Laura Tomlinson MBE (''née'' Bechtolsheimer; born 31 January 1985, in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

, Germany) is a

German-British There are many Germans living in the United Kingdom, and many Britons or ''German British'' () have German ancestry, including the British royal family. While those born in Germany constitute one of the UK's largest Foreign-born population of the ...

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

rider competing at

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

level. As of 30 June 2012 the

Fédération Équestre Internationale The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI came into being following the Olympic Congress in Lausanne (SUI) in 1921 from May 28 to May 30. It's headquarters are ...

(FEI) ranked her 3rd in the world riding Mistral Højris and 36th on Andretti H. In that year, Tomlinson, riding Mistral Højris under her maiden name of Laura Bechtolsheimer, won two medals in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London; gold for Great Britain in the team dressage with

Carl Hester Carl Hester (born 29 June 1967 in Cambridgeshire, England) is a British dressage rider competing at Olympic level. As of 8 August 2012, the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) rank him 12th in the world riding Uthopia. In 2012, Hest ...

and

Charlotte Dujardin Charlotte Susan Jane Dujardin (born 13 July 1985) is a British dressage rider, equestrian, and writer. A multiple World and Olympic champion, Dujardin has been described as the dominant dressage rider of her era. In 2014 she held the complete se ...

, the first ever Olympic team gold in the discipline for her country, and bronze in the individual dressage behind gold medalist and compatriot Dujardin.

Early life

A granddaughter of the German billionaire property magnate Karl-Heinz Kipp who founded the Massa chain of department stores, Bechtolsheimer was born in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in 1985 to

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

parents Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer (who died in 2020), an entrepreneur and horse trainer, and Ursula Bechtolsheimer-Kipp. She has three brothers, Felix, a singer formerly with rock group Hey Negrita and now with

Curse of Lono Curse of Lono is an English alternative rock band based in London and signed to Submarine Cat Records. They have released one EP and two studio albums. Their most recent album, ''As I Fell'', peaked at number 10 on the Official Americana Albu ...

, Goetz, and Till, a businessman and amateur racing driver who competes in the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship. The family moved to Ampney St Peter in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

when she was one.

Career

Bechtolsheimer started riding aged three having been given a pony called Peacock for her birthday. She went on to compete in Pony Club eventing and won the National Championships of Independent Schools at

Stonar School Stonar School, founded in 1895, is a non-denominational independent day and boarding school, at Cottles Park, near Atworth, Wiltshire, south-west England. The school occupies 80 acres of parkland and gardens in a location about 8 miles from Bat ...

aged 12. Bechtolsheimer attended St Marys Calne school in Wiltshire, and started to concentrate on dressage aged 13. She was selected to ride at the Pony European Championship the following season, winning a team silver medal at her first major competition. In 2005, Bechtolsheimer became the youngest British dressage champion at age 20, riding Douglas Dorsey. She graduated from

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

in 2007 with a BSc in Philosophy and Politics. She competed in the 2008 Olympic Games on Mistral Højris, gaining 18th place in the Individual Grand Prix Special and 6th place in the team event and was named as

British Dressage British Dressage is the organisation which oversees all affiliated dressage competitions and training in the United Kingdom. British Dressage is a member of the British Equestrian Federation. In addition to the usual dressage competitions, Briti ...

's Rider of the Year. At the

2010 FEI World Equestrian Games The 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games (officially the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games) were held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. from September 25 to October 10, 2010. This was the sixth edition of the games, which a ...

held in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, United States, Bechtolsheimer surpassed her personal best scores and gained three British International Grand Prix records with Mistral Højris getting 82.511% in the Grand Prix, 81.708% in the Grand Prix Special and 85.350% in the Grand Prix Freestyle, gaining her three silver medals, being beaten only by the celebrated

Edward Gal Edward Gal (born 4 March 1970 in Rheden) is a Dutch dressage rider. He and the stallion Totilas (nicknamed "Toto"), were triple gold medalists at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games, becoming the first horse-rider par ...

and

Totilas Totilas (23 May 200014 December 2020), also known from 2006 to 2011 as Moorlands Totilas, and nicknamed "Toto", was a Dutch Warmblood stallion standing high who was considered to be one of the most outstanding competitive dres ...

. In 2012 Bechtolsheimer, who scored 80.550%,

and

won the gold medal in the Olympic team dressage event. She went on to win bronze in the

individual An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...

event with her freestyle routine, set to music from The Lion King. In 2016, she rode Rosalie B at the

Olympia London International Horse Show The London International Horse Show, formerly the Olympia London International Horse Show, is one of the UK's biggest equestrian competitions. It is best known as the host of the UK legs of the FEI World Cup series in dressage, show jumping and ...

. It was the first outing for the mare on British soil and followed a strong performance at the German CDI Oldenburg, where they won the grand prix special with 75.88%. She was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to equestrianism. Outside of her dressage activities, Bechtolsheimer is a presenter for equine video website HorseHero.com and is considering a career in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

and

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

Notable horses

* Douglas Dorsey - 1991 Chestnut Hanoverian Gelding (Donnerhall x Salem) ** 2004 European Young Riders Championships - Team Bronze Medal, Individual Fifth Place, Individual Fourth Place Freestyle ** 2006 FEI World Cup Final - 14th Place ** 2006 World Equestrian Games - Team Sixth Place, Individual 21st Place * Mistral Højris - 1995 Chestnut Danish Warmblood Gelding (Michellino x Ibsen) ** 2007 European Championships - Team Fifth Place, Individual 20th Place ** 2008 Beijing Olympics - Team Fifth Place, Individual 17th Place ** 2009 European Championships - Team Silver Medal, Individual Bronze Medal, Individual Fourth Place Freestyle ** 2010 World Equestrian Games - Team Silver Medal, Individual Silver Medal, Individual Silver Medal Freestyle ** 2011 European Championships - Team Gold Medal, Individual Silver Medal, Individual Fourth Place Freestyle ** 2012 London Olympics - Team Gold Medal, Individual Bronze Medal

Personal life

Bechtolsheimer married professional

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

player Mark Tomlinson. The couple have three children (Annalisa, Wilfred and Hanni) and were expecting a fourth as of 2021.

References

External links

– Biographies �
Bechtolsheimer, Laura
*

– Official Rider Biography �
Laura Bechtolsheimer
* HorseHero �
Laura Bechtolsheimer

Laura Tomlinson's web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomlinson, Laura Living people 1985 births British dressage riders Sportspeople from Mainz Emigrants from West Germany to the United Kingdom Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic equestrians for Great Britain English female equestrians Equestrians at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in equestrian Alumni of the University of Bristol Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at St Mary's School, Calne Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics German female equestrians People from Cotswold District Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom 21st-century English sportswomen 21st-century German sportswomen