Wikipedia

Charlotte Dujardin

British dressage rider

Charlotte Susan Jane Dujardin CBE (born 13 July 1985) is a British dressage rider and equestrian. She has been a World and Olympic winner many times. She is a powerful dressage rider of her era, She was the first to have a complete set of dressage titles at the same time. She has won six Olympic medals. She also has three gold medals. She is tied with cyclist Laura Kenny as Britain's female Olympian with many medals. However, Dujardin went out of the 2024 Summer Olympics after being not able to because of animal cruelty.

Charlotte Dujardin
CBE
Dujardin in 2012
Personal information
Full nameCharlotte Susan Jane Dujardin[1]
Born (1985-07-13) 13 July 1985 (age 39)[2]
Enfield, Greater London, England
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight61 kg (134 lb)
Sport
Country Great Britain
SportEquestrian dressage
TeamBritish Dressage Federation
Turned pro2011
Coached byCarl Hester, Ian Cast
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking1
Medal record
Equestrian
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Team dressage
(with Valegro)
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Individual dressage
(with Valegro)
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Individual dressage
(with Valegro)
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team dressage
(with Valegro)
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Team dressage
(with Gio)
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Individual dressage
(with Gio)
World Equestrian Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Normandy Spécial dressage
(with Valegro)
Gold medal – first place 2014 Normandy Freestyle dressage
(with Valegro)
Silver medal – second place 2014 Normandy Team dressage
(with Valegro)
Silver medal – second place 2022 Herning Team dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Tryon Spécial dressage
(with Mount St John Freestyle)
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Tryon Team dressage
(with Mount St John Freestyle)
European Dressage Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Rotterdam Team dressage
(with Valegro)
Gold medal – first place 2013 Herning Spécial dressage
(with Valegro)
Gold medal – first place 2013 Herning Freestyle dressage
(with Valegro)
Gold medal – first place 2015 Aachen Spécial dressage
(with Valegro)
Gold medal – first place 2015 Aachen Freestyle dressage
(with Valegro)
Gold medal – first place 2023 Riesenbeck Team dressage
(with Imhotep)
Silver medal – second place 2015 Aachen Team dressage
(with Valegro)
Silver medal – second place 2021 Hagen Team dressage
(with Gio)
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Herning Team dressage
(with Valegro)
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Hagen Individual dressage
(with Gio)
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Riesenbeck Special dressage
(with Imhotep)
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Riesenbeck Freestyle dressage
(with Imhotep)
Dressage World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2014 Lyon Individual dressage
(with Valegro)
Gold medal – first place 2015 Las Vegas Individual dressage
(with Valegro)

Early life

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Charlotte Dujardin was born in Enfield. She grew up in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. She started riding horses as a two-year-old.[3] When she was three, she won second place at her first Pony Club show jumping competition.[4] Later, her mother bought and sold ponies for her daughters.[5]

As a child, Dujardin was diagnosed with dyslexia.[6] She went to Vandyke Upper School in Leighton Buzzard.[7] She later said, "I didn't really go to school that much".[8] She left school at 16.[9][10]

Dujardin won the Horse of the Year Show competition four times. was a winner at All England Jumping Course at Hickstead three times.[10][11]

Career

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Dujardin did dressage with a horse that she bought.[4][5] She used an inheritance from her grandmother to do this.[4][5]

In December 2012, Dujardin was riding a horse name Valegro. They won the 2012 World Cup freestyle event held at Olympia. They got a score of 87.875%.[12] On 19 April 2015, in Las Vegas, Dujardin and Valegro won the FEI World Cup. They got a score of 94.169% on the last day of the competition. This was their fourth World Title. They are the only pair to have ever held four world titles.[13][14]

In 2019, Dujardin was taken out of the Longines FEI European Championships after blood was found on her horse, Mount St John.[15][16]

Olympics

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The gold post box for Charlotte Dujardin in Enfield.

Dujardin and Valegro were picked to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[17] On 7 August 2012, Charlotte and Valegro were a part of the British team. The team won the gold medal in the team dressage event.[18]

Dujardin and Valegro also won double gold medals for themselves at the 2016 Rio Olympics, making her the first British woman to retain an Olympic title for herself.

On 14 December 2016, Dujardin retired Valegro at age 14 after finishing a freestyle test.

