Sark's Carl Hester 'confident' ahead of seventh Olympic campaign in Paris

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Hester will equal the record for most Olympics competed in by a Briton when he takes to the arena for the team dressage. Credit: PA

Sark's Carl Hester says he is 'confident' of performing well in the hunt for another Olympic medal. Hester, 57, who grew up on the island, hopes to add more medals to his already distinguished collection when he takes to the arena in the team dressage on his horse Fame in Paris at 11:25am tomorrow morning (30 July). Hester won Olympic gold at London 2012, silver at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020 in the team dressage among numerous World and European medals. Paris 2024 will be his seventh Olympics, equalling the record for the most Games competed in by a Briton. The record is held by showjumper Nick Skelton.

Speaking about his chances for gold, Hester told ITV News: "I'm confident. We had a good European Championship last year where we won team gold. So we're going there with a very strong team with very good chances."He says his route to Olympic glory was far from conventional, speaking about his Channel Island upbringing along the way.He said: "I didn't actually set out with Olympic dreams. I come from the island of Sark where there are 500 people. I didn't know any names in equestrian at all when I moved to the UK."I came here [to the UK] when I was 16 to pursue a career. My family weren't horsey so I had to get away and much to their horror I did come over here and pursue that career. "I met some families that I worked for. I got my qualifications so that I could teach then I got offered a job as a dressage rider and I took that job in October 1989 then in June 1990 I did my first World Championship so it was quite a rapid route to the top."

Hester won team dressage gold at London 2012. Credit: PA

"Since then, we've gone on, I did three Olympics where we didn't medal then it all started in 2012 when it's been ripping on amazingly since then.Hester added: "We hadn't even won a medal but we took gold in London and we won gold in the European Championships the year before so I'm hoping that this is a good omen."He also said he had been blessed with equine talent across the Olympics he has competed in, saying: "I never dreamed I'd be doing seven and on seven different horses because you don't know where that next partner is. Some of them I've found, some of them have found me."Despite his numerous accolades, Hester remains humble ahead of his campaign in Paris.He said: "At this stage of my career any medal would be lovely. I'm not going to be choosey".

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