Equestrian stars leave Dujardin controversy behind to shine brightly in Paris

Controversy on the eve of the Olympics is never helpful for any sport, but when it involves a three-times gold medallist it is the stuff of nightmares.

Great Britain’s equestrians faced a tough lead up to competition after dressage star Charlotte Dujardin ruled herself out and was subsequently provisionally suspended by the sport’s ruling body pending an investigation into a video that shows her whipping a student’s horse from the ground during a schooling session four years ago.

The furore surrounding the footage made for a difficult opening, with plenty questioning the future of equestrian sport in the Olympics as a whole.

However, if the damage was done by a British rider, the team significantly contributed to the sport’s recovery with a series of fine performances seeing Team GB achieve medals in five of the six available categories.

First out of the stables was the eventing team, with Laura Collett and London 52 delivering a dressage masterclass to her peers, registering an Olympic record low score to put Britain in the driving seat.

Cross-country went to plan for both Collett and Tom McEwen and while Ros Canter was on the end of a harsh-looking penalty during her round which put paid to her individual chances, team gold the following day certainly eased some of that pain, with Britain becoming the first to win the title five times.

Collett also delivered on a solo level as she took individual bronze behind the incomparable German Michael Jung.

Arguably one of the stories of the Games came via the team jumping competition as Harry Charles followed in the footsteps of his father Peter to win gold.

Charles snr had topped the podium at London 2012, when the squad included Scott Brash and Ben Maher, who also lined up alongside Charles jnr.

Just a teenager when he watched his father triumph in Greenwich Park, Charles – who Maher has dubbed ‘Bieber’ for his youthful looks – kept his nerve to jump clear aboard Romeo 88 before Brash and his horse Jefferson sealed the success.

Individual honours escaped all three, with Romeo 88 withdrawn due to a minor issue, but the Charles’ achievement in becoming the first father-and-son gold medallists since 1948 captured the public’s imagination.

The Dujardin situation weighed more heavily on the dressage team, with her mentor Carl Hester having to put his feelings to one side in what he indicated is likely to be his Olympics swansong.

A “difficult week” proved no bar to success though as super-sub Becky Moody and her homebred gelding Jagerbomb won the hearts of the crowd – and Snoop Dogg – by posting the performance of a lifetime to take team bronze.

Charlotte Fry, whose late mother Laura competed with Hester at his first Olympics back in 1992, rounded out the British achievements with an individual bronze against two giants of the sport in Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Isabell Werth.

Welfare worries certainly did not stop the crowds flocking to the Chateau de Versailles and the British team shone at the home of the Sun King.