Charlotte Dujardin could become Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympian of all time, having been selected as a member of the dressage team for the Paris Olympics.
Charlotte has won six Olympic dressage medals, three of which are gold. This means she is equal with former cyclist Dame Laura Kenny, but winning a medal of any colour in Paris would send Charlotte to the top of the list.
Charlotte’s first medals came at the London 2012 Olympics, where she won both team and individual dressage gold medals on Valegro – Britain’s first Olympic medals in dressage.
The pair went on to successfully defend their individual title and secured a team dressage silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Their gold medal in Rio made Charlotte the first British woman ever to retain an individual Olympic title. She also broke the Olympic freestyle record in the process with 93.86%.
With Valegro Charlotte is also still the current overall world record holder in all three tests, achieving a remarkable 87.460% in the grand prix at London CDI-W in 2014, 88.022% in the grand prix special at Hagen CDI in 2012, and 94.300% in the freestyle at London CDI-W also in 2014.
Charlotte competed without Valegro at an Olympics for the first time in Tokyo. Riding Gio she won individual and team bronze, bringing her total medal count to six.
This achievement surpassed British rower Dame Katherine Grainger and tennis player Kathleen McKane Godfree’s records, making Charlotte the then-most decorated British female Olympian.
Laura claimed the title the following week. Charlotte will be looking to reclaim it and make history as she rides at her fourth Olympics in Paris on Carl Hester and Coral Ingham’s 11-year-old gelding Imhotep – her first ride since Valegro to break the 90% barrier in international competition.
Britain are strong favourites for a spot on the podium, alongside Germany and Denmark. Imhotep is also individually one of the best horses in the world and looks to be hitting form at exactly the right time.
But he will face serious competition for the individual medals from teammate Lottie Fry and reigning undisputed world champion Glamourdale, Olympic champions Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB, as well as Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour on Charlotte’s former ride Mount St John Freestyle.
“The biggest thank you to every person who has helped along the way… to the team at home, my amazing and supportive partners, close friends and family,” Charlotte said, reflecting on her selection.
“And to everyone who has followed and joined me on this journey so far… I so hope we do you proud. All I can promise is we will do our absolute best, try our hardest, and while there take a moment to enjoy and appreciate how lucky we are to have our incredible horses in our lives; and to be able to do what we love so much.”
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