The Olympia Horse Show has released a video celebrating Valegro and his exceptional achievements. Valegro, A Horse in a Million looks back at the gelding’s glittering career through interviews with Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester, groom Alan Davies and Claire Balding, among others.
It is a fitting tribute to a horse for whom Olympia has always been a milestone. It is at the London show that Valegro and Dujardin scored an extraordinary 93.975% in the freestyle (in 2013), it was there that the pair went on to break their own world records, when they posted 87.46% in the grand prix and 94.300% in the freestyle in 2014, and it is at Olympia that the gelding will make his last appearance in the FEI World Cup dressage freestyle before being officially retired in the Grand Hall on 14 December.
Emotions run high in the video — Dujardin’s voice thickens as she recalls their London 2012 Olympic victory, Balding admits she cried watching Valegro in full flow and Davies calls the gelding “my best friend” before becoming tearful at the prospects of no longer going to competitions together. But there are some fun moments too, such as when Hester pays homage to Valegro’s beautiful head and generous backside. And newsreader Alistair Stewart beautifully expresses everyone’s feelings when he names Valegro “one of the greatest creatures God created.”
Tickets for Wednesday, 14 December, the day of Valegro’s official retirement, are sold out but those for Tuesday’s freestyle are still available through the Olympia Horse Show website
Image: Valegro and Charlotte Dujardin at Olympia in 2014, by Kit Houghton, courtesy of the FEI
