Charlotte Dujardin, who’s won Olympic, FEI World Equestrian Games and FEI European Championships gold with Valegro, told the BBC that the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will be the horse’s last competition.
“This will be Valegro’s retirement after Rio, so I want to go out there and want to enjoy every last minute,” Dujardin told BBC Points West.
Valegro, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Negro—Maifleur, Gershwin) owned by Carl Hester, Rowena Luard and Anne Barrott, currently holds world records in the Grand Prix, Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix freestyle.
“He’s got to stay fit and healthy and get ready for the flight,” Great Britain’s Dujardin said to the BBC. “It’s a 16-hour flight, and he needs to acclimatize.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’m really, really excited heading towards Rio,” she added. “We get to go out in February and have a look around and fingers crossed it all goes well.”
Update Nov. 17: Trainer Hester clarified to Horse & Hound that though Rio might be Valegro’s last competition, it’s not necessarily.
“The plan is still for him to go to the Olympics and, even if he did retire after Rio—which is not definite—he would do Olympia [Great Britain] in December as another show before retiring properly,” Hester told H&H.
“That’s the plan we’ve had all along, and we’re sticking to it,” he added. “I’ve spoken to Charlotte and mentioned that it would have been nice of her to consult me!”
