Laura Bechtolsheimer

Laura Tomlinson MBE (née Bechtolsheimer; born 31 January 1985, in Mainz, Germany) is a German-British dressage rider competing at Olympic level. As of 30 June 2012 the Fédération Équestre Internationale (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 in London; gold for Great Britain in the team dressage with Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, 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 Mainz, West Germany in 1985 to German 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, Goetz, and Till, a businessman and amateur racing driver who competes in the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship. 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.

At the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games held in Kentucky, 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 and Totilas. She went on to win bronze in the individual 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. 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 (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours 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 and marketing. and Hanni) and were expecting a fourth as of 2021.