Harry Charles’ decision to eschew a career in golf paid dividends as he followed in his father Peter’s footsteps to win Olympic gold in the team jumping final at the Chateau de Versailles.

Peter Charles was a member of the British team which claimed the title at Greenwich Park at London 2012, alongside Nick Skelton, Ben Maher and Scott Brash, and the latter two athletes made up the team with Harry this time around.

In securing gold aboard Romeo 88, the Charleses become the first father-and-son duo since the rowers Dickie and Charles Burnell in 1948 and 1908 to win an Olympic title – with Charles Sr encouraging his son to soak up every second of victory.

Harry Charles said: “He said enjoy it whatever you do, you’ve worked hard to get here and afterwards he said enjoy every minute of that ceremony as it will probably be the best moment of your life.

“I was there [at London 2012], I was 12 or 13 when I watched these two boys and it’s pretty cool [to be riding] with them, they’re my heroes, guys I’ve looked up to since I started riding and to be on the podium with them, my younger self is freaking out a bit.”

The British team – now made up of three riders following a rule change at the Tokyo Olympics – qualified for the final in third place behind Germany and the USA, but with the scores reset to zero, Maher jumped clear with one time penalty, before Charles added a perfect round and Brash jumped clear, with one time penalty which was good enough for gold, holding off the USA in second and France in third.

Harry admitted his father was not keen to see him take on the family business, adding: “London was probably the moment I realised [I wanted to be a showjumper] – my dad wanted me to be a golfer.

“I was playing a lot of golf and riding a few ponies at the same time, but I realised I was a lot better at riding a horse than swinging a club and that was probably a pivotal moment.

“I fell in love with the sport and the horses – it was never going to be golf really for me.”

Charles was riding with a strapped arm after suffering a fracture four weeks ago, which left his visiting ­supporters on tenterhooks as to whether he would be fit to ride.

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He said: “All my friends are here in Great Britain shirts and they were holding a big flag with Romeo’s name on it, so I promised I would look up to them today. I saw them so I gave them a little wave.

“They’re friends from home who I went to school with and they’re my biggest supporters and they’ve come a long way, well not all that far actually. They booked this trip a year in advance and when I broke my arm they were worried they weren’t going to get refunded on the Airbnb.

“I happy they all made it and it’s nice to do it with them there as they’ve taken such an interest in the sport.”

For Maher, who joked that Harry was the same now as in London “but a smaller version – we call him Bieber in the team”, it was also a slice of Olympic history.

He now joins the eventer Richard Meade and the dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin as the most successful British Olympic equestrians with three gold medals, having also claimed the individual jumping title in Tokyo.

After riding Dallas Vegas Batilly, Maher said: “It’s incredible – I didn’t know that statistic but every one is as important as each other and I just have a lot to thank the team for. It is a team effort.

“To win the first gold medal [in London] is always incredible and to be at home, but like Harry today, it’s a moment you never forget.

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“This one is right up there, all the way to the last rider, incredible fans here today with a full house and to take it all the way down to the wire, to the last second to take the win, we showed the sport’s a lot of fun, excitement and drama and all our horses were amazing today.”

Brash showed little emotion before his crucial round, with his mind firmly on the task in hand and his horse Jefferson rising to the challenge.

He said: “You just have to stay focussed on your horse, how to ride your course, you try to block everything else out. That’s what I tried to do and they put me in an unbelievable position to do that and thankfully it all paid off.

“Jefferson was amazing, he coped unbelievably with the atmosphere and things, stayed cool, focussed on his job and I’m delighted.”

The trio have the chance to add to their medal hauls next week when they compete in the individual event, with Maher, ranked No 2 in the world, the leading contender. The qualifying round takes place on Monday, with the final on Tuesday.

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