | Notes | ||||||
| 1990 | World Equestrian Games | Rubelit v. Unkenruf | 5th | Team | |||||||
| 18th | Individual | ||||||||||
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Giorgione | 7th | Team | |||||||
| 16th | Individual | ||||||||||
| 1999 | European Championships | Legal Democrat | 5th | Team | |||||||
| 13th | Individual | ||||||||||
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Exquis Escapado | 7th | Team | |||||||
| 13th | Individual | ||||||||||
| 2005 | World Cup Final | Exquis Escapado | 10th | ||||||||
| 2005 | European Championships | Exquis Escapado | 5th | Team | |||||||
| 6th | Individual | ||||||||||
| 2009 | European Championships | Liebling II | 72.085% | 2nd place, silver medalist(s) | Team | ||||||
| 72.250% | 10th | Individual Special | |||||||||
| 75.900% | 10th | Individual Freestyle | |||||||||
| 2010 | World Equestrian Games | Leibling II | 72.128% | 2nd place, silver medalist(s) | Team | ||||||
| 69.417% | 17th | Individual Special | |||||||||
| 2011 | European Championships | Uthopia | 82.568% | 1st place, gold medalist(s) | Team | ||||||
| 81.682% | 2nd place, silver medalist(s) | Individual Special | |||||||||
| 84.179% | 2nd place, silver medalist(s) | Individual Freestyle | |||||||||
| 2012 | Olympic Games | Uthopia | 77.720% | 1st place, gold medalist(s) | Team | ||||||
| 82.857% | 5th | Individual | |||||||||
| 2013 | European Championships | Uthopia | 75.334% | 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) | Team | ||||||
| 72.250% | 6th | Individual Special | |||||||||
| 81.696% | 6th | Individual Freestyle | |||||||||
| 2014 | World Equestrian Games | Nip Tuck | 74.186% | 2nd place, silver medalist(s) | Team | ||||||
| 75.532% | 12th | Individual Special | |||||||||
| 76.589% | 12th | Individual Freestyle | |||||||||
| 2015 | European Championships | Nip Tuck | 75.400% | 2nd place, silver medalist(s) | Team | ||||||
| 77.003% | 5th | Individual Special | |||||||||
| 79.571% | 8th | Individual Freestyle | |||||||||
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Nip Tuck | 75.529% | 2nd place, silver medalist(s) | Team | ||||||
| 82.553% | 7th | Individual | |||||||||
| 2017 | World Cup Final | Nip Tuck | 83.757% | 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) | |||||||
| 2017 | European Championships | Nip Tuck | 74.900% | 4th | Team | ||||||
| 76.732% | 5th | Individual Special | |||||||||
| 80.614% | 4th | Individual Freestyle | |||||||||
| 2018 | World Equestrian Games | Hawtins Delicato | 77.283% | 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) | Team | ||||||
| 77.219% | 9th | Individual Special | |||||||||
| 2019 | European Championships | Hawtins Delicato | 78.323% | 4th | Team | ||||||
| 77.508% | 9th | Individual Special | |||||||||
| 70.732% | 14th | Individual Freestyle | |||||||||
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Hester is openly gay.[16][17][18] In July 2024, it was announced a film was to be made about his life.[19][20]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- BBC Sport – Carl Hester profile
- Carl Hester (and here) at FEILua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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- Living people
- 1967 births
- British male equestrians
- British dressage riders
- Olympic equestrians for Great Britain
- Equestrians at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Equestrians at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Equestrians at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Equestrians at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Equestrians at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Equestrians at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Equestrians at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- English gay sportsmen
- LGBTQ equestrians
- People from Sark
- Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain
- Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
- Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain
- Olympic medalists in equestrian
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- 21st-century English LGBTQ people
- Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics