Carl Hester will make history at Paris 2024 by becoming the second British athlete, following Nick Skelton, to compete in seven Olympics. As he tells Horse & Hound, a lot has changed since his first in Barcelona in 1992.
“Barcelona feels like so long ago, it’s bizarre,” he says. “Those Games felt like I was just doing a bit of sport on holiday because the Olympic Village was on a beach – it was fun and I didn’t have any expectations.
“Of course, we were serious when it came to the riding and wanted to do well, but I didn’t appreciate what went into the sport back then.
“I’d only been competing at grand prix for just over two years, and in those days I was just learning to steer my way around a test rather than the horsemanship behind it and the training.”
Carl adds that as Britain’s performances on the big stage have improved the pressure has built and built. He, of course, now not only has to look after himself and his Paris-ride Fame, but also help his teammate Charlotte Dujardin with Imhotep.
“In a way, that’s good because at an Olympics you have so much time to kill thinking about competition,” he explains. “So I’m actually very lucky that I have something to focus on in Charlotte.”
Where Charlotte always tries to block the pressure out, I get the sense that Carl takes that pressure on for the team and feels responsible for them.
“It’s not nerves, it’s more angst,” he says. “The pressure is different now because we’ve been winning medals and the expectation is high all the time.
“We’re an experienced team and with the horses we’ve got at the moment, we feel like if we didn’t come home with a medal we’d have lost it.
“In these last few weeks I have to make sure we’re not overtraining and we’re keeping it all calm but, of course, human nature is that you want to keep practising and practising – trying to make everything better. There are so many factors involved and, as always, I’m looking forward to it all being over!”
Carl and Charlotte’s preparations have been almost perfect and both Fame and Imhotep – as well as fellow team rider Lottie Fry and Glamourdale – look to be peaking at the right time. But Denmark and Germany also look very strong.
Carl expects it to be a close battle between the three, and with no drop scores at the Olympics, there’s an added edge of uncertainty and tension.
“It creates a huge pressure because you know you can’t afford for anything to go wrong,” Carl adds.
I ask if that changes his approach to how he rides the test.
“It’s very difficult for me at this point to change my way of riding. I think it would be safe to say that I’m not as competitive as the others because I’m always working on my harmony and trying to make it all look nice.
“I know I need to take more risks. In Tokyo with En Vogue it was hard because I wasn’t sure at times whether he would or wouldn’t explode and it was a difficult arena to ride in, especially going in third, knowing that my score was so crucial.
“But now with Fame, I feel like I’m prepared to take more risks.”
To read our exclusive interview with Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin in full, read this week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine, in shops from 18 July.
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