Valegro’s Olympia retirement ceremony confirmed
Valegro will officially be retired from competition on Wednesday, 14 December at Olympia, it has been confirmed.
The triple Olympic gold medal-winner’s retirement ceremony will take place after the World Cup dressage freestyle competition, in what show director Simon Brooks-Ward hopes will be “the perfect send-off”.
“Valegro is a once in a lifetime horse and owes us nothing. I can’t wait to take him to Olympia and give him the send-off he deserves,” said Charlotte Dujardin.
Carl Hester told H&H when the decision was made to retire Valegro that the 14-year-old had “nothing more to prove”.
“Valegro has done it all and we want him to go out in style,” he said.
“What better place than at Olympia – he loves the arena and being so close to the crowd.
“It is where he and Charlotte broke the world record in 2014 and it is the perfect place for our loyal British fans to say their farewell.”
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The Wednesday evening performance has sold out but there are still tickets available for the Tuesday evening, at which the audience will enjoy a question and answer session with Carl, Charlotte and Valegro.
Spectators will be invited to submit questions in advance, and a selected number will be able to ask them in person.
Mr Brooks-Ward said: “We are honoured that Charlotte and Carl have chosen Olympia as the place to retire Valegro.
“He is a true legend of equestrian sport and we will make sure that he has the perfect send-off.
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“We wanted as many people as possible to have the opportunity to see Valegro and hope that his fans are able to make one of the performances.”
The World Cup dressage takes place on 13 and 14 December, with World Cup driving on 16 and 17 December and World Cup jumping on 18 December, as well as a host of other classes and displays.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.