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Farewell Valegro: celebrating the life of the wonder horse who ushered in a new era of dressage


  • We celebrate the life and glory of the legendary dressage horse who broke records on the world’s most prestigious sporting stages, gifted Olympic gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin with ‘all the knowledge in the world’ and loved nothing more than a square meal

    Valegro (2002-2025) was the dressage wonderhorse who, with his rider Charlotte Dujardin, wowed the world, winning title after title and setting new records in all three types of grand prix.

    Among the dark bay 16.2hh gelding’s greatest achievements was his double gold in at the London Olympic Games in 2012, arguably broadening the profile of the sport and bringing it to a wider audience in the UK and beyond.

    He also won individual gold at the 2016 Olympics; the grand prix and grand prix special gold medals at the 2013 and 2015 European Championships; and individual gold at the World Equestrian Games in 2014. At Olympia 2014, he beat his own world record to achieve the highest-ever recorded grand prix freestyle dressage score: 94.3%. His record remains unbeaten.

    Valegro: the early years

    Valegro, who is by Negro and out of Maifleur (by Gershwin), belongs to Carl Hester, Roly Luard and Anne Barrott. He moved to Carl’s yard in Gloucestershire as a two-year-old.

    “I saw this beautiful dished head over the door and this great big arse,” recalls Carl of the day he clapped eyes on the young Valegro. “My mantra is to look for horses with the head of a duchess and bottom of a cook. He certainly matches that.

    • This article was first published in Horse & Hound’s The 100 Greatest Horses Of All Time magazine

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