Peter Charles won team gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games with Great Britain – one of the most decorated careers in international showjumping – and made his Olympic debut for Ireland at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games as part of the first all-civilian Irish showjumping team, riding Kruger. Born in Bootle, Liverpool, the youngest of seven children orphaned at the age of 14 – his father died when he was ten, his mother when he was 14 – he left Liverpool ‘carrying just the shirt on my back’ to live with cousins in Kilkenny.

He went to work at Iris Kellett’s famous yard at Kill, Co. Kildare as a groom and mucker-out, his talent was spotted by Eddie Macken, and by the age of 18 he was competing on the showjumping circuit. He had declared for Ireland in May 1992 after eighteen Nations’ Cup appearances for Great Britain – a decision driven by his deep identification with Ireland.

In Barcelona the Irish team finished 14th of 19. He qualified for the individual third round but was eliminated when he logged 26 faults. He also competed for Ireland at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.