The British Dressage Supporters Club held their annual general meeting, Grand 2012 Dressage Ball and fundraising auction on Saturday 28 January 2012 at the SAS Radisson Portman Hotel in London, where they honoured Valegro's owner Roly Luard with the Elite Owner Award.
For the third year running British Dressage used the event as an opportunity to recognise the invaluable role of horse owners in our sport with three Owner’s Awards. The awards were split across three categories: Elite Award, Grassroots Award and the Para equestrian Award.
The Elite Award is presented to the owner of the horse producing an outstanding performance in Senior International competition.
Winner: Roly Luard
2011 marked an incredible year for Valegro and his co-owner Roly Luard. The 10 year old Negro-bred gelding’s meteoric rise to success with rider Charlotte Dujardin was punctuated with a team gold medal win at the European championships; a win which then catapulted the duo into dressage superstardom.
Their rise to the top was made all the more incredible by the fact that in just eight months they went from their grand prix debut, to playing a part in British dressage’s very first gold medal win.
It was almost a year today that the combination cantered down the centre line at Addington to make their first Grand Prix appearance where they won with 74.62% - just half a point over Carl. This was the start of a rollercoaster ride and a battle between master and pupil which captivated the dressage world.
A clean sweep of the Grand Prix and Special classes over the two weeks of Vidauban in France got the Continentals talking about the exciting new pairing. Success at Saumur and Fritzens really put them on list of names in contention for a European Championship place – but could they select on just six Grand Prix scores? Of course! Each time out, the percentages crept up and on home soil at Hickstead in July, they topped 78% for the first time in the Grand Prix for third behind Carl and Adelinde.
Rotterdam arrived and all eyes were on Britain – sure we had three team stalwarts in Carl, Laura and Emile but with three inexperinced horses and a new kid who’d never ridden a Freestyle Grand Prix who knew what they were capable of. ‘Blueberry’ captivated the crowds with his amazing ability, stunning work and generally ‘smiley’ way – Charlotte also won the onlookers with her style and finesse. Fourth in the Grand Prix with 78.83% helped Britain to gold – and a place in the history books. They finished sixth in the Special and ninth in the Freestyle – not bad for a first attempt! At the European Championships!
Olympia gave the British crowd a chance to see their new hero and finally witness just how special he is. Had the euphoria of team gold affected them? Not on bit – in fact they were stronger and joined the elite club of combinations to score over 80%. They won the Grand Prix with 81.04% and brought the house down, finishing behind Laura in the Freestyle with 83.70%. It’s exciting to imagine what 2012 brings for this little horse…
Roly also owned Escapado, who partnered Carl at the Athens Olympics in 2004, the Hagen European Championships in 2005 and won the National Champion title with him in 2004. Roly’s longstanding support to Carl Hester has been invaluable in the on-going success of British Dressage.
Photo © Astrid Appels
Related Links
Charlotte Dujardin: Carl Hester's Golden Girl
Carl Hester Has the Fun Factor
Escapado Sold to The Netherlands