Laura Bechtolsheimer is latest star to be inducted into Equestrian Hall of Fame

The British Horse Society (BHS) welcomed Dressage superstar Laura Bechtolsheimer as the latest laureate to be inducted into its Equestrian Hall of Fame in a ceremony held today (Thursday 10 November) at the Household Cavalry's Knightsbridge Barracks.

The British Horse Society Equestrian Hall of Fame celebrates the heroes and heroines — human and equine — of the equestrian world. It was launched in July 2005 with 20 great equestrians and 16 remarkable horses honoured.  Since then a number of Britain’s best riders and drivers, breeders, trainers and coaches have been inducted annually and there are now 42 horsemen and 25 horses in the Hall of Fame.

Laura joins the likes of Anneli Drummond-Hay, Jennie Loriston-Clarke, Malcolm Pyrah, Sefton, Milton and Over to You in the list of human and equine greats. Past inductees, eventer Mary Gordon-Watson and showjumper Marion Mould, also attended the ceremony to receive their certificates and that for Stroller, Marion’s legendary pony who was inducted in 2005.

Speaking after the ceremony Laura said: “It's a great honour to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, especially when I was able to see the plaques of all the other laureates and the other members of the Hall of Fame who received their certificates today. I feel a little bit humbled!

"It's been a terrific experience to see behind the scenes at the Household Cavalry and find out how it all runs smoothly, with all its traditions, it's been great."

The selections are made by a panel comprising existing laureates which this year is chaired by BHS Chairman Dr Phil Wadey and comprises Liz Edgar, Robert Oliver, Carl Hester, Lucinda Green and Horse and Hound Editor Lucy Higginson.

Members of the public can cast their votes to nominate equestrians and horses as laureates in the BHS Equestrian Hall of Fame. Suggestions should be emailed to HallofFame@bhs.org.uk 

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Plaques to commemorate all laureates in the Hall of Fame are displayed on the wall of the Household Cavalry's Barracks in South Carriage Drive, Knightsbridge, West London by kind permission of the Commanding Officer.

BHS Hall of Fame Citations 2011:

Marion Mould

As the whole world knows, Marion is one of our greatest ever showjumpers who won the individual jumping Silver medal in the 1968 Olympics.  And of course she also owned and rode the no-less-famous Stroller.

Marion learnt to ride at the age of three on a donkey and had a successful junior career. In her second season as a senior she won the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, three Nations Cup events and, ultimately, the President’s Cup.

The 1960s brought Marion a string of successes, including first place in the Hickstead Derby Trial and second place in the 1964 Hickstead Derby. In 1965 she rode Stroller to a Gold medal in the ladies World Championship and in 1967 won the Hickstead Derby. This, then, was the trajectory which propelled her to her 1968 Olympic glory. And if her career up until that point was not enough to secure her place in the history books, in 1970 Marion became the first female rider to jump a clear round at the Hamburg Derby on her way to winning the event.

After Stroller’s retirement, Marion continued to be successful, winning the Queen Elizabeth II Cup again in 1976 riding Elizabeth Ann.

Stroller

[The citation for Stroller will, for obvious reasons, sound like an echo of what was said just moments ago.]

Stroller was the 14.2hh superstar who attracted fans from around the globe as he won a string of competitions then thought to be beyond the scope of one so small.

Bought for Marion when she was a child, together the pair developed their talents. With Marion in the saddle, Stroller took the world by storm, starting in 1965 with a triumph in the ladies’ World Championship at Hickstead and later the Queen Elizabeth Cup at the Royal International.

Stroller helped Britain win three Nations Cups, the President’s Cup and the World Championships. He won the Hickstead Derby trial in 1964 and came second in the Derby itself, eventually winning the prestigious title in 1967.

Stroller’s last puissance class was at Antwerp, where he cleared the wall at 6ft 8in. Only a single brick being put out at 6ft 10in required him to share the honours for first place.

A bad tooth temporarily affected his form but Stroller recovered to win the individual Silver medal at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. He went on to win the Wills Hickstead Gold medal for points gained in major classes each year from 1967-69. None were surprised when he was showjumper of the year at the Horse of the Year Show in 1970 and won Hickstead’s British Championship in 1971.

Stroller retired in the 1970s and enjoyed a happy retirement until he died, aged 36. The pint-sized hero has lived on in the memories of generations of horsemen and TV audiences around the globe.

Laura Bechtolsheimer

Laura started riding when she was three, hitting the floor more often than not in the early days! By her teens Laura had started to enjoy success, winning pony team silver at the Europeans at the age of 14. Since then she has been on the British Championship team every year through juniors, young riders and now seniors.

Laura’s biggest successes started with the help of Klaus Balkenhol and her father, Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer, who is now her trainer. Her breakthrough came in 2009, when she achieved a personal best and set a new British record in Den Bosch, Holland. This was followed by wins in Hagen and another personal best and British record in Lingen. Later that year Laura represented Great Britain at the Alltech FEI Windsor European Dressage Championships with Mistral Hojris (Alf) where she won Team Silver and Individual Bronze. She finished 2009 ranked sixth in the world.

More wins and places followed in 2010 across the board, including three Silver medals at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. Laura rounded off the year as the first Briton to win the Reema Acra FEI World cup with Alf still on top form.

In 2011 Laura rose to world number two and was part of the Gold medal winning British team at the European Championships in Rotterdam, where she took individual Bronze.

British Dressage is currently flying high and this success is in no small part due to Laura.

Mary Gordon-Watson

Mary is a British, European, World and Olympic eventing champion. She saw her first major international success in 1969 when she won the individual three day event at the European championships in Haras du Pin. She continued to find gold success in 1970, winning both the individual and team events at the World Championships in Punchestown, and in 1971 she was part of the winning team in the European Championships at Burghley.

Mary crowned her career with a team Gold medal at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany.

In all her European, World and Olympic successes Mary was riding her father’s horse, Cornishman V, which had been loaned to Richard Meade for the 1968 Olympics.

After her retirement, Mary went on to become a well-known equestrian teacher. In 1976 she was appointed a member of the senior selection committee for the British equestrian team.

For further press information and pictures, please contact our Press Officer: Alison Coleman, The British Horse Society, 02476 840463 or a.coleman@bhs.org.uk 

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