Real Life Dressage

At the young age of sixteen, Carl Hester began studying for his BHSAI, and it wasn't long after that he began notching up wins in dressage and junior eventing. He soon became the youngest rider to make a British dressage team and two years later, he was Britain's highest placed dressage rider, making the final at the Barcelona Olympics on Giorgione. Carl has run his own training yard since 1993. Since then, his tally of National Championships has risen to a total of 32, and he has trained several horses to Grand Prix championship level.
Polly Ellison comes from a family background steeped in National Hunt racing and hunting. However, after qualifying as a BHS instructor, it was a desire to improve in dressage that led Polly to Europe to train. The opportunity to ride Grand Prix horses and get a feel for work at that level was a wonderful experience and served as a catalyst to drive Polly to learn more. As a result, she now trains with Carl on her own Hanoverians, and also writes for British Dressage as their International Correspondent