One of the biggest headlines post Olympic Games is the so possible retirement of Carl Hester. Both equestrian press and mainstream media posted Carl's farewell to competition sport.
Carl told Eurodressage that his words were taken literal and that he has not yet etched his retirement in stone.
The Mixed Zone
The misconception arose during interviews in the Mixed Zone at the 2024 Olympics in Versailles, where Hester rode to a 6th place (85.161%) in the individual freestyle finals aboard Fiona Bigwood's KWPN stallion Fame.
The words that sparked the news were:
“I’m really happy, it’s possible the best freestyle I’ve ever done," Carl said. “Fame was the best he’s been all week today, I’m so proud of how he performed. It was a wonderful ride. In front of a crowd like this you’re not just riding for yourself you’re here to entertain them – you need a good performance and you want them on your side. You want people to enjoy it and I think they did. Why should I not retire after a test like that!”
He then told the reporters about Paris being his swang song: "well, there’s two ways of looking at it. Either I’m getting better because today was my best day. Or I should stop there and not watch the downfall.”
Dealing with the Pressure
“It’s been a difficult time and it wasn’t until we went up the middle that I suddenly took a deep breath and thought, ‘I’m here, enjoy it, you never know if it’s going to be your last’,” Carl explained. "A lot of people felt that if Charlotte [Dujardin] wasn’t on the team then we wouldn’t be successful as she has contributed so much,” said Carl, “so it was important for us to show we could."
"But this feeling that you have, for days on end before you compete, I can tell you is not easy to live with. Most mornings at 3am you’re lying there with your eyes wide open thinking about if it’s going to be OK. Luckily for us, if you’re a competitor and a horse person, once you’re on your horse it all disappears. It’s the 23 hours between every day when you’re not riding that you’re left to think about the whole thing, the competition and the sport, so that’s why it gets more difficult."
No Retirement
At the press conference for the team competition on 3 August, Eurodressage publicly asked the two "veterans" at the table - Isabell Werth and Carl Hester - about their retirement.
individual ranking at the Olympics was fifth in 2012 with Uthopia
Six-time Olympian Carl responded in his well known quirky tone: "I always say I retire after an Olympic Games. That's what gets me to the next one."
What is To Come?
Post Olympics headlines were rampant though with Carl's retirement news. The seasoned British team member does not seem to say adieu to his competition career, just yet, even though the 57-year old sounded weary.
In the mixed zone he explained, “for no particular reason, every one does get tougher, because of the expectations, the delivery and how you feel like the world watches you nowadays in sport and the fact of not letting anybody down. It’s been a week of very, very different emotions for everybody."
close to his personal best in Riesenbeck (85.461%)
Back home in Newent, Carl wrote to Eurodressage on Tuesday 6 August: "Of course it’s left more open. They have slightly taken it literally as the end, but am going to let it rest and see how I feel."
Photos © Astrid Appels
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