The organizers of the 2016 CDI-W London Olympia Horse Show have announced the date and estimated time of Valegro's official retirement from competition. The ceremony will take place after the World Cup Grand Prix Kur to Music and entire evening programme has sold out.
The Grand Prix Kur and following retirement ceremony will take place in the Grand Hall on Wednesday 14 December 2016. Tickets for the evening freestyle, which is tentatively scheduled to start at 6.25 PM, are no longer available.
The retirement ceremony promises to be an emotional evening for Valegro fans. Charlotte Dujardin OBE commented, "Valegro is a once in a lifetime horse and owes us nothing. I can’t wait to take him to Olympia and give him the send-off he deserves."
Carl Hester MBE, spoke of their decision to retire Valegro at Olympia, "Valegro has done it all and we want him to go out in style! What better place than at Olympia – he loves the arena and being so close to the crowd. It is where he and Charlotte broke the world record in 2014 and it is the perfect place for our loyal British fans to say their farewell."
On Tuesday 13 December the audience will be treated to a Q&A session with Rio Olympic Team Silver Medallist, Carl Hester, Triple Gold Medallist, Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro. Questions can be submitted in advance and selected spectators will be able to ask the questions in person.
Show Director, Simon Brooks-Ward commented, “We are honoured that Charlotte and Carl have chosen Olympia as the place to retire Valegro. He is a true legend of equestrian sport and we will make sure that he has the perfect send-off. We wanted as many people as possible to have the opportunity to see Valegro and hope that his fans are able to make one of the performances.”
Photo © Astrid Appels
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