Reigning Olympic and World Games champions Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro made their first foray into the show ring in amost a year as they topped the Grand Prix and Grand Prix freestyle at the Hartpury Festival of Dressage CDIO*** (England) on July 8-9.
Dujardin and Valegro’s last outing had been at the 2015 Aachen CHIO (Germany) where they won the Grand Prix, Special and freestyle.
At Hartpury, Valegro scored an 83.28 percent in the Grand Prix, then notched a 90.62 percent in their freestyle. Dujardin has re-vamped their freestyle with new Rio-themed music. They defeated Henriette Anderson on Warlocks Tale (73.87%) by more than 16 points. See full results from the large tour at Hartpury.
“Valegro, fresh, happy and fitter than ever who enjoyed every minute of being back in the arena in front of the crowd. I don’t think I could love this horse any more than I do,” Dujardin said in a Facebook. She and Valegro, who shot to prominence at the 2012 London Olympic Games, have been named to the team from Great Britain for the Rio Olympic Games.
“The freestyle was a great confidence boost and I love the new music so a huge thank you to Tom Hunt for that. As always, Alan [Davies], Ian [Cast], Carl [Hester] and everyone that works behind the scenes, thank you thank you.
“The horses will enjoy a few days off now and then we’ll continue with the training before we finally head to Rio.”
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Watch Dujardin and Valegro’s new Rio-themed freestyle:
And watch their winning Grand Prix test as well…
