Charlotte Dujardin: "I've learnt so much from Valegro"

this is going to be a very sad time for the general public sort of the end of an era but what emotions have you been going through over the last couple of months and I don't feel it's going to be sad I think it's you know I think it's not the end of Allegro I mean he's going to stop competing but he's not going to stop being ridden you know he's not retired retired so people will still get to see the leg grow but I think it will be emotional in the sense that you know probably this will be the last time they ever get to see him you know do a final display and you know I think with what we've achieved to finish it in this in this way I think it's fantastic and he's only 14 and you'll ever see in your prime I mean this must have been really quite a difficult decision yeah I mean it wasn't it wasn't I think you know since London I've had huge expectation a huge amount of pressure I think one thing after another I've I've won more and more and more and I think I you know to myself it's kind of being absolutely incredible to keep winning I think you know after London I kind of thought you know oh my god I've done it I've won two gold medals and then it kind of was like the Europeans and then it was the world of question games and it was like another world record and another world record and you know when you keep delivering like that people then start to expect it and year after year it kind of got more and more and more and I got to the point where I got to Rio and I just thought you know I think he's done so much for me so so much for me as a rider and I felt it was really really important that I wanted everybody to remember foreleg grow as the horsey years and being at the top I didn't want to finish with Allegro being you know down in his career because that's not what he deserves he deserves to finish at the top because he is probably one of the vessels is they'll ever be and you know I owe it to him to finish at the top so you know it could be quite easy for me as a rider you know he is only 14 and he could probably go for another couple of years and he could probably get another you know few gold medals but but why why why risk it there is nothing else he can win he's one there is everything there is to win and given me more than I would have ever dreamt of winning so for me is so important that I give him that retirement and to finish at the top and I think for me that I still have him at home every day I still can go and see him and ride him and you know it's great for him that he's ridden at home now but he's not ridden in competition mode you know he hasn't got to be you know trained as as much as he would as he would for a competition so I you know probably only schooled him two or three times a week now and he goes cantering around the fields more and you know he just does other stuff more than what he would have if he had been a competition horse so for him his life has you know it's just got easier so I think he deserves that and bottom line was it your decision yeah I made that decision Karl I think you know I think he would have been happy either way if I'd wanted to carry on he would have been happy with that and you know I as a rider I think I had to make that decision and I definitely feel it's the right decision I think people will be like why is she doing that you know because he could keep going any cookie going but like I say I owe it to him to finish now at the top and what a better way to finish than to finished in Rio winning my my individual gold I mean I you just can't finish any better than that so that's why I wanted to finish there but you must have it in the back of your mind that you could have just been a one-hit wonder with this horse I mean have there been any sort of sleepless nights we've woken up and thought what am i doing four o'clock in the morning no because I know what I've learnt on that horse I can do again I you know maybe not to the standard I've done with vallega and not maybe win as much as I have with Allegro but I know it's still a possibility that I can train another horse up to Grand Prix you know I've already got a few horses four or five horses along the way nearly there and to have that it's so exciting for me you know I'm not losing sleep over the fat that you know people might think I'm a one-hit wonder I'm not at all I've you know got another four or five in the pipeline you know I've got the best string of horses I've ever had you know for me it's having that excitement that you know another challenge to bring on and come up with another horse for everybody to see and I really really feel excited for Tokyo I have you know some really super horses heading towards there and hopefully I can get on some European teams and some worlds before then so yeah I think 2018 is going to probably be another year that I'm out there at the top hopefully and I think next year I want a bit of a quiet year that I can you know just concentrate on all the horses that I've had but not really had a chance to come out and compete and do a lot with because I have been so busy with filet grow another you know the top Grand Prix horses and what about Beyond dressage I mean is there a date set for the woods I knew I was going to get us that the date for the wedding no it's still not done I'm getting probably I just think I'm just going to go off not tell anybody and just do it I think you know it's been it's been so in the limelight now that I just feel like I'm just going to probably nip away get married come back and I'm realise done so everybody wants that day and now we haven't really set that date but what about Dean I mean when he held that ban did you hug him or did you want to hit him dessert well luckily he was quite far away I only saw him on a huge TV screen and I was like oh my god everybody was like have you see what he's done have you seen and I was like no I haven't seen and then as I was being interviewed editor and look at the screen so I didn't know if there he was with the side on I mean he's funny that's I know Dean so well it's something that he would do I did find it entertaining but I think I've been interviewed so many times about it now that it's kind of like oh my god I think it's putting me off getting married because if it are so much about it but he must feel you know in a way now for lega the other man in your life out of it how does he feel about the whole situation he's been extremely supportive I mean he's been absolutely incredible from day one I always said to him when I we went on our first day I said look my horses were always calm first if you like it stick with me if you don't know where the front door is and you know he's stuck with me through thick and thin through my whole career he's been so supportive he's been by my side and he's really understood what I do and how busy I am and how much I you know I'm away and I think now probably a grace retired he's the hoping he's going to get a bit more time but he also knows I have another load of horses that I'm going to be out competing so he's hopefully going to get it in that date in quickly before the next slot start so it's just the beginning then absolutely so there's a lot of high-profile riders who are who are pregnant right now I mean is that something you mind yes absolutely I you know I'm really I've never been maternal never really ever thought of having babies and all of that but yeah I definitely want to start having kids I think you