Valegro has hung up his dance shoes. The two-time Olympic champion will not compete again, confirmed co-owner Carl Hester in Horse & Hound.
“We have decided that Valegro will retire from competition at Olympia this year,” Hester told the British magazine. “The old, energetic Valegro is back and this is how we want people to remember him. Charlotte doesn’t need to be judged on him again. They have nothing more to prove.”
Under rider Charlotte Dujardin, Valegro is the current World, Olympic, and European champion and holds the record scores in Grand Prix, Grand Prix Special and Freestyle. In Rio, their final competitive appearance together, Dujardin and the 15-year-old gelding set a new Olympic record of 93.857% in the Freestyle, to clinch their second career Individual gold.
While Valegro may not be competing any more, there’s still time to see the great gelding in action.
Charlotte Dujardin (GBR) and Valegro successfully defended their Olympic title in the 2016 Rio Games. ©FEI/Richard Juilliart
The fan favorite is slated to appear in demonstration rides with Charlotte Dujardin—and, possibly, Hester—over the coming months. The first of those performances will be at Central Park Horse Show in New York this September.
A retirement ceremony for Valegro will take place at Olympia Horse Show in London.
Read the story in full at Horse & Hound.