{"id":24409,"date":"2015-09-11T14:24:21","date_gmt":"2015-09-11T04:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=24409"},"modified":"2017-02-09T16:46:25","modified_gmt":"2017-02-09T05:46:25","slug":"catching-up-with-carl-hester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2015\/09\/catching-up-with-carl-hester\/","title":{"rendered":"Catching up with Carl Hester"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Carl<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo: Kit Houghton<\/em><\/p>\n

Rebecca Ashton meets Valegro and interviews the world\u2019s nicest dressage rider…<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019m making sandwiches with Carl Hester.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to try this butter. It\u2019s amazing,\u201d Carl says, handing me the bright, yellow delicacy only available from his homeland, Sark. \u201cOr as it\u2019s often referred to, six hundred alcoholics clinging to a rock,\u201d he offers.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve known the Olympic gold medallist for approximately ten minutes and straight away I can tell this is going to be a cool interview. It\u2019s been about eight months since his London Olympic success and I want to know what he\u2019s been up to and what\u2019s next for the star\u2026<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve recovered from the Olympics?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI must say last year, whatever a nervous breakdown felt like, I was having one. Oh god, it was just horrific. I don\u2019t know what that was; before and after the Olympics, I hated it. Terrible Muriel! [this in his best Aussie accent] I was just shattered, shocked, worried, so much resting on our shoulders. Thank god Charlotte was really good through it. She stayed pretty upright through the whole thing. And I couldn\u2019t let her know what I was feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had had a bad preparation for the Games. I hadn\u2019t had the time to put into Uthopia, he was too fat and then he pulled a shoe off just before Hagen and went lame and then I had to deal with everyone saying, \u2018He\u2019s lame! He\u2019s lame! He\u2019s done a tendon!\u2019 You get all of this added pressure because people assume that you\u2019re just covering up but I wasn\u2019t,
\nit was actually the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just got into this awful mindset, is my horse going to go lame? Is Charlotte\u2019s horse going to go lame? Is Laura\u2019s horse going to go lame? Every day I was just panicking. Anything that could go wrong was always flashing through my head because I realised how important it was for our country – let alone myself or Charlotte or Laura. And I just couldn\u2019t bear to think that this one opportunity in our life would escape. That\u2019s what it was, I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo… I can\u2019t say it was an enjoyable time. Obviously, looking back now, it was amazing. I enjoy it now but not then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sports psychology help?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t do sports psychology, no. I have done it in the past, but it doesn\u2019t work for me. I\u2019m much better left alone just to fester away. I just tuck myself away, I smoke and drink for a night, feel shocking the next day and off I go. I like to do it like that. I left home at 15, I like that sort of independent brain thing of \u2018I\u2019ll sort it out\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

And your up-and-coming horses?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cDances With Wolves is really going to be my next one. He is a top horse but he is still very nervous and temperamental. I have to be very tactful with him and train him in the right way. Like Escapado. It\u2019s a full time job having a horse like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFine Time, I\u2019m riding for a client who\u2019s pregnant. Don\u2019t hang around me, that\u2019s what happens. I\u2019ve picked up a few good rides like that. If I like your horse, you\u2019re going to get pregnant! He has a very secure temperament. He has come to Grand Prix quickly. Some horses can be spoilt if you go too quickly and some can relish the challenge. He received 71% in his first Grand Prix.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dances<\/a><\/p>\n

Dances With Wolves (Photo: Rui Godinho)<\/em><\/p>\n

Tell us about Dances With Wolves.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s such a cool horse and it\u2019s such a cool story. He was owned by Jane Gregory, a friend of mine who died. She had a heart attack, which is really tragic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJane and I used to talk about this horse and she was like, \u2018He\u2019s so strong; he\u2019s so hot headed but I\u2019m sure he\u2019s brilliant, but I just struggle with him because he is enormous.\u2019 She was right. He\u2019s the biggest horse in our yard and he is VAST. When he\u2019s strong, he is strong. It doesn\u2019t feel like dressage anymore, it\u2019s like waterskiing. You know, it\u2019s just GO!\u201d [Carl is laughing, in case you\u2019ve missed the point, Carl laughs, a lot.]<\/i><\/p>\n

