CHARLOTTE Fry admitted she was still in dreamland 24 hours after claiming Olympic bronze.

The 25-year old from Scarborough followed her third place in the team event with a 13th place finish on black stallion Everdale in the individual competition.

And then she watched as team-mate and idol Charlotte Dujardin claimed bronze, making the three-time champion the first British woman to win six Olympic medals.

After retiring her horse of a lifetime Valegro after Rio, Dujardin faced a challenge to find a replacement, with her Tokyo horse Gio only ten - a baby in dressage terms.

"I'm just grinning from ear to ear and so happy for Charlotte," she said.

"She's such an inspiration to me and everybody in our sport, that was an amazing performance, I really only think Charlotte could do a ride like that. Being in the same team as her has just taught me so much.

"I'm in my own bubble and I won't realise the whole impact of it until I get home. I just hope we are showing people that dressage is amazing."

Fry has loved every second of the experience and leaving Japan with an Olympic medal still is beyond her wildest dreams – admitting it’ll take a while to return to earth.

"That feels amazing, it's the best test he's ever done and that was such an incredible feeling," she added.

"It's going to take me a long time to come down from this and realise what's happened. The main thing I'm going to take away is just how much I love being in that arena and I can't wait for the next Games, the sooner the better.

"It's just a really proud moment and I just feel so honoured to do something I love."

The young rider paid special tribute to team-mate Carl Hester, 29 years her senior and at 54 the oldest member of Team GB. It was Hester who gave promising equestrian Fry her first dressage lesson 11 years ago.

"Carl has been there from the beginning and he's influenced the sport so much," she said.

"He's so inspiring and really helped my career a lot, he's an incredible person."

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