Carl Hester is Coming to New England

Olympic Gold Medalist Carl Hester MBE (Photo: Jon Stroud)

(New England) - The New England Dressage Association (NEDA) is thrilled to announce that Olympic Gold medalist Carl Hester MBE, is coming to New England for the first time to headline the 2017 NEDA Fall Symposium. The symposium will take place October 14-15 at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine and it will be Hester's only U.S. East Coast appearance in 2017.

Hester is a virtual living legend in the dressage world and one of the greatest ambassadors of the sport worldwide. He is credited with single-handedly changing the face of dressage in Great Britain where he has been the National Champion a record nine times and was part of the history-making British Dressage Team at the 2012 London Olympic Games aboard Uthopia, where the team won the nation's first-ever Gold medal in dressage. He is a five-time Olympic veteran and won a Team Silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio with Nip Tuck where he also was the trainer of the three other team members. He won two FEI World Equestrian Games™ Team Silver medals in 2014 and 2010, as well as several European Championship medals including Team Gold and Individual Silver medals in 2011, Team Silver in 2015 and 2009, and Team Bronze in 2013.

Carl Hester and Nip Tuck on their way to winning a Team Silver medal for Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio (Photo: Jon Stroud)

"We are delighted that Carl Hester will be joining us for the 2017 NEDA Fall Symposium!" said NEDA President Phyllis LeBlanc. "Not only is he a world-class competitor and trainer, but also an amazing ambassador to our sport. We look forward to welcoming him to New England!"

Hester's talent and dedication to dressage has also earned him numerous accolades. He was named the first-ever Honorary Patron of British Dressage for his nearly 30 years of service to his sport in November 2016. Earlier that same year he was awarded the 2016 Global Dressage Visionary Award and the British Horse Society (BHS) bestowed Hester with an Honorary Fellowship, their highest honor of which only seven people hold the title. In 2015 he received the BHS Queen's Award for Equestrianism, while the highly regarded French equestrian yearbook L'Année Hippique named Hester 'Best Rider of the Year' and 'Best Trainer of the Year' in back-to-back editions. In 2013 Queen Elizabeth awarded Hester with an MBE, Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, for winning the Team Gold medal in London. In 2011 the British Olympic Association named him the Equestrian Athlete of the Year.

Carl and Valegro (Photo: Jon Stroud)

Also considered to be one of the world's best trainers, Hester has brought countless horses to the elite grand prix level including the most famous horse in the world, Valegro, who he co-owns. Under Hester's tutelage, his student Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro became the first-ever duo to hold Olympic, World, European and World Cup championship titles simultaneously in addition to holding four world records. Hester has also penned several top-selling books and has released excellent training videos.

Ticket pricing and demonstration rider information will be announced shortly, so please stay tuned for more details about this exciting educational event on the NEDA website at www.neda.org.