\"DancesDances With Wolves (Photo: Rui Godinho)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe has done a lot for my body, I tell you! Jane said to me when we were in the Maldives on holidays the year she died, \u2018Carl if I can\u2019t ride it, you\u2019ll have to ride it.\u2019 And I thought, \u2018Jane, you\u2019ll never let me ride it because you\u2019ll never give up\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it was so sad because I did get to ride it but not how I wanted to. But the nice thing is, for her friends and myself and her husband, every time he does something great it\u2019s really good because we have a good memory about Jane and it keeps it really alive – so it\u2019s a good story for us really.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think I would bond with it. The first six months it was here I thought well I can\u2019t ride it. I just can\u2019t ride it. What am I going to do? How am I going to tell Jane\u2019s husband I can\u2019t ride it and I can\u2019t get on with him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect my horses here to fit in and they all hack on a Wednesday; they all hack on a Saturday. They all get cantered around the field and they all get turned out. And of course I think they were so worried when he came here, they said, \u201cDon\u2019t hack him out; don\u2019t ride him on the grass whatever you do, he\u2019ll run off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThree days later I thought, you know what? This horse has just got to fit in with everything else. I\u2019m not going to make concessions for him. So we\u2019ve been through hedges out hacking; he\u2019s done it all, but he\u2019s come out the other side. He has to be a normal horse if he\u2019s going to cope with the pressures of competing, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is happening with Uthopia with all the disputes between creditors and Sasha Stewart, who went through bankruptcy in 2010?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s [Uthopia] still here. It\u2019s still going on. [He sighs]<\/i> We have had court cases and basically I\u2019m just waiting for the outcome.\u00a0It\u2019s a question of ownership. I own half\u00a0of him with Sasha\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had rumours after the Olympics that the horses had been sold for 5M, 10M, even 20M we had in the paper over here. The price of the horse is way, way lower. Totilas ruined THAT market! We thought he was going to make the market, but now people are worried about taking on these famous horses. So, I\u2019m also trying to prove the real value of the horse to the courts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMeanwhile, my asset is still sitting here and in my view they have devalued the horse. I haven\u2019t been allowed to compete abroad. But he\u2019s fit and he\u2019s well and I\u2019ve put Charlotte on him and hopefully she can compete him in Saumur in two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut do you know what? I\u2019ve decided I\u2019m going to forge on like the horse is going to be here for the rest of his life. I may as well make a future for him and he may as well try and help us win another medal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cValegro\u2019s still here [laughs]<\/i>. I\u2019m not going to do anything with him at the moment. The plan with Valegro was that we\u2019d try and help fund it with a syndicate, which hasn\u2019t materialized yet. If someone comes along who wants to buy him, that\u2019s the road we\u2019d go if we don\u2019t get a syndicate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard. I\u2019ve had him since he was two and a half. I mean, he\u2019s my family. On the other hand, the horse is not going to go somewhere where I don\u2019t recommend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they\u2019re both sold, then looking to the future, we\u2019ve got two nine-year-old horses (Don Archie and Nip Tuck) which are now really ready for Grand Prix but I\u2019ve said let\u2019s wait until they\u2019re 10 because I\u2019ve got the other two I\u2019m busy with this year. So Charlotte would take the back seat this year and then take on one of those.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve also got this other Grand Prix called Nemo (Merlin Nemorensis), the big grey. He\u2019s gorgeous. He\u2019s also had 70% last year but I\u2019ve not done any internationals on him yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThree Grand Prix horses are a hell of a lot of work. You don\u2019t just get on and do half an hour\u2019s work. They have to be fit and I like them to work for a longer period of time but not necessarily schooling, so there\u2019s a lot to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCharlotte and I have stocked up for the future. I\u2019ve got seven three-year-olds; I\u2019II buy a nice foal if I see one. Charlotte has a really lovely five-year-old and a four-year-old and I just said we\u2019ll swap them. I\u2019ll have half of them and you have half of them and then we both share the risks for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