International Championship results

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Charlotte Dujardin and Gio at 2021 European Championships
Results
Year Event Horse Score Placing Notes
2011 European Championships Valegro 78.830%   Team
76.548% 6th Individual Special
79.357% 9th Individual Freestyle
2012 Olympic Games Valegro 83.663%   Team
90.089%   Individual
2013 European Championships Valegro 85.942%   Team
85.699%   Individual Special
91.250%   Individual Freestyle
2014 World Cup Final Valegro 92.179%  
2014 World Equestrian Games Valegro 85.271%   Team
86.120%   Individual Special
92.161%   Individual Freestyle
2015 World Cup Final Valegro 94.196%  
2015 European Championships Valegro 83.029%   Team
87.577%   Individual Special
89.054%   Individual Freestyle
2016 Olympic Games Valegro 85.071%   Team
93.857%   Individual
2018 World Equestrian Games Mount St. John Freestyle 77.764%   Team
81.489%   Individual Special
2019 European Championships Mount St. John Freestyle EL 4th Team
66th Individual
2021 Olympic Games Gio 79.544%   Team
88.543%   Individual
2021 European Championships Gio 79.829%   Team
87.246%   Individual

Animal cruelty

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On 23 July 2024, Dujardin pulled out of competing at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris after a video emerged of her whipping a horse during training over and over.[19] She whipped the horse around 24 times in one minute.[19] She was shortly taken out from competition.

Dujardin said that she was "deeply ashamed" and the problem "was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or teach my students".[19]

Writing and television

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Dujardin let out her autobiography, The Girl on the Dancing Horse: Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, in (2018).[20] She was on the Netflix show Free Rein.[21]

Personal life

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Her then-fiancé Dean Golding wore a shirt that said, "Can we get married now?" after she won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics.[22] On 6 March 2023, Dujardin gave birth to a daughter.[23]

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References

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  1. ↑ "New Year's Honours list 2017" (PDF). Gov.uk. Government Digital Service. 30 December 2016. p. 14. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Charlotte Dujardin". olympedia.org. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  3. ↑ Lizzy Davies (9 August 2012). "Charlotte Dujardin: gold for the woman who could make a donkey dance". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "London 2012 Olympics: 'I always knew she would be a star', says mother of dressage gold-winner Charlotte Dujardin". Evening Standard. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Equestrian: 'Unlikely winner' Charlotte Dujardin celebrates double gold". The Independent. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  6. ↑ Redrup, Gemma (16 December 2014). "12 things you might not know about Charlotte Dujardin". Horse & Hound.
  7. ↑ "Double gold medal winner is ex-Vandyke student". Leighton Buzzard Observer. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  8. ↑ Dunn, Matthew (10 August 2012). "Charlotte Dujardin's lost days at school". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  9. ↑ "Charlotte Dujardin". Teamgb.com. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Charlotte Dujardin". Carlhester.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "London 2012: Charlotte Dujardin breaks dressage world record". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  12. ↑ "Charlotte Dujardin wins World Cup freestyle in Olympia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  13. ↑ "GBR Dujardin, Charlotte" (PDF). Eventocntent.hippoonline.de. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  14. ↑ "Horses, Dressage & More". Dressage Daily News. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Isabell Werth secures Golden medal for team Germany. Ireland for first time ever qualifies Dressage team for Tokyo". Equnews International. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  16. ↑ "Dujardin eliminated from European Championships after blood found on her horse". www.shropshirestar.com. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  17. ↑ "London 2012: Dressage riders Bechtolsheimer and Dujardin selected for Team GB". Sportsister.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  18. ↑ "Olympics equestrian: 20 gold medals for GB with dressage win". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "Dujardin out of Olympics over 'whipping horse 24 times like circus elephant'". The Independent. 24 July 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  20. ↑ Bryan, Polly (24 February 2018). "Charlotte Dujardin's autobiography: an informal 'chat' with the Olympic champion". Horse & Hound.
  21. ↑ Charlotte Dujardin to appear in children’s TV show [permanent dead link]
  22. ↑ "Charlotte Dujardin hails Valegro after winning gold". The Scotsman. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  23. ↑ Polly Bryan (7 March 2023). "'Surrounded by immense love': Charlotte Dujardin welcomes first child". Horse and Hound. Retrieved 11 September 2023.

Other websites

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