*Exclusive* ‘We make a lot of sacrifices’: Lottie Fry on what it takes to achieve such success before turning 30, plus what’s next

Lottie Fry has already won – take a deep breath – individual gold in the 2018 Under-25 European Dressage Championship, individual gold at the World Breeding Dressage Championships for Young Horses in 2018 (with a then seven-year-old Glamourdale) and 2021, team silver at the 2021 Europeans, as well as team gold and individual silver at the 2023 Europeans, team silver plus individual gold in both the special and freestyle (with a personal best of 90.995% on Glamourdale) at the 2022 World Championship, plus team bronze at the Tokyo Olympics (with Everdale), and team and individual bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics with Glamourdale. She is yet to celebrate her 30th birthday.

All this, and yet, when asked how the Olympic medals in particular have changed her life, she replies with a surprised laugh, “I’ve never really thought about it!”. She wears her spectacular success very lightly.

With a bit of gentle prodding, she admits that it’s important to realise the achievement, and behind that, the work that goes in to make it all look so easy. Effortless rarely is. The debrief after any competition “goes on for a long time and is still going on now”, she says, “it’s a constant conversation, how we can improve, what can we do better in future”.

She relies heavily on Anne van Olst, her trainer and owner who “sees me ride every single day at competition and is always looking. We’re always working together to get the best, we discuss how it feels, how it looks. We plan each training session, so we know what will happen every day.”

Lottie was working one week a month, aged 16, in exchange for lessons with Carl Hester and it was Carl who connected Lottie with Anne van Olst, a successful Danish dressage rider, five-time Olympian and Danish national champion, and now Lottie’s coach and mentor. Lottie moved to the Netherlands in 2014 as a teenager and she starts her working day at 5am.

She says, “horses aren’t a job or a career, it’s a lifestyle and we really put 24 hours a day, seven days a week into the horses. We make a lot of sacrifices to be where we are. It’s pretty amazing to have something to show for all the work. My partnership with Glammy isn’t something that happens very often – it’s very special.”

When we speak, Lottie’s preparing for the World Breeding Dressage Championships for Young Horses, with two six-year-olds, and next year she will have “a few more” rides ready to start competing at grand prix for experience, and she expects to have Everdale and Glamourdale ready to prepare for next season.

As for rising stars, she cites Kjento, sired by Negro (sire of Valegro, dam-sire of Glamourdale) with whom Lottie won the World Breeding Dressage Championships for Young Horses as both a six-year-old (scoring 96%) and seven-year-old, and Nespresso (also by Negro), with whom Lottie has already competed internationally, including a win in the grand prix freestyle at Lier in March. “All of that will keep me busy!”, she says.

Riders she’s impressed with include Andrew Gould, who became the new alternate for Paris when Becky Moody stepped into Charlotte Dujardin’s place in the team at short notice. “It was incredible to have him there, he’s got an amazing horse, Indigro, and it’s not an easy place to be [as reserve]. He was so supportive and a really good teammate and fun. Also we saw with alternates Yas Ingham and Joe Stockdale, it’s a really difficult position and all three were pretty amazing”.

Dressage, along with all equestrian sport, has come under the glare of an unwelcome spotlight, with familiar questions about welfare, social licence, and whether there is even a place at all for horses in sport, all making national headlines. Looking at the future of dressage, for Lottie this is inextricably linked with convincing the sceptics about the exceptional care the horses receive.

She says, “I really hope we can get it across to the public how much we love and adore the horses. They couldn’t want for anything, they are treated to the best every single day. People don’t see it because it’s behind the scenes, so they don’t see how all our horses are looked after, and how happy they are to do their job. I know from experience they love to go into the arenas, they love to compete and perform, it’s a part of who they are, and it’s something I hope everyone will see.”

Lottie can trace her equestrian lineage back to Sixpence, her first pony (“white, tiny, cheeky”), the first in an infinite line of ponies and horses. “I have to thank every single one that has contributed to my career, and my life as a rider,” she says.

Lottie has returned home from Paris 2024 with two bronzes, and a souvenir mascot to add to the collection – she has one from Tokyo – and her eyes firmly on the future. “I’m very motivated,” she says. Her success is her rocket fuel. “It really drives you to know that it’s possible, and it makes you hungry for more.”

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