Yorkshire's Charlotte Fry and Becky Moody produce necessary lift to secure team bronze in dressage in Paris

With rapper Snoop Dogg in attendance and visibly moved by her performance, Moody, and homebred horse Jagerbomb were the darlings of Versailles in the grand prix special competition.

They played the role of pathfinders to perfection, adding a sizeable chunk to their personal best with 76.489 to give Team GB a crucial early advantage over the gold medal favourites.

After a couple of errors from Carl Hester and his mount Fame, Fry and Glamourdale anchored GB to bronze in a gripping tussle for the medals that saw Germany beat Denmark by a single percentage point with a winning score of 235.790.

Late call-ups Moody and Jagerbomb have helped lift the spectre of Charlotte Dujardin’s suspension.

"I was expecting a lovely 10-day holiday in France, but this is quite a bit better in reality," joked Moody.

‘I didn’t have thte pressure for a long period beforehand, it all happened quite quickly. There were definitely moments of extreme nausea, but we carried on and the team around us have been incredible, I don’t feel like they’ve put any pressure on us at all.

"The vast majority of my pressure comes from myself but luckily I had great support, and my horse was amazing."

The emergence of Moody and ‘Bomber’ as the great entertainers of the Games is remarkable given that Moody nearly sold him as a young horse because she found him boring, only stopping short of doing so on the advice of her sister Hannah.

On the choice of name, Moody explained: “I bred him 10 years ago and at that point in my life I might have been partial to a Jagerbomb. It suits him.

“Also, my grandad, who was called Norman, we all called him bomb for some reason. So, it was a little bit of a homage to him as well as the alcoholic beverage.”

Aged 57, Hester became the second-oldest British Olympic medallist of the post-war era, with only fellow equestrian legend Nick Skelton having been older when he reached the podium.

Hester feels Dujardin's suspension has created an opportunity to showcase the strength in depth in British dressage.

"I think it’s really important that we’ve done that because of how much (Dujardin) won and contributed to the team," said Hester.

"I think a lot of people felt that if she wasn’t on the team we would not be successful.

"Let’s face it, if the same people are on the team all the time, it’s not the greatest inspiration for the kids coming up because most kids their dreams are Olympics."

That mentality means that Hester's seventh Games is very likely to be his last as an athlete.

Hester competed at his first Olympics in 1992 and he does not anticipate many more days of glory in the saddle.

He said: “I don’t say the it (retirement) because you just don’t know how you’re going to feel, but I feel I’ve done enough.

“Luckily for me it doesn’t mean an end because of the coaching. I get as much pleasure watching these guys – that’s just age isn’t it? You just don’t care about the winning so much but I care about the sport and these guys.

“Whichever way I go after here doesn’t mean I won’t be involved, but the riding, I’m think I’m nearly at the end of the wire now with that.”

Jason Brautigam, chief executive of British Dressage, praised the team’s achievement in a post on X, saying: “So proud of this team. To still go on to win a bronze medal after everything that has happened over the last two weeks is nothing short of incredible. Hard earned and much deserved.”

Watch every moment of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live only on discovery+, the streaming home of the Olympics.