A television presenter who has never sat on a horse before has been challenged to take up dressage by Charlotte Dujardin to mark this year’s Olympics.
Dan Walker and his five BBC Breakfast co-hosts will take part in the Tokyo 2020 Presenter Challenge which involves each of them being paired with a British athlete to learn a new sport.
Tokyo 2020 | Presenter Challenge?CHALLENGE TIME ?Tokyo 2020 is fast approaching and our presenters have teamed up with British athletes to learn a new sport.Posted by BBC Breakfast on Monday, February 24, 2020
On Tuesday morning’s (24 February) programme Dan and his colleagues found out via video which athlete they would be paired with, with Dan receiving a message from dressage superstar Charlotte who introduced her triple gold medal-winning partner Valegro.
“We challenge you to take up dressage,” said Charlotte.
As the challenge was revealed, a nervous Dan could be heard telling his colleagues he has never sat on a horse.
The full details of Dan’s training are still to be released but a BBC spokesman told H&H Dan will be taking a closer look at the sport and exploring what it entails, and will “learn the basics” before he goes to meet Charlotte.
A spokesman for British Dressage said “this is going to be worth following” adding that there was no one better to mentor Dan – who tweeted “What could possibly go wrong?”.
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A spokesman for the British Equestrian Federation said the organisation will keep fans updated with how Dan gets on in the saddle in the run-up to Tokyo.
The other combinations taking part in the challenge are:
Naga Munchetty and taekwando Olympian Jade Jones
Charlie Stayt and swimmer James Guy
Louise Minchin and sport climber Shauna Coxsey
Nikki Fox and boccia Paralympian Jamie McCowan
Sally Nugent and world champion athletics star Katarina Johnson-Thompson
Mike Bushell and Olympic gymnast Max Whitlock
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