And things are good between you and Charlotte?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cUnderstandably after the Games we had a bit of a difficult time with our relationship; where it was going to go and how it was going to work. There\u2019s a period of adjustment. It couldn\u2019t have got bigger than winning a gold in our country. The media for us, even dressage riders which is just hilarious, was massive and continuous from August until January, so we really didn\u2019t spend a lot of time together during that period because we were all over the place and obviously it was all up in the air with the horses. It\u2019s just not been easy, but I think we\u2019ve found a really good solution now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re back to laughing again, we chat again and it\u2019s relaxed again. We only do four mornings a week together because we only school four mornings a week. But those times we\u2019re together now are brill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CarlCrying<\/a>The Big MOMENT! Charlotte burst upon the world dressage stage at the 2011 European Championships, and her mentor is in a flood of tears. He really is a nice guy!<\/em><\/p>\n

When did Charlotte come to you?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cSeven years ago now. She has always been a very tidy rider, coming from a showing background. She had a six-year-old horse she was producing, Fernandez and it wasn\u2019t a very special horse, although it turned out to be a very good horse. At a selection class for potential future Grand Prix horses, the guys I was judging with said, \u201cNo, that\u2019s not a Grand Prix horse\u201d and I said, \u201cWell it looks pretty sharp to me. It looks like it wants to work.\u201d\u00a0 So I got on and thought, this is a damn nice horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen Charlotte came up to me afterwards and asked if I would help her and I said, \u2018No, I didn\u2019t have time\u2019. Then her mother rang me and chased me around for a bit and said, \u2018Please help her. She always watches your dvds and she really wants to learn how to make a Grand Prix horse.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I rang her up, because one of my girls was going on holidays for 10 days, to see if she wanted to come and fill in; bring the horse and we\u2019d have a look at it. She arrived and then never went home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good because I\u2019ve helped her become a rider but I hope I\u2019ve also guided her to having a successful career. She had to make the really big decision to sell Fernandez. It was a big risk for both of us because I rode Fernandez as well. Initially I said we will keep him in case one of our horses went lame, he would be a back up, because he could still be a team horse in this country. The trouble was, this was her future sitting here. I said to her, \u2018You have no money, you need to get your foot on the property ladder and you have Valegro who I\u2019ll leave with you until the Olympics and you have to think about it.\u2019 And she did, and she sold him. I think it was really hard for her, but now she\u2019s 26 years old and she\u2019s got three gold medals and a house with no mortgage. That\u2019s absolutely fantastic, and it\u2019s a story that other people can cling onto.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean I don\u2019t begrudge anyone whichever way you do it, none of us should do. If you\u2019re born with lots of money, or somebody gives you lots of money or someone gives you a top horse, great. You still have to ride it and there\u2019s an art in that. I didn\u2019t pay Charlotte. I didn\u2019t mind paying for her career, but I wasn\u2019t paying her money as well. She had to go and earn it like me. I don\u2019t take a wage out of the yard and I can\u2019t pay her a wage out of the yard. We make the horses, and go earn money out of the teaching. Charlotte\u2019s is at least a realistic story that anybody could say, that could be me.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it was the same as your story?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, originally it was my story. When I made it in England, it was certainly unusual, it was like an opening for more young people when I did it, and now Charlotte\u2019s has really made a big opening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes but why did you make it when others didn\u2019t?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWell of course you get lucky, you get the opportunities. I just learnt the art of making a horse, I suppose. I think it\u2019s always interesting being in the position I\u2019m in now. I mean, I was a groom and I remember going for my interview and being asked, \u2018How much money do you want,\u2019 and I said, \u2018Oh, I don\u2019t want paying.\u2019 Why did I say that? Because all I wanted to do was ride and I was worried if I said I wanted paying that I wouldn\u2019t get the rides. That was the most important thing to me, to be able to ride. And then \u2018What day off would you like?\u2019 \u2018Oh, I don\u2019t want a day off. I just want to ride\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my attitude as a young person. Now having role reversal, when I interview people, when somebody says to me, \u2018How much do I get? What days do I get off?\u2019 – that\u2019s like an alarm bell. You can see it in people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Charlotte was the same when she came here. She just wanted to ride. And if I said, \u2018Well, there\u2019s only that\u2019, then she would say, \u2018Well then I\u2019ll ride that.\u2019<\/p>\n

