Dressage silver medal for Hughes at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy

Gareth Hughes, far right, with Great Britains silver medal-winning quartet.

Hughes, 43, whowas riding DV Stenkjers Nadonna, was joined by Charlotte Dujardin OBE, Michael Eilberg and Carl Hester MBE in securing the runners-up spot and automatic qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Great Britain were in the bronze medal position after the performance of Hughes and Hester on the opening day and despite Eilberg producing some expensive mistakes aboard a slightly unsettled Half Moon Delphi, a stunning score of 85.271 per cent from Dujardin earned them second spot behind Germany.

The Netherlands took the bronze.

Hughes’s score of 69.714 saw him miss out on qualification for the Grand Prix Special with the rider finishing 38th overall. However, he was not too disheartened, saying: “I’m very pleased; sometimes you can’t ride the test you planned in your head.”

Will Connell, Chef de Mission for GBR, paid tribute to Dujardin.

“What Charlotte did was truly outstanding, and along with her team-mates, they have made the paving stones for the road to Rio.”