#16 Meeting Charlotte and Valegro
What an amazing time my oldest bestie and I had yesterday at #yourhorselive2017 and Carl Hester’s 50th birthday gala #carlhester #oneononeatfifty. Yes, the queues were horrendous and yes, we had a bit of an incident with a chocolate crepe, but we shopped ‘til we dropped and, most spectacularly, managed to meet, chat and get pictures with every member of equestrian royalty that was there.
First was Charlotte Dujardin. We didn’t get into the queue early enough for Charlotte’s signings, but we did manage to stand very close by and marvel at how immaculate she looked. When I’m around horses, I’m rarely made up, unless I’ve been at work first - and even then, the stresses of the day have caused my make-up to mysteriously drop off, stress spots on my chin to develop and my hair to go as flat as a motorway-crossing hedgehog.
She was every inch the star, but most importantly, was as down to earth as the rest of us. After her afternoon training demo with the utterly STUNNING grey mare, Florentina (nickname ‘Flora’, to my absolute delight), the very sweet and fabulous Alan Davies #supergroom led in a ‘surprise guest’. It really didn’t matter that the beans had been spilled online and we knew exactly who was coming in...when that little dished head appeared from behind the curtain, I’m not embarrassed to say that my eyes filled with involuntary tears.
He is beautiful. When you’re standing on the ground next to him, he’s pretty big - he stands at 16.2hh. However, for a dressage horse, that’s not that imposing. Compare him with Nip Tuck, and he seems almost pony-ish, which meant that during the evening gala, when he and Charlotte and Carl were together in the arena, showing us exactly how perfect 10s in dressage are done, it seemed even more emotive. He’s a perfectly formed little package, very much a ‘good doer’ with his chunky little bottom, and as he floated around the arena, the thing that mesmerised me most were how very, very soft his footfalls were.
It was effortless for him.
When allowed to walk around on a loose rein in between exercises, he pricked his ears and walked (in a straight line) but with an intense neck flexion to the right, eyeballing the crowd. Not a spooky eyeball though. Just a “hellooooo” kind of eyeball. Cue more stinging eyeballs, and even Hester himself admitted at that point, that there’s never been a time when Valegro has done that where he doesn’t feel like crying himself.
Valegro, in summary, is a lover of life.
During the day demo, as we stood and squeezed the life out of his little pudgy muzzle, I commented to Charlotte on how much he seemed to be loving the attention, to which she replied, “he totally does, he thrives off it.”
Initially, only a few people who were invited into the ring were allowed to have their picture taken with him, but this is what I mean about how down to earth Charlotte was. She gets why people are there and what will make their day. Hence why she took the time to walk him round the edge of the arena for everyone who was there to meet him too. I can now claim accurately, that I have manhandled a multi Olympic gold medalist and world record- breaking dressage star from nose to bum - and I don’t mean Charlotte.
Seeing Charlotte ride was nothing short of unbelievable. I’ve said a few times that I don’t like dressage, but what I mean by that is attempting it myself - not watching it. She makes it look so effortless, completely instinctive, and it’s not hard to understand why she’s broken so many records once you’ve seen her ride up close and in the flesh.
I’ve lost all motivation for schooling recently. I’ve had a lot of work on and a lot to think about, but this weekend has made me want to hop on Flora, get into the school and get going again. Doubtless, both she and I will be furious that we’re not piaffing round the school within one session and revert to wanting to just go fast and jump things again, but we’ll give it a bash and see what happens anyway. If we learned one thing from Charlotte yesterday, it’s that hard work, patience, consistency and positivity are what will get you there in the end.
#valegro
#charlottedujardin
#dressage
#horsebloggers
#facebookheelsdownkickon
First was Charlotte Dujardin. We didn’t get into the queue early enough for Charlotte’s signings, but we did manage to stand very close by and marvel at how immaculate she looked. When I’m around horses, I’m rarely made up, unless I’ve been at work first - and even then, the stresses of the day have caused my make-up to mysteriously drop off, stress spots on my chin to develop and my hair to go as flat as a motorway-crossing hedgehog.
She was every inch the star, but most importantly, was as down to earth as the rest of us. After her afternoon training demo with the utterly STUNNING grey mare, Florentina (nickname ‘Flora’, to my absolute delight), the very sweet and fabulous Alan Davies #supergroom led in a ‘surprise guest’. It really didn’t matter that the beans had been spilled online and we knew exactly who was coming in...when that little dished head appeared from behind the curtain, I’m not embarrassed to say that my eyes filled with involuntary tears.
It was effortless for him.
When allowed to walk around on a loose rein in between exercises, he pricked his ears and walked (in a straight line) but with an intense neck flexion to the right, eyeballing the crowd. Not a spooky eyeball though. Just a “hellooooo” kind of eyeball. Cue more stinging eyeballs, and even Hester himself admitted at that point, that there’s never been a time when Valegro has done that where he doesn’t feel like crying himself.
Valegro, in summary, is a lover of life.
During the day demo, as we stood and squeezed the life out of his little pudgy muzzle, I commented to Charlotte on how much he seemed to be loving the attention, to which she replied, “he totally does, he thrives off it.”
Initially, only a few people who were invited into the ring were allowed to have their picture taken with him, but this is what I mean about how down to earth Charlotte was. She gets why people are there and what will make their day. Hence why she took the time to walk him round the edge of the arena for everyone who was there to meet him too. I can now claim accurately, that I have manhandled a multi Olympic gold medalist and world record- breaking dressage star from nose to bum - and I don’t mean Charlotte.
Seeing Charlotte ride was nothing short of unbelievable. I’ve said a few times that I don’t like dressage, but what I mean by that is attempting it myself - not watching it. She makes it look so effortless, completely instinctive, and it’s not hard to understand why she’s broken so many records once you’ve seen her ride up close and in the flesh.
I’ve lost all motivation for schooling recently. I’ve had a lot of work on and a lot to think about, but this weekend has made me want to hop on Flora, get into the school and get going again. Doubtless, both she and I will be furious that we’re not piaffing round the school within one session and revert to wanting to just go fast and jump things again, but we’ll give it a bash and see what happens anyway. If we learned one thing from Charlotte yesterday, it’s that hard work, patience, consistency and positivity are what will get you there in the end.
#valegro
#charlottedujardin
#dressage
#horsebloggers
#facebookheelsdownkickon
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