“Now she\u2019s a princess! [he says jokingly]<\/i> That\u2019s where you could see it. It wasn\u2019t like, \u2018Oh look at Charlotte, she\u2019s a gold medal type rider.\u2019 I had no idea Charlotte was a gold medal type rider, but for the last few years, if Charlotte said to me, \u2018What are you doing tomorrow?\u2019 and I said, \u2018Well I\u2019ve got 11 lessons. I\u2019m exhausted.\u2019 And she would ask, \u2018What time are you starting?\u2019 and I\u2019d say, \u201808:00\u2019 then she\u2019d say, \u2018Right, I\u2019ll be on at 07:00, can you teach me at 07:00?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say no to that. I was like,\u00a0\u2018Too bloody right and if you\u2019re going to do it, then I\u2019m getting up.\u2019 So actually, I\u2019d lost a bit of my drive, but Charlotte brought that out of me again because I had somebody to enjoy it with, somebody on the same level as me, somebody to go to shows with, somebody who knew my horse really well, and I knew what she was doing really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why is your training so successful?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t work so hard that I don\u2019t have a life. Always remember that. Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. I love that saying. It is so true. Both Uthopia and Valegro won their first Grand Prix at nine years old with 70%. That sounds like we have worked the horses hard, but that is absolutely not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difference is, we do four days a week. I think it\u2019s about fittening, and these days they have off in between their schooling is what really gives them their ability to learn. Because it\u2019s not pressure until they get tense and nervous, it\u2019s just learn it, leave it, do it again. It\u2019s always having the black and white process in place. No, that\u2019s wrong; yes, this is right. I think my system is completely straight forward. I don\u2019t have any tricks up my sleeve or anything like that. It\u2019s just the basic way of balancing a horse, and I think when you\u2019ve learnt to balance the horse, then you can get on with the difficult stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI attribute my system to all the people I\u2019ve met. I\u2019ve trained with a lot of interesting people starting with Harry Boldt, who everyone in Australia will know. Harry was my first dressage teacher with Dr B when I was there. And it\u2019s really funny, because people ask me what I\u2019ve learnt from different trainers and actually I learnt really simple things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I learnt from Harry was half halt. I didn\u2019t know what that was. I mean I had lessons for three and a half years and if you asked me what we did, I have no f….ing idea. I just know that\u2019s all he used to say, \u201cHalf halt\u201d. So in the end, I had to find out what it was because I didn\u2019t know! I remember going around once and someone said \u2018volte\u2019, and I thought what the f@*&% is that? So, I kept going and they said, \u2018volte\u2019 and I kept going. I was too embarrassed to ask what a volte was. I mean, that is how raw and green I was. I did not know what all these things were.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Olympic<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the big influences on Carl’s dressage career was Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer. It was Dr B’s stallion, Giorgione, that Carl rode at his first Olympics in Barcelona 1992.\u00a0(Photo: Kit Houghton)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThen when I left Dr B\u2019s, I had to go to Holland to Bert Rutten, who is again a very old classical straight forward trainer and people ask, What did you learn from Bert? \u2018On and back.\u2019 That\u2019s all he used to say, \u2018On. Back.\u2019 and then a huge puff of cigar smoke used to escape out the side of his mouth. So then I would ask, \u2018Why do I have to do on and back all the time?\u2019 and he said, \u2018Because you need to get the horse to balance itself on four legs.