Peter Charles

Last updated

Peter Charles
MBE
Personal information
Full namePeter Charles
Nationality British
Discipline Show jumping
Born (1960-01-18) 18 January 1960 (age 64)
Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight168 lb (76 kg; 12 st 0 lb)
Medal record
Equestrian
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2012 London Team jumping
Representing Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
European Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 St. Gallen Individual jumping
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2001 Arnhem Team jumping

Peter Charles MBE (born 1 January 1960) is a British equestrian who competes in the sport of show jumping.

Originally a competitor for Great Britain, Charles changed nationalities to Irish in 1992. In 2007, he relinquished his status as an Irish rider and once again began representing Great Britain. [1] He was in the British team which won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. [2]

Charles was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism. [3]

Charles reportedly sold his gold medal-winning horse, Vindicat W, to rock star Bruce Springsteen for his showjumper daughter Jessica. [4] [5]

He is the father of Harry Charles, a member of the British team that won show jumping gold at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Cian O'Connor is an Irish equestrian competing in show jumping. He has competed at four Olympic Games, four World Championships and six European Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Law</span> British equestrian

Leslie LawMBE is a British eventer, who won the individual gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. He started riding at age 10, competing with his brother, and participated in his first accredited event in 1982. He attended Lady Hawkins' School, where his passion for riding developed further. By 1989, he was a widely respected competitor, and that year placed 8th at the Badminton Horse Trials. After a period of consolidation, by the late 1990s he was counted amongst the sport's elite, placing in the top ten at Badminton, Burghley and the British Championship on a number of occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian events at the 1936 Summer Olympics</span> Equestrian at the Olympics

The equestrian events at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics included dressage, eventing, and show jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The host country, Germany, had a stellar year, winning both individual and team gold in every equestrian event, as well as individual silver in dressage. The competitions were held from 12 to 16 August 1936. Moderately priced tickets meant huge crowds at all equestrian events, with 15,000–20,000 spectators at any time during the dressage competition, 60,000 on the endurance day of eventing, and 120,000 for the Nations Cup in jumping.

The equestrian events at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal included show jumping, dressage and eventing. All three disciplines, except for the Nations Cup, were held at the equestrian stadium in Bromont, which had a capacity of 15,000 spectators, and the cross-country and steeplechase were also nearby. Building this stadium provided some headache for the Organizing Committee after the original estimate of 1 million Canadian dollars increased to CAD 4,425.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Davidson (equestrian)</span> American equestrian

Bruce Oram Davidson is an American equestrian who competes in the sport of eventing. He grew up in a family uninterested in horses, but began to compete in Pony Club events after a family friend introduced him to riding. He began college at Iowa State University, but left in his third year to train full-time with the United States Equestrian Team. In 1974, he married, and his two children were born in 1976 and 1977. His son, Bruce Davidson Jr., has followed in his footsteps to become a top eventing rider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodrigo Pessoa</span> Brazilian equestrian

Rodrigo de Paula Pessoa is a Brazilian equestrian specialized in show jumping. The son of fellow equestrian Nelson Pessoa, Pessoa is considered one of the most talented of his generation, being an Olympic Games gold medalist in individual jumping and having over 70 Grand Prix wins. He has represented Brazil at 8 Olympic Games second most appearances behind Ian Millar which has 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian events at the Summer Olympics</span>

Equestrian sports were first included in the Olympic Games in the Summer Olympics of 1900 in Paris. They were again included in 1912, and have been included in every subsequent edition of the Games. Currently, the Olympic equestrian disciplines are dressage, eventing, and show jumping. In each discipline, both individual and team medals are awarded. Since the XV Olympiad in Helsinki in 1952, women and men compete on equal terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Llewellyn</span> British equestrian (1911–1999)

Sir Henry Morton Llewellyn, 3rd Baronet, was a British equestrian champion. He was born the second son of a colliery owner, Sir David Llewellyn, 1st Baronet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Skelton</span> British equestrian

