Dressage-News

Dec. 1, 2025

Valegro, ridden by Charlotte Dujardin to become one of the most successful horses in dressage history, and Olympic gold medal British team mate Uthopia competed by Carl Hester have both been put down. Valegro was 23 years old and Uthopia a year older.

Carl Hester, who found both horses and was a long-time mentor of Charlotte, said from his Gloucestershire farm in England, there is an “emptiness in the air.”

The two horses who were the best of friends throughout their lives and gave dressage “a golden era,” Carl said, letting them go together was “the final act of loyalty and dignity I felt I could give them.

“Sleep well Blueberry and Uti, two of the greatest horses of our generation.”

Charlotte said of Valegro: “I knew of course this day would come, but I don’t think I could ever be ready for it. And I’m sitting here, summoning up the courage to write this, knowing I’ll never have the words, knowing they’ll never be enough, but wanting to share something anyway because so many people loved you and it just feels like the right thing to do. You have been and still are so loved.

“You have been my constant, my rock. Through the highest highs and the lowest lows, your gentle presence, your steady heartbeat, the silent moments we shared together have been my everything, the place I could always go to. In those quiet moments we had so many conversations without words; you loved me completely, as I am. You saw my heart and I yours.

“I’ve never sat on a horse like you, Blueberry. It was always your heart and your mind that made you the best. We grew together, learned together, believed together. You would enter the arena and just know how special you were–I could feel you grow. The hush of the crowd as everyone turned to look at you. It would make me sit a little taller, shoulders back, head up–I just wanted to do you proud, to show the world what you were capable of; I could feel every muscle in your body move, every breath you took, every shiver of excitement and we would just melt into each other, it was like you could hear my heart speak and I yours.

“A partnership that everyone talks about, but you can’t really know until you’ve experienced it.

“And we danced Blueberry, didn’t we dance…”

Valegro and Charlotte won three Olympic gold medals; team and individual in London in 2012 and individual at Rio de Janeiro in 2016, when the team won silver. They won individual world gold in 2014, European Championship gold in 2013 and 2015, and back-to-back World Cup Final titles, and setting new record scores along the way.

Carl and Uthopia were also on the team that won Olympic gold in 2012; they also took team and European gold and individual silver in 2011 and team bronze in 2013.

“Valegro and Uthopia did more than win medals and write history, they gave our sport a golden era,” Carl said. “They both showed that greatness can be gentle, sensitive and harmonious and they made a nation proud and inspired so many.

“Being part of their journey will always remain one of my proudest achievements and the whole team and myself are deeply grateful for the joy they gave to us at home but also to their fans around the world.

“Their entire lives ran in parallel; they traveled to the shows side by side, lived in neighboring stables, grazed in the same fields and retired together. Their bond and companionship were absolute.”