‘One of the greatest creatures God ever created’: Watch Olympia’s emotional Valegro retirement video
A video celebrating the achievements of dressage wonder horse Valegro has been revealed by Olympia ahead of his retirement at this year’s show.
The record-breaking gelding will be retired in the Olympia Grand Hall on 14 December, following the FEI World Cup dressage freestyle.
Carl Hester revealed last month that the 14-year-old would be retired at the London show and had “nothing more to prove”.
While tickets are sold out for the Wednesday evening, fans will have the chance to see him on the Tuesday (13 December) along with a Q&A session with Charlotte Dujardin and Carl.
Carl, Charlotte, Alan Davies, Natasha Baker and Claire Balding are among those to pay tribute to “Blueberry” in the emotional tribute video.
The film begins with Carl remembering his first impressions of Valegro and features snippets of his performances with Charlotte at Olympia in past years.
News reader Alastair Stewart described him as “one of the greatest creatures God ever created”.
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“I think there are just a handful of creatures that reach that level, whether it is Red Rum, Big Star, Frankel — it is certainly Valegro,” he added.
Claire Balding added the duo have “transformed dressage, not just for a UK audience, but around the world”.
“I have cried watching Valegro in full flow, but I will smile at the memory of what he has done for the sport of dressage and for sport in general,” she said.
Meanwhile Alan spoke about how he is going to miss Blueberry at competitions.
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“He is my best friend so not going to the shows with him on the truck is going to be really strange,” he said.
The final word went to Carl: “He owes us nothing, he is loved by everybody here, he is loved by everybody in British dressage — it is just so touching that he will be retired here and loved by all of us.”
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.