For me, I wouldn’t mind if I never did another Olympics; nothing can beat London. The setting, the support, the military people. From start to finish, it was such fun. I had the most amazing time. – Charlotte Dujardin
Winning HOYS set me up for the future and prepared me for riding in front of lots of people, but the real highlight was the London 2012 Olympics. Being able to go out in front of thousands of people, on your home ground, representing your country and winning gold medals is something I’ll never be able to beat. – Charlotte Dujardin
I’ve had dreams – there were three things I wanted to do during my career. I did them during my first year of Grand Prix. – Charlotte Dujardin
I have come from a background where I haven’t had lots of money to put me on the map. I’ve had to work very hard for what I’ve got. – Charlotte Dujardin
Getting to the top is one thing, but staying there is quite another. That’s the difficult bit. – Charlotte Dujardin
As much as you may be sitting in the top five or the top 10, sometimes you just don’t get that chance to get to the top. – Charlotte Dujardin
My first ambition was to be a show jumper. I did a bit of dressage as part of it, and the dressage trainer saw me and said, ‘Why are you wasting your time with the other stuff? You should be concentrating on this.’ – Charlotte Dujardin
The fan mail I get every day is incredible. It piles through the door from not just Britain but everywhere. It is so great to have that support behind me – everyone says I am an inspiration. It is great. – Charlotte Dujardin
I’ve had so many letters from people saying I’ve inspired them to take up riding, and that’s an amazing feeling. – Charlotte Dujardin
My mum used to ride, and when she was mucking out, I always wanted to sit on a horse. And if she took me off, I’d scream my head off. – Charlotte Dujardin
So many horses get stage fright when they enter the arena, and that’s it – the performance is over. – Charlotte Dujardin
That’s why success hasn’t changed me: because I don’t want to be famous or do TV or be a model or be recognised in a shop. I’m not interested. There’s nothing worse. – Charlotte Dujardin
London was my first Olympics. It was my dream to get there, and I literally had the time of my life. – Charlotte Dujardin
I think it’s really strange for somebody that’s probably never been in the public eye. All of a sudden I was ‘big time’ – boom, it all just happened. – Charlotte Dujardin
It’s going to be a rule, I think, for wearing a crash hat, and I actually fractured my skull through not wearing a hat. I was so lucky to escape from that, and now, it’s something I always do. – Charlotte Dujardin
I turned the Gloucester Christmas lights on and our local Newent lights on, so everyone recognises me now. It is a completely different life for me. – Charlotte Dujardin
We all get so excited about the big events, but when there’s an animal involved, it’s ten times harder. – Charlotte Dujardin
Valegro just loves his job. I don’t have to force him to do anything, I just sit there and steer, and off I go. There’s no sweating, no pushing, no pulling. He knows his job, and it’s just fantastic. – Charlotte Dujardin
Moms being moms, they’re very supportive, and they’re always talking very highly of you. – Charlotte Dujardin
