Jump straight to the latest news about Valegro
Valegro is the dressage wonder horse who, with his rider Charlotte Dujardin, wowed the world, winning title after title and setting new records in all three grand prix tests. He retired from competition after retaining individual Olympic gold at the Rio 2016 Games.
Valegro’s many successes include individual and team gold at the 2012 Olympics; individual gold at the 2016 Olympics; double individual gold medals at both the 2013 and 2015 European Championships; and individual gold at the World Equestrian Games in 2014. At Olympia 2014, he beat his own world record to achieve the highest-ever recorded grand prix freestyle dressage score: 93.4%.
Valegro belongs to Carl Hester, Roly Luard and Anne Barrott, and was bred by Joop and Maartje Hanse. The KWPN gelding has lived at Carl Hester’s yard in Gloucestershire since he was a two-year-old, having been born in the Netherlands in 2002. Valegro is by Negro, out of Malifleur (by Gershwin).
Carl’s protégée, Charlotte Dujardin, was given the ride on Valegro as a young horse to bring him on for Carl to ride, but their partnership proved too strong to dissolve. Despite being asked to name their price after the 2012 Olympics, Carl and Roly decided that they wanted to ensure the horse’s future was secure, and Valegro is expected to remain at Carl’s for the rest of his days.
Valegro’s official retirement ceremony took place at Olympia 2016, where he produced an outstanding performance of his London 2012 freestyle to a packed house, proving that he was bowing out at the very top of his game. Although he has now retired from competition, Valegro remains in work and continues to entertain his fans with special appearances. He has also been immortalised in bronze in the nearby town of Newent.
Famously, Carl believes that horses should be allowed to be horses, so Valegro has always received regular turnout and enjoys being hacked out. Valegro’s stable name is Blueberry, and his groom is Alan Davies. According to Carl, Valegro’s biggest love is grass. Whilst in competition fitness, he regularly enjoyed a workout on the water treadmill at Hartpury’s Equine Therapy Centre as part of his routine care.
Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester - as well as Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud - will compete at this year's London Olympia horse show, but not necessarily on the horses you'd expect
Escape the Christmas hype and curl up with one of these equestrian books
Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro remain at the top of the FEI world dressage rankings for the 28th consecutive month
Carl Hester has spoken to H&H about the plans for Valegro after the Rio Olympics
A total of seven Brits, including William Fox-Pitt and Charlotte Dujardin, have been shortlisted for the 2015 FEI Awards
At the recent Global Dressage Forum held at the Bartels Academy in Holland (26-27 October), seven horses were put forward as the best the sport has ever seen. Find out why Vaelgro made the cut
Nettex has launched a new "Valegro Blueberry" range, in honour of the Olympic, world and European gold medal-winner
American dressage fans are set to be disappointed, although Charlotte Dujardin is still planning to attend at the Rolex Central Park Horse Show
The British rider took her second gold of the week by a fractional margin
12 facts you may not know about Charlotte Dujardin's record-breaking horse
The World, European and Olympic champions are set to cross the pond again in September to compete at the Rolex Central Park Horse Show
U-Genius is by Uthopia and out of Weidyfleur II, Valegro’s only breeding full sister
Compare videos of these two elite dressage horses competing at Hartpury and Hagen this weekend
Watch the world number ones during their final competitive outing before the European Championships in Aachen
Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro had a dream final grand prix run at their last show before the European Championships
We find out what happens behind the scenes of Carl Hester's yard and what he looks for when buying new horses
Classic Dressage has brought out a t-shirt printed with an image of the dressage star's face
Dressage lovers are being urged to vote for the world’s greatest dressage horses
The reigning European dressage champions will be preparing for their attempt to retain their title by competing on home soil
Charlotte Dujardin has sent the red rosette she won with Valegro at FEI world cup dressage final to a young fancy dress competitor