Nicholas David Skelton is a British former equestrian who competed in show jumping. He retired at the age of 59 years old, on 5 April 2017. He began riding at age 18 months and in 1975 took two team silvers and an individual gold at the Junior European Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Meade</span> Welsh equestrian

Richard John Hannay Meade was Britain's most successful male equestrian at the Olympics. He was a triple Olympic gold medalist and the first British rider to win an individual Olympic title. He also won five World Championship medals, including team golds in 1970 and 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Maher</span> British equestrian (born 1983)

Benjamin Richard Maher MBE is a British show jumper. He represented Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2009 European Championships in Windsor, 2012 London Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics. He won the team jumping gold at the London Olympics with Team GB, their first team jumping gold medal for 60 years, an individual gold for Great Britain at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and team jumping gold again at the 2024 Paris Summer Games. That win tied him with three-day eventer Richard Meade and dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin as the most successful British Olympic equestrians.

Marion Janice Mould is an English show-jumper. She competed for Great Britain at the 1968 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal in the individual jumping event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Tomlinson</span> German-British dressage rider

Laura Tomlinson MBE is a German-British dressage rider competing at Olympic level. As of 30 June 2012 the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) ranked her 3rd in the world riding Mistral Højris and 36th on Andretti H. In that year, Tomlinson, riding Mistral Højris under her maiden name of Laura Bechtolsheimer, won two medals in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London; gold for Great Britain in the team dressage with Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, the first ever Olympic team gold in the discipline for her country, and bronze in the individual dressage behind gold medalist and compatriot Dujardin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Hester</span> British dressage rider (born 1967)

Carl Hester is a British dressage rider competing at Olympic level. As of 8 August 2012, the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) rank him 12th in the world riding Uthopia. In 2012, Hester formed part of the Great Britain Dressage team that won gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Brash</span> British show jumping rider

Scott Brash MBE is a Scottish showjumper. He began riding the horse Hello Sanctos in early 2012. They competed as part of the British Team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London winning a gold medal in the team jumping event. In 2015, he became the first rider to win show jumping's Rolex Grand Slam, all three of the sport's most prestigious events in a single year, earning the sport's biggest individual prize of €1 million (£735,000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Dujardin</span> British equestrian and writer (born 1985)

Charlotte Susan Jane Dujardin is a British dressage rider, equestrian, and writer. A multiple World and Olympic champion, Dujardin has been described as the dominant dressage rider of her era. She held the complete set of available individual elite dressage titles at one point: the individual Olympic freestyle, World freestyle and Grand Prix Special, World Cup individual dressage and European freestyle, and Grand Prix Special titles. Dujardin was the first rider to hold this complete set of titles at the same time.

The equestrian events at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro were held between 6 and 19 August at National Equestrian Center in Deodoro. Medals were awarded in three disciplines for both individual and team competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Springsteen</span> American show jumping rider

Jessica Rae Springsteen is an American equestrian. The daughter of musicians Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, she is a show jumping champion rider who has represented the United States Equestrian Team in international competition and won a silver medal in the Team jumping at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in 2021 in Tokyo.

Thomas Bruce McEwen is a British equestrian who competes in eventing.

Harry Charles is a British show jumping competitor. He represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, competing in individual jumping and team jumping. Charles replaced Holly Smith in the individual competition. In December, 2021 Harry won the Taittinger Ivy Stakes CI5* class individual jumping event at the London International Horse Show, staged at the ExCel Centre in London's Docklands, riding 15 year old gelding, Borsato. In 2024 he was a member of the British team that won show jumping gold at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, riding Romeo 88. Charles competed with a strapped arm after suffering a fracture four weeks prior to the Olympics.

References

  1. "Peter Charles returns to the Great Britain Show Jumping Team". FEI. 10 February 2007. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
  2. 1 2 "Harry Charles revels in equestrian team gold after swapping fairways for saddle". The Guardian. PA Media. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  3. "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 24.
  4. "Springsteen's daughter buys Team GB horse". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012.
  5. "Bruce Springsteen's daughter buys Peter Charles' gold medal winning horse". The Telegraph. 19 September 2012.