Two of the world’s most prolific Olympians, both equestrians but hailing from opposite sides of the world, have met at Burghley House prior to the Paris Olympics to compare notes about Olympic memories, successes and failures, and what motivates them to stay at the top of their sports for so long.
British dressage rider Carl Hester, 57, heads to his seventh Olympics in Paris this month, while Australian eventer Andrew Hoy, 65, has been to eight games for his country. Both have won Olympic gold — though individual medals have as yet eluded Hester.
The pair met at Burghley House — the home of Defender Burghley Horse Trials — to learn from Miranda Rock, who lives at Burghley, about the house’s own Paris Olympic history. Miranda’s grandfather, Lord David Burghley, was himself an Olympian who competed at the 1924 Paris Olympics exactly a century ago. He then won gold for hurdling four years later and helped bring the 1948 Olympics to London before starting the Horse Trials in 1961.
Key to their longevity in elite sport, the pair agreed, was the enduring fasciation of working with horses “and trying to take that horse all the way through — building a partnership.”
Martyn Johnson, Event Director of Burghley Horse Trials, added: “Burghley has amazing Olympic connections and a whole ‘Olympic corridor’ in the house that celebrates them. So to welcome two legendary athletes with strong Burghley links ahead of Paris was very special for all of us.”
Both riders will be attending Defender Burghley Horse Trials, which takes place from 5-8 September. A programme about their meeting and memories can be found on Burghley TV at https://burghley-horse.co.uk/burghley-tv.
In another Olympic memory at Burghley, watch British team gold medallists, Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class on their way to winning the CCI5* at 2023 Defender Burghley Horse Trials
