Double Olympic gold winner Charlotte Dujardin speaks of the 'heart wrenching' £20m sale of her wonder horse

 
p31 Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain riding Valegro celebrates with her gold medal during the medal ceremony following the Individual Dressage on Day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Greenwich Park on August 9, 2012 in London, England.
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Lindsay Watling13 September 2012

Equestrian star Charlotte Dujardin today said the sale of the horse that carried her to two Olympic golds was “heart-wrenching”.

Valegro, on which she won the London 2012 individual and team dressage, is to be sold along with team-mate Carl Hester’s mount Uthopia.

The horses have attracted a record price tag of £20 million — with an Arabian royal rumoured to be first in line to buy.

Dujardin, from Enfield, said: “That horse has given me amazing opportunities. I will never be able to thank him enough for what he has done for me. It is very sad because he has become my best friend. It was a really strong partnership I had with him.

“But as tough as it is going to be — and it is heart-wrenching — it’s something I knew was going to happen.

“He is not my horse and they had already kept him for me to ride. It’s what makes the world go round. He is a very special horse and is going to be very, very hard to replace.”

Stable owner Hester, who has a capital share in both horses, said: “This is the hardest year of my life. I’ve had the horses since they were babies. I’m emotional they have to be sold.”

Dujardin, 27, is pinning her future hopes on striking up a winning partnership with eight-year-old Don Archie, who currently competes two levels below Grand Prix standard.

But she said she was looking forward to the challenge of bringing him up to scratch. “I love it. I just love training them and getting them up to the top level,” she added.

“It’s such an achievement to be able to do that. I start with a horse that knows nothing, but by the end what you can teach them is unbelievable. It is quite magical.”

Since her Olympic success there has been no rest for Dujardin, who will compete at the British Dressage National Championships from tomorrow. She also hopes to take part in the European Championships next year and the World Championships in 2014 leading up to the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Another Olympian with Rio firmly in her sights is judo silver medallist Gemma Gibbons. But unlike most athletes, she won’t have to wait four years as the Judo World Championships begin there in August.

“I will be able to get a taste of the city before the Olympics,” said the 25-year-old from Charlton. “I have never been to Brazil so it will be nice to get a flavour for the country in advance. It will be a bit of a preview for 2016, where I hope to go one better than this year and get the gold.”

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