The possible sale of British dressage wonder horses Valegro and Uthopia has been in the news this week with the reports of interest by an Arabian Royal family member in buying the two horses for a cool £20 million.
The London Evening Standard reported Charlotte Dujardin as saying;
“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.”
However, Carl Hester has come back on Twitter saying
“Surely the Saudi royals would have told me they had bought Valegro before the Evening Standard – funny old world”
Whatever the outcome, on the bright side Charlotte has a very good up and coming horse in Don Archie and she seems to relish the challenge and enjoyment of taking talented young horses through the grades and building the required rapport with them. She will be competing her four-year-old, Why Banquo at the British Dressage Championships which started yesterday at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire. Laura Bechtolsheimer will also compete there on her promising home-bred Polar Bear in the Suregrow Advanced Medium Open and defend her title as National Champion in the Dyon Grand Prix with Andretti H.
Carl Hester, who part owns Uthopia with Irish former eventer Sasha Stewart and also has a share in Valegro, will be riding Uthopia to challenge for the Grand Prix at the Championships on Saturday which will no doubt be a real crowd pleaser for the currently dressage enthused British public
All photos: An Eventful Life
For entries and results from the Espayo National Dressage Championships, UK visit http://www.bdchampionships.com/national/entries.php