know I'm 31 now like oh god I'm getting old so got a I think stopped having a family and settling down so yeah I'd love to have start having some kids at some point but it's just fitting everything in you know like I say I've got you know a lot of horses training so it's trying to find the right time to fit it all in so you would be fitting motherhood in around your busy completion schedule yes yes and I've already explained to Carl and Alan that they will be on duties of looking after baby whilst one is ridings they've gone absolutely no way we are not doing that but they will they'll be roped in they'll be doing I said to Alan when we go to the shows not only will he be grooming for the horses he'll be looking up there he'll be babysitting so I can't I can't actually wait I do feel really excited I think I feel more excited about having a baby than getting married and yeah I think it's going to be another little chapter and have you spoken to any other mothers you know who ride like Laura Tomlinson or Zara Phillips about coming back to the sport after having a child I think God there's so many women that you know I think pretty much everybody that rides every woman that rides has had a kid and done it you know you can't it's not that you can't do it it's just I think when the time is right and I if I have a child I want to be able to have enough time with my child I don't want a nanny looking after my child you know I want to be able to watch my child grow up and have enough time to be with him or her so yeah I think it's just finding the right time now tell me you've got this sort of fairly newfound celebrity status that came after London what is the most devious thing you've done oh my god what have I done my god any of any kind of bad behavior or no I don't do bad the hair I carry moment oh no I can't really think well okay what's most exciting most glamorous thing you've done since you know any smart parties or meeting any celebrities or anything I I think my biggest thing that I'll never forget is probably going for lunch with the Queen and we had a I had an invitation for there was I think only 10 or 12 of us so it was a very small number of people got invited to have lunch with the Queen and I was one of them and I literally no other sports people were there so I was there by myself and I literally I could not believe I was having lunch with the Queen and it was the best moment I think I've I like I just it was so surreal to think I was going to back in a palace and having lunch with the Queen was just crazy so it was a massive honor and I loved every minute of it am i right in thinking she said something to a couple of ladies about you being the best riders she gave me a compliment and she said now you've never seen a young lady ride quite like this lady so I was like oh my god I just got a compliment from the Queen so yeah I mean to be in her presence is one thing to get a compliment is another you know huge honour and I mean just just being there and having lunch I was so nervous I think I was very one of the nervous nerve-racking things I've ever done in my entire life I could feel like you know get cold sweat being there because I Oh oh my god what do I say what do I do Who am I going to meet who am I having lunch with because they kept it all very confidential that I didn't know who was going until the day I was there and I so I rocked up and I'm like oh my god I hope I've got someone to talk to but I did I found you know and all the other people very interesting to talk to so it was nice now you're still basking the limelight what any sort of approaches from Strictly Come Dancing or celebrity get me out of here anybody know I don't I I think him I can't dance hence why blueberry does the dancing and ID the steering so I mean I'm quite happy to do all of that I'm not very good with coordination it's shocking for dancing I think I'm a celebrity I would quite like to do that but I'm not quite sure with all the bugs I'm not scared of you know spiders or snakes or things like that so does that doesn't bother me but bugs little bugs no I can't can't have that and eating those those awful eating trials no I couldn't do that I did get asked to do dancing on ice but obviously that was quite high risk of injury so I turned that down but you've been in a film recently haven't even Netflix I did a Netflix movie which I definitely found out that I don't want to be a movie star like it was not like like for me remembering some lines was horrendous and like how many takes you have to do it's it's incredible and I look I did learn so much and it's great like to experience these things go off and do different things like I would never have thought I could go and do a movie or being apart or take part in the movie and so for me to be able to do it was was great and finally you got you've been here on this yard for very long time really for your entire dressage career any plans or thoughts about moving further afield and I've been with Carl I think nearly 10 years now so he's had me from really young age he's tortured me all the way up to here you know is you know given me huge opportunities and you know to work alongside him every day has been incredible I mean people would only dream of being me really took the fact with having him by my side and you know what he's given me is is absolutely phenomenal I think his support as well has been great I mean I think looking back at some of the videos with me on Valero and just seeing the support because he's always there you know if you if you look at all the videos he's always there and and that to have somebody like that by your side continuously you know is has been sucked like he's been like my rock really to get me through what I have and I think for me being here I work so well with him now we are like the married couple with without the extra bits as you know you kind of heard it but I would really generally probably miss him if I wasn't with him day-to-day I mean he's my entertainment as well and he's always taken the mick out of me he's always making jokes out of me and if we do clinics I'm the I'm the entertainment so you know that is him he's just always a joy and a pleasure to work with every day and for me to go away and not have that I think I get too bored you know and I I have to do it to him as well you know I give him as much grief as he gives me in a way we know we we bounce off each other I have to motivate him and get him going because you know nowadays he likes to just sit down drink teas and eat cakes that everybody makes him and I'm the one like come on get up get on a horse let's go we've got a job to do so I think between the two of us it works really well and when you really look at top sports people there is not just one of you there is two of you at the top so I think you know the fact we bounce off each other it works so well and it keeps us both going and you know I don't feel ready to move away have my own yard yet so I mean Wayne may be one day but he's always said I can have this place if anything happens and when he gives up you know he he'll let me take over here and he always wants to go to Spain so he wants to live in Spain I'll stay here I'll look after here run the yard so yeah it's a really good relationship thanks so much thank you you

Channel: The Gaitpost

Views: 70,043

Rating: 4.952096 out of 5

Keywords: Charlotte Dujardin

Id: t4e7VPq8BYQ

Length: 15min 51sec (951 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 14 2016