\u2019 Right, so then I knew what balance was and then I knew what self-carriage was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other big influence was Anne Van Olst. Anne is also one of my best friends. We met at the Olympics. She\u2019s not been my trainer but she\u2019s somebody that if I\u2019m going into Europe, I\u2019ll stay with her. I help her; she helps me. We both tell each other the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I\u2019ve always struggled with is getting from piaffe to passage. I don\u2019t know why. That is a little thing I always have a struggle with. Every horse I ride goes into it the same way…a little bit of piaffe, piaffe, piaffe…trot…and passage. I just cannot get the bloody hang of it. But whenever I go to Anne\u2019s, she\u2019s like, \u2018That\u2019s what we\u2019ll work on. This is what you have to learn.\u2019 And I help her to look nice! So we both work on each other\u2019s weaknesses which is what I think real trainers should do with you, without de-moralising you. We\u2019ve done 10 years of that together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think my system is a lot to do with lifestyle of the horses and how I feel they should be treated. I was an event rider before I was a dressage rider so I\u2019m not afraid of all those things that I know a lot of people are. Probably not in Australia. I think Australia would be pretty much like we are. We hack our horses, we don\u2019t keep them in barns and not let them see the light of day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was interesting because after the Olympics, one of the biggest questions I kept getting, mostly from Dutch and German magazines was, \u2018Do you contribute your success to the fact that you turn your horses out?\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018No. I contribute our success to the fact that we train them the best we can.\u2019 You wouldn\u2019t go to an event rider and say did you win Badminton because you turned your bloody horse out into the field. They\u2019d just laugh at you. People just do that over here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy vet says to me and it always sticks in my mind, \u2018The best way to keep your horse sound is to keep it moving.\u2019 That\u2019s such a simple piece of advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have five staff for 18 horses so we can do it properly. When I decided to commit myself to these Olympics two years ago I thought, I\u2019ve got the best two horses I\u2019ve ever had and I need to dedicate my life to Charlotte, getting her going and to train her and her horse, and my horse and I want the right staff behind me. I don\u2019t care if I come away out-of-pocket in two years. No yard makes money. Like I said, that\u2019s why Charlotte and I can only ride four days a week, because we can\u2019t take a wage. But I thought it was worth it to actually pay attention to detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hot horses v lazy horses?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m prepared to have my hot horses living out, then I can work them without killing them through too much work. Lazy horses I don\u2019t do. If a horse is lazy because he\u2019s weak or immature, then that\u2019s absolutely fine and we just wait for them to mature. If the horse has that inherent laziness in it, I wouldn\u2019t bother. I don\u2019t ever want to be in a position where I have to make a horse do it. For me the end result of dressage is that it has to be elegant and it has to be easy and it has to be a pleasure to watch and it should be in harmony. If it\u2019s not; if I\u2019m scrubbing away and shoving away on something, that\u2019s not harmonious and I don\u2019t enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any more young riders coming through?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI have a fantastic young rider called Samantha Thurman-Baker. She rode at the Junior Europeans last year and she was 10th but she won the prize for the most elegant rider. She is beautiful on a horse. She\u2019s already trained her first horse to Grand Prix and won with 68% at one of our selection shows last year. So, training your own horse to a successful level of Grand Prix at 18 is pretty incredible. She works for me, she\u2019s my second rider.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKatie Bailey is 21 and on the World Classes Equine Pathway Squad. I\u2019ve got her riding Nip Tuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Samantha<\/a><\/p>\n

