Carl Hester on the retirement of Valegro

Olimpia is going to mark the the end of one of the greatest love stories in sports how are you feeling about it's a difficult one to explain right at the moment because of course I see if Allegra every day in his work I see Charlotte riding him I see him looking fit and healthy and for us he's not retiring he's not leaving the yard you know he's still going to be here it might even give me a bit more opportunity to rise him if I wanted to and if Charlie would let me probably more to the point but I just know how people are going to feel about him retiring and I think that's where the emotions going to come because you know you you just starting to feel this overwhelming sense that everybody is beginning to feel you know perhaps not going to see him again and how much she's been adored and how much he's done for dressage around the world let alone British dressage and for that reason you know I think that's going to make me feel very different when I get there right now it's just a it just feels you know a week away like it's going to be another show and it's all going to be fun and to Steve Allegro back out in that atmosphere it's going to be great because he loves the indoor shows he's always performed brilliantly there and I know he'll he'll do a great demonstration there and and it's so difficult to watch him looking fit and well and going because he's still you know looking like the gold medalist that he always was but I just feel that enough is enough you know he's been judged enough in his life very successfully I might add but it was just with Charlotte and I ever said you know actually you know even second place would would make us feel like he'd started to lose his Griffin he hasn't so it was her decision at the end of the day you know I said I'll support you if you want to do one more year or I will support you if you feel you've done enough and I think Rio absolutely did he couldn't have gone belly was beautiful in his chest on the last day and we both felt felt something really different and that's why we made the decision at the end you know a lot of these top horses have a presence that you can't really explain and they have an ease of movement in everything he does he looks happy generally you know he has a very uphill it's pressure and he's all got his beautiful eyes on him and he always goes with his ears pricked like he's loving every minute of it and a natural fact of all the horses we've trained over the years you know he has found you know he literally skipped his way to Grand Prix he's been a champion every year every level every year and you hear so many riders describing top horses as being difficult when they were young or they came through something to become top horses I mean like it just has been a top horse every day of his life you know since he was four years old so there must be something in that that has given him this ability to do everything so easily and with so much expression and because he does it naturally he's been a very sound and strong horse as well his conformation is just you know perfect for dressage he's uphill he's got a massive engine behind from this wonderful activity and so many judges over the years have talked about you know a horse that's evenly matched behind and in front and Valero has both of those qualities his hind legs move with expression and so does his forelegs and he's just a perfect model I don't have any regrets you know that question it's probably the most asked question I've had in my career and I have no regrets because I like everybody else I love watching him unlike everybody else I'm lucky enough to watch him every day and I you know I started his career off I found him picked him rode him in the early days you know I mean he's my family as well as Charlotte's and you know I've enjoyed watching it because he has been like a child to me as his sharla you know watching them grow and coming from from the very bottom to the very top of the sport it's been it's really exciting for me and not once have I ever wished it was me and because I haven't you know had that ridden relationship with him you know my relationship is from the ground with him ishara it really hasn't hasn't crossed my mind and I've had lucky enough to have had great horses at the same time as him not as great as him but but great horses that I've been able to enjoy riding alongside him what has been the pinnacle to you I think really some of his freestyles because they are where he seems to you know perform at his absolute peak because the music gives him a little bit more of a lift he's a laid-back character you know some of the the tests he's done sometimes are so good they're almost boring but when he does a music it kind of like brings it to light a little bit more you know it's exactly how special he is because when you see hits some of his movements to the wonderful music that tom hunt composed for him over the years it's really brought it to life so probably for me I mean it would be the freestyle his very first freestyle from Olympia which was back in 2011 after his first European Championship and nobody was more nervous again than me in those days of like would Charlotte cope would he cope in these sort of situations and he just romped through that first music there and I just remember I taped it and when I got home I watched it back off the television and the commentator said I think we're possibly looking at an Olympic gold medalist here and I thought - right you are you know when I watch him on telly I thought that's exactly what he's going to be and it was exciting to see him from that performance go on I mean his life isn't going to change that much we all still ride him he needs to be kept fit you know I mean basically he'll have less schooling which he won't worry about at all you know as with every horse you know the most important thing to to Valero is food-filled he luckily he loves all of that I mean that is his you know that is his dream he wants to be and has always wanted to be a chunky fat pony which he has actually got that in him you can see he's a very he's very pony fighting in the way that his character is in that he does have no stress in his life and you know you put him in the field and he just can't he just can't wait to get his head down and eat you know that is more important than anything else and we must never forget that he is a gold medal superstar but he's also a very normal horse and Trish gardener comes and hacks him out twice a week so and Alan and if we just do it was continue to have a normal life and occasionally we'll take him to to do some demonstrations or whatever the public perhaps want to see him do have you seen a sort of similar you know relationship well for her not I mean I mean there's one other thing we have to remember him in Charlotte and peligro came in at the top and they haven't actually left the top yet it's going to be very strange a strange life for Charlotte actually because she hasn't experienced what perhaps the rest of us all the competitors have been through which is the highs and lows of the sport however Charlotte is a huge talent and I'm seeing her on lots of our other horses here everyday and there's certainly a group there that are going to give everybody a bit of a shock I think well I did manage to win Olympia last year which was a huge delight for me and for nip/tuck it's it's always been very difficult you can imagine having four leg row in the yard I mean I've had great horses alongside the leg row you know with utopia and nip/tuck and want to do and some of these other Grand Prix horses but of course they've not had their chance yet to come and shine because of course every day you know four leg row is the star is the hero and is the one I'm taking all the all the rosettes so it's actually going to be really nice for the other horses in the yard to step out and actually have their moment and their win you know I'm gonna miss seeing Charlotte and villa grow like everybody else so it's not a question of you know wanting to remove them so I can win but I just think it's going to be very nice for you know the other horses and their owners as well who just put as much time and effort into it and and as I've always said you know even in Rio this year when shell and I completed our freestyle test the great thing was I was able to say nip/tuck tried just as hard as an Allegro they're just different different types you know but it's great to actually finish a competition where you can say both of my horses tried to try to win a gold medal the fact is only one can and of course it's always been four leg row try and give you advice Oh everyday yeah everyday she you know life is giving me information all the time and but that's why that's why we are what we are you know and I and I do think that you know despite the fact that we argue a lot of banter a lot the reality is that you know we both want each other to win it's the attention to detail because we ride together every day that's made all the difference to our performances and that's why I think we've been able to stay at the top for as many years as we have because we are there as a support for each other and to improve performances not try and just beat each other all the time

Channel: Ellie Kelly

Views: 67,549

Rating: 4.9214401 out of 5

Keywords: Carl Hester, dressage, British dressage, FEI, piaffe, Olympia, Olympics, Charlotte Dujardin, Valegro

Id: 3OKjF-jkOHU

Length: 9min 33sec (573 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 10 2016