Charlotte Dujardin has made equestrian history by becoming the first British rider to win two gold medals at the Olympics.

British soundtrack

The 26-year-old won the individual dressage this afternoon (9 August) with an incredible score of 90.089, which follows her team gold won earlier this week.

Charlotte was last to perform at Greenwich Park stadium, and her stunning display was performed to a great British soundtrack which included the Great Escape, Live and Let Die, and Pomp and Circumstance. She narrowly beat Dutch rider Adelinde Cornelissen into second place, who was awarded 88.196.

The crowd went wild when Charlotte finished her test and she pointed to her ride Valegro, who is owned by Carl Hester and Roly Luard, to show them who she thought the star really was.

“It’s unbelievable, I’m very emotional,” said Charlotte afterwards. “He felt very tired but he still gave me everything. I can’t believe it was only last January that we did our first Grand Prix together and now we have two Olympic Gold medals!”

Very emotional

Also feeling very emotional after the ride of her life was Laura Bechtolsheimer who also won her second Olympic medal with Mistral Hojris. The 17-year-old was at his absolute best and produced a stunning display to music from the Lion King to gain a score of 84.339 and a bronze placing.

“We focused on making every movement count in that test,” said Laura. “It was the best performance of the week, and I have got a bronze medal around my neck. It doesn’t matter how close it was.”

Fellow team Gold medallist, Carl Hester, finished fifth on Uthopia with a score of 82.857. He looked delighted with his own performance and was clearly a little disappointed with his score. However, Charlotte’s win more than made up for it as, not only does he own Valegro, but Carl has trained the talented pair from novice to Grand Prix.