Valegro turns his hoof to jumping… and this time it’s for real
Legendary dressage horse Valegro has turned his hoof to a new skill.
This morning (19 June), Carl Hester posted a picture of the star jumping with his gold medal-winning partner Charlotte Dujardin.
“Blueberry” can be seen popping the fence with his ears pricked forward during a morning training session.
“It was a bit of an impulsive moment,” Carl told H&H.
“I bought a load of caveletti last week. I told Charlotte he could jump and she said ‘prove it’!”
And you thought Valegro's career change was an April fool! Check out his morning training session with Charlotte!Posted by Carl Hester on Monday, June 19, 2017
Carl said Valegro has always enjoyed jumping.
“We did jump him as a five and six-year-old a bit,” he said.
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“He loves it. It’s just another string to his bow and it keeps the weight off his little belly, which increases this time of year.
“Charlotte loved it too. It was very good for her too. I said, ‘Let go lady!’”
Carl said that there was “no sign of [a jumping career] really materialising”, but he thought it would be fun to share a picture of Valegro jumping, particularly after Horse & Hound’s April Fool article earlier this year. The joke story stated that the 15-year-old gelding had taken up eventing.
Continued below…
‘We can’t wait’: Valegro aimed at new career [April Fool]
The record-breaking dressage star is to turn his hoof to a new discipline, H&H can reveal
Valegro learns his craft: new book released
'The little brown horse has to learn his craft, but will Blueberry be able to display his amazing potential?'
Relive the moment: watch Valegro’s Olympia retirement
A half-hour special video shows the dressage superstar's exemplary bowing-out ceremony
Carl added that Valegro was enjoying life after his retirement from competion.
“He’ absolutely fine,” he said. “We keep him fit – he gets ridden every day and he hacks. We can do [things like jumping] more now.
“We know how much he enjoys it.”
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.