Charlotte Fry (born 11 February 1996) is an Olympic, European Championships and World Championships medal-winning British dressage rider. As of August 2024, Fry has a total of 90 victories and is currently third in the FEI World Dressage Ranking.[1]

Charlotte Fry
Charlotte Fry and Everdale (2021)
Personal information
Full nameCharlotte Fry
NicknameLottie
Born (1996-02-11) 11 February 1996 (age 28)
Sport
Country Great Britain
SportEquestrian
Coached byAnne van Olst
Achievements and titles
Olympic finalsTokyo 2021
Paris 2024
Medal record
Equestrian
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Team dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Team dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Individual dressage
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Herning Individual special dressage
Gold medal – first place 2022 Herning Individual freestyle dressage
Silver medal – second place 2022 Herning Team dressage
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Riesenbeck Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 2021 Hagen Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 2023 Riesenbeck Individual dressage
World Championships for Young Dressage Horses
Gold medal – first place 2018 Ermelo Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2021 Verden Individual dressage
U25 European Dressage Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 Exloo Individual dressage

Born in Scarborough, England to Laura Fry,[2] who competed at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Charlotte started riding at a young age. At age 14, she started training with Olympic Champion Carl Hester, eventually working for him part-time in exchange for lessons.[3] Hester told former Danish Olympian Anne van Olst about Fry, after which Charlotte moved to the Netherlands to train with van Olst. Since 2014 she has lived and worked in Den Hout, Netherlands,[3][2] though she still represents Great Britain in competitions.

Career

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In 2018, at age 22, Fry became World Champion at the World Championships for Young Horses in Ermelo, riding Glamourdale in the 7-years old division. She also won at the 2018 European Championships for Grand Prix riders under the age of 25 in Exloo, Netherlands, with her horse Dark Legend.[4][5]

Fry competed at the 2019 European Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands where she placed 4th with the British dressage team.[6] She continues to train in Den Hout, Netherlands with former Danish Olympian Anne van Olst.[7]

She was selected to represent Great Britain during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. She won the bronze team medal and ended 13th in the individual competition.[8] A month later she won gold at the World Championships for Young Horses in Verden, Germany, with the Dutch-bred Kjento.[9]

In the 2022 FEI World Championships in Herning, Denmark, Charlotte competed with Glamourdale to win Silver in the Grand Prix and Gold in both the Individual Grand Prix Special and the Individual Grand Prix Freestyle.[10] On 16 December 2022, the pair won the 5th leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup, West Europe League, with a personal best of 90.995% in the Freestyle.[11]

In 2024, Fry was eliminated from the dressage World Cup Final[12] in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after blood was found around her horses mouth.[13] Vets assessed it as a minor injury that would heal quickly.[14]

At the 2024 Amsterdam Grand Prix, in which she competed with Everdale, Fry was one of several riders whose horses were photographed with a blue tongue,[15] suggesting restriction and heavy handedness had cut off oxygen and blood supply to the tongue.[16] Fry and Everdale would go on to win the event.[17]

Representing Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Fry won an individual bronze medal in the Grand Prix Freestyle, as well as a team bronze medal in the Team Grand Prix Special.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Charlotte Fry (10066419)". FEI.org. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b "FRY Charlotte". Olympics.com. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Charlotte Fry – Van Olst Horses". www.vanolsthorses.com. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  4. ^ Bryan, Polly (26 August 2018). "Meet Charlotte Fry, the British dressage rider everyone is talking about". Horse & Hound. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  5. ^ "A massive success year for young British Charlotte Fry". Horse2Rider. 4 January 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Team Results". FEI Database. 19 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Charlotte Fry". FEI. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  8. ^ Buckmann, George (27 July 2021). "Tokyo Olympics 2020: Scarborough's Charlotte Fry and Team GB win team dressage bronze". The Scarborough. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  9. ^ "WK Jonge Dressuurpaarden l 5e plek voor Thalia Rockx en Koko Jr. de la Fadenza in finale 6-jarigen, winst naar Charlotte Fry". De Hoefslag (in Dutch). 28 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  10. ^ "FEI World Championships Herning - Denmark 2022". FEI. 14 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Western European League 2022-23". FEI. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Kittel and Touchdown are Champions". FEI.org. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  13. ^ "'Extremely unlucky' says vet after Lottie Fry eliminated at World Cup Finals". Horse & Hound. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Weltcup-Finale: Kein Start für Charlotte Fry/Everdale mit Blut am Maul". Reiterrevue (in German). 19 April 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Patrik Kittel's horse lost oxygen: "The tongue is blue-purple"". www.aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). 21 March 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Professor McGreevy: "The horse feels considerable pain"". www.aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). 11 April 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Charlotte Fry and Everdale take victory in FEI Dressage World Cup Grand Prix of Amsterdam". Equnews International. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Olympic schedule & results: Equestrian". Olympics.com. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
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