EQUITANA Australia is proud to announce that UK gold medallist Dressage star, Carl Hester, will be delivering the Specialist Dressage Clinic at the Sydney event this year.
Forty-four year old Carl, born on the Isle of Sark, is one of Britain’s leading international riders in the sport of dressage, currently ranked number two in the FEI World Individual Dressage Rankings.
He began his dressage career in style, winning the 1985 National Young Rider Championship just 18 months after taking up dressage. In his competition career as a senior, Carl amassed a record of 63 National Dressage Titles and taken out the British Dressage National Championship seven times. He has competed in four Olympics, one World Equestrian Games, four European Championships and has reached one World Cup Final.
From his first Olympic competition at Athens in 2004, where he and Escapado were the highest-placed British combination, through to the many championship wins and the heartbreak in 2008 when both his Olympic contenders ended up out of the running due to injuries, Carl has continued his upward march.
In 2009, Carl and his new ride, Uthopia, achieved results of 76.11% at Premier League PSG and CDI Inter 1 winning with 76.66%. The trail of success continued with him being part of the silver medal winning team at the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games in Kentucky on Liebling II. In 2011, he won a historic team gold medal at the 2011 European Championships in Rotterdam, as well as achieving individual silver medals in the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle with the exciting Uthopia.
The pair rounded off last year with stunning performances in the ground breaking British team at the London Olympics, with scores of 75.44% in the Grand Prix and 83.45% in the freestyle, to win team gold on Uthopia.
While Carl has rightfully earned the reputation as one of the greatest Dressage riders of our time, his incredible skill as a trainer is also acknowledged internationally. From winning Dressage Trainer of the Year in 1997 to coaching protégée Charlotte Dujardin to double gold at the Olympics last year, Carl continues to grow as a trainer and will help you to get the feel and technique he shows every ride!
For more information on the EQUITANA Sydney program
visit www.equitana.com.au
