Leslie Law (born 5 May 1965, Hereford

Hereford

Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...

) is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 eventer

Eventing

Eventing is an equestrian event comprising dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This event has its roots in a comprehensive cavalry test requiring mastery of several types of riding...

, who won the individual gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. He started riding at age 10, competing with his brother, and participated in his first accredited event in 1982.He attended Lady Hawkins' School, where his passion for riding really shone. By 1989, he was a widely respected competitor, and that year placed 8th at the Badminton Horse Trials

Badminton Horse Trials

The Badminton Horse Trials is a three-day event, one of only six annual Concours Complet International Four Star **** events as classified by the Fédération Équestre Internationale , which takes place in April or May each year in the park of Badminton House, the seat of the Dukes of Beaufort in...

. After a period of consolidation, by the late 1990s he was counted amongst the sport's elite, placing in the top ten at Badminton, Burghley

Burghley Horse Trials

The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials is an annual three day event held at Burghley House near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, currently in early September...

 and the British Championship on a number of occasions.

In 1997 he began to compete on the brothers Shear H2O and Shear L'eau, a pair of Irish Sport Horse greys that made him immediately recognisable on the cross-country course. On the former, he won at Bramham in 1999, came second and third at Badminton in 2000 and 2002, and was a member of the British team that won silver at the 2000 Olympic Games and bronze at the 2002 World Equestrian Games

World Equestrian Games

The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale . The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive Summer Olympic Games, since 1990...

. On Shear L'eau, he won team gold at the European Championship.

Their greatest success, however, was at the 2004 Olympics. Tenth after the dressage section, an excellent cross country still left him out of the medals, an inspired clear round in the show jumping saw him awarded the silver medal. However, amid much controversy the result was appealed, as video evidence showed that the gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

ist, German rider Bettina Hoy

Bettina Hoy

Bettina Hoy is an Olympic-level equestrian rider, who competes for Germany in Eventing competitions...

, had crossed the start line twice, and thus incurred twelve penalty points. By the time the Court of Arbitration for Sport

Court of Arbitration for Sport

The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport. Its headquarters are in Lausanne and its courts are located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne, Switzerland...

 ruled against Hoy, promoting Law to the gold, he had returned to England and heard the news that he was Olympic Champion while competing in the Solihull Horse Trials.