Charlotte Susan Jane DujardinCBE (born 13 July 1985) is a British dressage rider and equestrian. She has been a World and Olympic winner many times. She is a powerful dressage rider of her era, She was the first to have a complete set of dressage titles at the same time. She has won six Olympic medals. She also has three gold medals. She is tied with cyclistLaura Kenny as Britain's female Olympian with many medals. However, Dujardin went out of the 2024 Summer Olympics after being not able to because of animal cruelty.
Early life
Charlotte Dujardin was born in Enfield. She grew up in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. She started riding horses as a two-year-old.[3] When she was three, she won second place at her first Pony Club show jumping competition.[4] Later, her mother bought and sold ponies for her daughters.[5]
As a child, Dujardin was diagnosed with dyslexia.[6]
She went to Vandyke Upper School in Leighton Buzzard.[7] She later said, "I didn't really go to school that much".[8] She left school at 16.[9][10]
Dujardin won the Horse of the Year Show competition four times. was a winner at All England Jumping Course at Hickstead three times.[10][11]
In December 2012, Dujardin was riding a horse name Valegro. They won the 2012 World Cup freestyle event held at Olympia. They got a score of 87.875%.[12] On 19 April 2015, in Las Vegas, Dujardin and Valegro won the FEI World Cup. They got a score of 94.169% on the last day of the competition. This was their fourth World Title. They are the only pair to have ever held four world titles.[13][14]
The gold post box for Charlotte Dujardin in Enfield.
Dujardin and Valegro were picked to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[17] On 7 August 2012, Charlotte and Valegro were a part of the British team. The team won the gold medal in the team dressage event.[18]
Dujardin and Valegro also won double gold medals for themselves at the 2016 Rio Olympics, making her the first British woman to retain an Olympic title for herself.
On 14 December 2016, Dujardin retired Valegro at age 14 after finishing a freestyle test.
International Championship results
Charlotte Dujardin and Gio at 2021 European Championships
Results
Year
Event
Horse
Score
Placing
Notes
2011
European Championships
Valegro
78.830%
Team
76.548%
6th
Individual Special
79.357%
9th
Individual Freestyle
2012
Olympic Games
Valegro
83.663%
Team
90.089%
Individual
2013
European Championships
Valegro
85.942%
Team
85.699%
Individual Special
91.250%
Individual Freestyle
2014
World Cup Final
Valegro
92.179%
2014
World Equestrian Games
Valegro
85.271%
Team
86.120%
Individual Special
92.161%
Individual Freestyle
2015
World Cup Final
Valegro
94.196%
2015
European Championships
Valegro
83.029%
Team
87.577%
Individual Special
89.054%
Individual Freestyle
2016
Olympic Games
Valegro
85.071%
Team
93.857%
Individual
2018
World Equestrian Games
Mount St. John Freestyle
77.764%
Team
81.489%
Individual Special
2019
European Championships
Mount St. John Freestyle
EL
4th
Team
66th
Individual
2021
Olympic Games
Gio
79.544%
Team
88.543%
Individual
2021
European Championships
Gio
79.829%
Team
87.246%
Individual
Animal cruelty
On 23 July 2024, Dujardin pulled out of competing at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris after a video emerged of her whipping a horse during training over and over.[19] She whipped the horse around 24 times in one minute.[19] She was shortly taken out from competition.
Dujardin said that she was "deeply ashamed" and the problem "was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or teach my students".[19]
Writing and television
Dujardin let out her autobiography, The Girl on the Dancing Horse: Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, in (2018).[20] She was on the Netflix show Free Rein.[21]
Personal life
Her then-fiancé Dean Golding wore a shirt that said, "Can we get married now?" after she won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics.[22] On 6 March 2023, Dujardin gave birth to a daughter.[23]
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