Samantha Thurman-Baker and Spring Pascal. (Photo: Risto Aaltonen)<\/em><\/p>\n

You give your young riders very good horses to ride instead of just keeping them all for yourself?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel like that about it. Like I\u2019ve always said, if someone hadn\u2019t given me the opportunity, I would be like every other talented rider. There are a lot of talented riders that never get a go. I just feel it\u2019s my way of giving back to the sport really, especially British Dressage. It\u2019s my way of trying to promote our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt actually gives me pleasure. I do enjoy watching other people ride my horses and I do think for my horses as well, it\u2019s very good that they\u2019re ridden by other people and I can just hop on and polish them up and do my thing. I also know that the best way of learning is by feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, you know everyone\u2019s going to move on and leave you and make their own career at some point. That\u2019s life. But I hope they go having had a lot of good opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Generally, you always buy young horses?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely. I think the only way for a professional like myself to do it is two year olds. I\u2019m buying horses for a few thousand euros and therefore for me if they make it, that\u2019s all fantastic; it\u2019s been a great journey. And if they don\u2019t, I make them into something where I don\u2019t lose a lot of money. Valegro and a lot of the horses here have been unbroken horses when we bought them. People say, \u2018Oh you must have a really good eye for young horses\u2019 because we\u2019ve got a lot of good ones, but I still think it\u2019s the training. I don\u2019t look for the flashiest mover or anything, I just look for a great hind leg and a nice physique and the rest is training the temperament. And we\u2019ve only had one horse out of the whole batch we\u2019ve had that has been an unrideable one. Everything else has made it, in one form or another, into a decent horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always reminding Charlotte… you are a mug if you think that the more you spend, the better you get. Don\u2019t, whatever you do, fall into that category because that\u2019s very often a dangerous route.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same with trainers. I also teach a lot of people, or I have, who want a lot of help. And I say, what I can tell you for this amount of money, someone down the road could tell you for half the price. You don\u2019t need me to teach you every week. You just need somebody who has a bit of an eye and is honest with you and spend half the money. Come back to me every three months or something and we\u2019ll have a look at your progress overall.\u201d<\/p>\n

And you have an exciting new colt…<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cOut of Valegro\u2019s full sister by Uthopia. It has to be the best bred horse in the world, surely! It\u2019ll probably be useless! [laughs]<\/i> It probably won\u2019t move or be ugly or something. No he\u2019s not ugly, but he\u2019s big. He\u2019s coming two….a black colt. I\u2019m sending him, Euphoria, to Holland for the grading this year so I\u2019m going to see what they say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same mare also has a yearling by Lord Leatherdale who looks pretty special and she\u2019s about to drop one by Dimaggio, the former young horse world champion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we\u2019re having a little bit of a laugh with the breeding, see what we can do. I know it\u2019s a mug\u2019s game but we\u2019re just having a bit of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a lot of talk since the Olympics that now dressage has changed with you Brits on top now; the training methods and judging are changing. Do you agree?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah…interesting. I think it has. I think it has definitely helped get away from forms of riding that people don\u2019t like to watch. Charlotte, Laura and myself are very straight forward riders with a system that involves just getting the horse balanced and on the bit. It\u2019s still not perfect, but I don\u2019t think anyone will ever be perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople want to do what the winners do, I mean let\u2019s face it, if you know you\u2019re going to be a winner and be successful, you\u2019re going to be a role model. There are going to be a majority of people who will never change their ways, but there\u2019s going to be a bigger majority that want to know what you do, why you do it and would it work for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just see it in press statements sometimes. Like Adelinde, suddenly she\u2019s working on lightness. Adelinde\u2019s never said that before, but she knows that\u2019s what the judges said last year. Even she\u00a0in a way has admitted in the press that she is doing what the winners do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo yeah, I think it will be beneficial for horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CarlMedal2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And you\u2019re coming to Sydney for Equitana later in the year?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cOh I\u2019m thrilled about that [and there\u2019s that Aussie accent again]<\/i> Jesus, I live\u00a0in a bloody grey country! You know what the biggest draw is? Going somewhere I can have a bit of sun in November, have fun with the Aussies, take the piss out of them and have them take the piss out of me and all that goes on; see all the people I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to say, I didn\u2019t think that I would ever make it to the top because people used to ask me, \u2018What\u2019s it like being an international rider?\u2019 and I used to say, \u2018You know what, it\u2019s really great fun being at the bottom because all the people at the bottom are fun.\u2019 Whenever we used to go to the Olympics, it always used to be the Australians and the British so I\u2019m not being rude here but we were all at the bottom together and I used to say they\u2019re the fun people. The ones at the top are bloody difficult to get on with. And it always stuck with me and I thought when we won our first medal at Windsor in 2009, I just had that in my head and I thought, \u2018I must be nice! Whatever happens!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good thing is, and I think it\u2019s the same with Charlotte, having been at the bottom, I know what it takes. There are a lot of great fun riders out there in Australia. We do have a laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article first appeared in the June 2013 issue of THM.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hester, Carl<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n