Historic gold medals for equestrian events
Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton
The British equestrian teams made history this week, after GB dressage riders won their first gold medal in Olympic history, just 24 hours after the British showjumping team brought home their first gold in 60 years.
The dressage team, consisting of Carl Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte Dujardin, were favourites to win following their highly successful run over the last 18 months and Laura - who only rode in her first Grand Prix last year - now holds the record for world and Olympic Grand Prix.
While narrowly missing out on a medal in the individual show jumping, Britain also claimed gold in team showjumping, after a tie-breaking jump-off with the Dutch - the first time Britain has won gold since the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. The team of Nick Skelton, Ben Maher, Scott Brash and Peter Charles were delighted, as were the spectators at Greenwich Park.
Skelton called it "a dream come true."
Congratulations to Team GB!
Further congratulations go to Charlotte Dujardin and Laura Bechtolsheimer, who won gold and bronze respectively in the individual dressage on 9th August, making the London 2012 Olympics historic on multiple counts for British equestrian sport.
Last updated 10th August 2012.
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