5 Minutes With... Charlotte Dujardin

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By: Jo Johnson/Horsezone

It was my privilege to interview Charlotte Dujardin - multiple Olympic and World Equestrian Games gold medallist - at EQUITANA, where she spent four days enthralling Aussie crowds with her energetic, no-nonsense teaching and meeting her many fans! 

I was more than a little star struck by this super talented young horsewoman who has achieved so much, however, Charlotte is very down to earth and is really just another horse crazy girl like many of us, except she has not only chased her dreams, but grabbed them with both hands and made them come true.

In addition to my interview with Charlotte I learnt some interesting facts about her during the clinics, which have stuck in my mind. Charlotte does not spend more than £7000 on a horse, preferring youngsters that she can train up, she works hard on her own fitness/core strength, she likes to hack her horses out - even the divine Valegro - prior to training them in an arena and she does not like the use of dressage whips.

Read a comprehensive report on Charlotte’s Dressage Clinic with Judy Harvey in a great article by Kerry Mack HERE.

So let's meet Charlotte and find out more about her...

Charlotte has been riding horses since she was a little girl and was very successful at showing ponies in Britain, producing ponies herself with her mum and sister, because they didn't have money for top ponies. Charlotte won the Horse of the Year Show four times and at Hickstead three times.

First up, I asked Charlotte how she decided to go from showing to dressage...

I was always trained by a dressage trainer when I did showing so I had that back ground with my riding. She always said to me ‘Why are you doing showing? You should be doing dressage!’ As a kid I was not very interested, I was very into showing and loved it and was very successful. Then I did work experience and she put me on her grand prix horse and said I want to see what you can do on this horse. So I did that and got a feel of a bit of piaffe and passage and had a play with the changes and I couldn't believe that I could pick it up so quickly.

Then I had an Irish Thoroughbred, which was a show horse and we didn't have an arena at home so we used to hack out around the fields and I thought I'm going to teach my horse to do piaffe because it's really cool. So I taught my hack piaffe. Then I started training with Ian Cast. I probably trained with him for about a year and a half and then he said to me I don't think I can help you any more, I think you need to go to Judy Harvey. So I approached Judy and worked and stayed with her for four years. I did all the mucking out and grooming and hard labour (Judy interrupted at this moment and said how Charlotte would skive like mad and chat by the wheel barrow!) It was all hard work and there was no getting away with anything with Judy, I can promise you (laughing)! During my time with Judy I ended up deciding that dressage was something that I really, really enjoyed and went from there!

(In 2007, Charlotte went to work at Carl Hester’s yard and five years later teacher and pupil, alongside Laura Bechtolsheimer, brought home Britain’s first gold in the team dressage. Charlotte, riding Valegro, set an Olympic record in the process.)

What do you enjoy most about dressage?

I think it's just what you can train a horse to do and working with the horse. Every horse is different. I love getting to work out a horse, its personality, the way it thinks, its sensitivity, everything! For me trying to figure out a horse is like a puzzle - bit by bit you kind of build it and it’s so rewarding when you get to that top level. Before you actually get there, you never know whether your horse is going to be a grand prix horse. So many people say 'this is going to be a grand prix horse' but you can't say that until you’re actually there doing it. It's amazing - the feeling of achievement - when you've trained your horse from a young horse. The partnership and the connection you get along the way - they become like your best friend.

How do you prepare mentally before entering the arena to compete at a big event?

I treat all competitions the same and don’t look at them as any different - whether I'm doing a normal show, a big show, Olympics, Europeans or Worlds - I just do the same test. It's just another arena, somewhere else for me to ride. It's all about going in there and having fun and obviously I hope that Valegro has a good experience too and that he enjoys it. That's what we do. Whether we win or lose if I’m happy with what we've both achieved than that's great.

What stands out as the highlight of your amazing achievements with Valegro?

(Without hesitation) London Olympics 2012! That was absolutely incredible! To have 25,000 people there cheering you on at your home grounds was unbelievable. When I went in and did my test you could have heard a pin drop and as soon as I finished it was incredible! Everyone was stamping their feet and cheering. Standing on that podium - it was just so emotional to think about what you'd done for your country – it was a very proud moment.

What are the main attributes you look for when choosing/buying a horse for dressage?

If I am looking for myself I always look at their temperament. That's definitely one of the biggest things for me. I look at their eye, there's something about their eye, they have to be a nice 'person'. I don’t mind if they’re a bit wild but obviously they've got to want to accept you on the floor. Of course their paces are really important. I think a good walk and a good canter is really important. The trot for dressage is the one pace we can change as a rider, once we teach them the passage, the suspension, the trot completely changes. What you can't do is change the walk and canter, you can make it better but you can never change it. So it’s all about the walk and canter and finding a horse that can do all of that. It's quite a hard feat!

Top tips for young riders wanting to be successful in dressage?

Yes, I think you've got to be hard working. You have to work hard to get to the top and never give up. Keep working, stay focused and dedicated and you can get there! Personally I set myself three goals and I didn't want to stop until I got them. My three goals were London 2012, to ride on a team with Carl Hester and to get to London Olympia, which is a huge show we have every year in December. I remember sitting there as a small girl watching and thinking one day I would love to ride in there! It used to be a train station so it's such a small arena, holds about 10,000 people and they are so close to you, you can almost touch them. The atmosphere is incredible and to ride there was one of my dreams. I actually achieved all those dreams within the first two years of my career and to achieve what I have in four years has been unbelievable.

What are your goals for the future?

I'd love to now recreate some of it all again on another horse, on different horses. My real goal is to keep training and I'm really lucky I've got some fantastic young horses at home – two year olds and yearlings. I will wait until they're ready and then I’ll start playing with them. There are some really lovely ones that I’m so excited about. If I can get them up to grand prix and represent my country that would be fantastic. That for me would be a huge achievement.

If you didn’t work with horses and horse people what would you be doing?

I think I'd work as a veterinary nurse. I love animals and would definitely want to be around animals. My mum was a veterinary nurse and I've always been around animals so that is certainly something that I would like to do.

When you’re away from the horses, how do you relax?

I spend time with my partner, Dean Golding, we go shopping, have spa days, go to the cinema, we do everything! We love taking the dogs out walking and we're really lucky that where we live are some Malvern hills, so we go walking up the hills - it's great. As an athlete you have to be able to switch off now and then and not always be full on focusing on what you're doing. 

I would like to thank Charlotte for her valuable time! It was a real pleasure chatting to a person who is an inspiration to all horse people and is so proud of representing her country – Britain is very lucky to have this amazing lady! At the press conference, I was one of only a couple of media personnel there, so it was great to be able to get one on one time with Charlotte (pictured at right with me). Thank you EQUITANA!

If you enjoyed this interview, you may also enjoy reading this interview with Charlotte and Carl Hester after London 2012, which highlights the fantastic relationship they have http://www.dressage-news.com/?p=22258

The photos of Charlotte and Valegro at Olympia courtesy of Risto Aaltonen (supplied by EQUITANA) All photos of EQUITANA Clinics are by Stephen Mowbray.

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