September 23, 2016 
It’s fall in New York City which can only mean two things: Pumpkin Spice lattes are back at Starbucks, and Charlotte Dujardin is back at the Rolex Central Park Horse Show (and this time, she’s brought Valegro)!
Just a week after Carl Hester confirmed that “Blueberry” will officially retire at London’s Olympic Horse Show in December and will not compete again, Dujardin told the Chronicle of the Horse that she is excited to give a new audience the chance to watch him perform at Central Park. (The two were slated to attend last year, but Valegro was withdrawn earlier in the month to allow him to rest before Rio.) On Saturday, September 24th, the Olympic gold-winning duo will perform a special, “How to Train Your Dragon” freestyle demonstration at 6:30 p.m.
In the meantime, we thought we’d help them maximize their time in the city by putting together a few Big Apple must-sees. From famous sites and museums to street food, here are 10 things Cha-legro must do in New York.
1. The Statue of Liberty is a great place to start. We’d recommend viewing it from the water.
(Adapted from flickr.com/Sue Waters)
Try the Staten Island Ferry or a Liberty Cruise.
2. Grab a cab uptown to Soho and stop for breakfast at a New York classic: Balthazar.
(Adapted from flickr.com/Ralph Daily)
Valegro will love the pâtisserie and you can’t beat the hot chocolate.
3. Next, head up—all the way up—at the Empire State Building.
(Adapted from flickr.com/Anthony Quintano)
How does Blueberry feel about heights (and elevators)?
4. From here, it’s an easy walk/trot up to Times Square, or you can wait to check it out after dark.
(Adapted from flicker.com/Emmanuel Huybrechts)
A bit crowded and noisy, for sure, but you have to see it while you’re here (just don’t forget to look left first when crossing the street!).
5. Might as well take the subway, too, just to say you’ve done it.
(Adapted from flickr.com/Matt Biddulph)
Make sure to stay behind the yellow line. Oh, and just ignore the rats. They’re harmless.
6. Head out to the Bronx and catch a Yankees game.
(Adapted from flickr.com/Keith Allison)
If the Boston Red Sox are in town, you can bet it will be a good show. (If not, there are always the garlic fries.)
7. If you need to get a ride in, there’s probably plenty of space over at Rockefeller Center.
(Adapted from flickr.com/Smart Destinations)
The rink doesn’t open until mid-October, so you should be good to go.
8. When it comes to art and culture in New York, you can’t go wrong. Especially at the Metropolitan Museum.
(Adapted from flickr.com/LWYang)
We take Blueberry for a classic art man, no?
9. By now you’re probably dying for a snack, so you have to hit a pretzel cart. Any pretzel cart.
(Adapted from flickr.com/Phil Whitehouse)
Over-sized, convenient and salty as hell, it’s like the city of New York in one delicious, portable snack.
10. We won’t end our tour without getting you back safety to Central Park, where we can’t wait to watch you put on a show!
(Adapted from flickr.com/Kent Wang)
UP NEXT | “6 Micro Lessons with Charlotte Dujardin”
