Tom Daley isn’t the only iconic gay British Olympian who will be competing in Paris. Carl Hester, the legendary dresser and stalwart of Team Great Britain, will be there as well.
Qualifying for his seventh Olympics this week, Hester, 57, is the oldest member of Team GB. He commemorated the honor with a heartfelt post on Instagram addressed to one of his beloved horses, Fame.
“Fame, are you ready to take me to my seventh 😯 Olympic Games and show your talent in Versailles?,” he posted. “You never know if this is the last one, so we will enjoy ourselves and do our very best for Team GB.”
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Hester made his debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games, before many of his fellow Olympians were even born. He’s won medals at the last three Olympics, securing his legacy as one of the greatest dressers ever.
“I’ve kind of got used to the ‘older Olympian’ mantle,” he told BBC. “To be honest, having done the amount of Olympics I’ve been lucky enough to go to you never know when each one ends if you’re going to make the next one.”
Hester’s story begins on the small channel island of Sark, where he grew up in a single-parent household without many modern amenities. The royal fief, with a population of around 500 people, is one of the few places in the world where cars are banned on roadways. Only tractors, bicycles and horse-drawn carriages are permitted.
As a result, horseback riding became an invaluable skill for Hester. He made his equestrian debut on the back of a donkey, and won his first race at the 1985 Young Dressage Rider Championship while working as a farmhand.
“I learnt the true basis of horsemanship, finding a way based on tact, patience, firmness and kindness when dealing with horses,” he said, via Tatler. “Making them think for themselves, rather than having their natural character and ability suppressed through harshness, this has stayed with me.”
In an example of perfect timing, it was announced this week that a biopic about Hester’s life, Stride, is in the works, per Variety. The move will cover Hester’s rise from his humble beginnings to Olympic greatness.
“It’s King Richard and International Velvet rolled into one,” said producer Richard Conway. Stride is not just a film for equestrians. Carl’s moving and humble story of passion, hard work and self-belief will undoubtedly prove an inspiration to all.”
The movie climaxes at the 2012 London Olympics, when Hester and his star trainee, Charlotte Dujardin, won gold in team dressage in front of their home crowd. Hester followed up London with a silver medal win at the Rio Games and bronze in Tokyo.
He says Dujardin’s ascent has kept him going. “The best thing that ever happened to me, of course, was Charlotte Dujardin, because she was one of my students. That gave me so much enthusiasm, watching her win gold,” he told Team GB’s official website.
With six Olympics under his belt, Hester says training doesn’t get any easier with age. In fact, “it gets a lot worse.”
But he can’t imagine doing anything else.
“It’s my passion, I’ve always put my life into this,” he said. “It’s something that I love, it’s not just a job for me.”
He continued, “I get up on Christmas day and muck out my horses. That’s how involved I am in the sport, because I love doing what I do. That’s always kept me motivated to keep doing better.”
Still at the top of his game, it’s apparent that Hester is savoring every moment. Following his bronze medal win in Tokyo, he credited his horse, En Vogue.
“That was cool. I had a great balance with En Vogue and I feel he came here as a boy and he went in there like a man,” he told Attitude.
There were 16 out athletes on Team GB in 2021, and promises to be a similar number this year. Once again, Hester will be at the top of the class.
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