It was a triumph that came with joy from above.

When Charlotte Dujardin stood on the podium celebrating her second Olympic gold medal of the London 2012 Olympics, she felt somebody watching over her and smiling.

"The girl with the dancing horse" -- as she became known afterwards -- wowed the watching world as she claimed top honors in the team and individual dressage events.

Joy was the order of the day -- and perhaps that was apt as it was her grandmother Joy's generous gift which allowed Dujardin to canter her way into the history books.

"Sometimes I do feel like she's up there looking down on me and watching me," the English equestrian told CNN's Human to Hero series.

"We were very close and she was very into horses too. She had a massive farm with lots of horses. I used to love going there and having so much fun.

"It was only down to her inheritance that we could afford the horse, so I do think about her quite often."

Making her way

To compete in the world of dressage takes talent, hard work, dedication and money.

While there was no doubt about Dujardin's ability, the lack of finance remained a huge hurdle in her battle to make it to the highest level.

Horses cost serious money, as do all the extras which come with owning an animal primed for the very top.

"My family didn't have lots of money or anything," the 27-year-old said.

"I literally did it through hard work and dedication. People out there who think you have to have loads of money to do this sport ... it just shows you.

"I worked six days a week for very little money. But I did it because I wanted to and I loved it. I set myself goals. For me it was a challenge."

With the inheritance left by her grandmother and the guidance of a determined mother, Dujardin moved from riding ponies to the world of dressage.

It was the $27,000 purchase of her first horse Fernandez which allowed Dujardin to lay the groundwork for an astonishing rise through the sport.

At the age of 15, she began her ascent, joining up with coach Judy Harvey and spending four years learning the ropes and working to earn a living.

The mentor

But it was her meeting with Carl Hester, a British Olympian and professional dressage competitor, which helped steer her towards that glorious day in London.

She made such an impression that she was offered a job as a groom at his yard in Newent, Gloucestershire, where she would go on to learn her trade.

"I got asked to do a world-class training day, and Carl was one of the selectors for that," she said.

"He actually rode my horse Fernandez, which I was absolutely over the moon about because obviously someone like that riding my horse was like a dream.

"I then got my mum to ask him if it was possible to have a lesson. So I met him at our national championships at Stoneleigh and he said he would give me a lesson.

"I had four lessons; he asked if I would do 10 days' cover. I did it and I never went home."

Hester, the youngest British rider to ever compete at an Olympics as a 25-year-old in 1992, saw something special in Dujardin and handed her the horse which would transform her life forever.