Correct. I don’t think she could do a U25 championship and a senior GP championship in the same year, but I’m not aware of any other restrictions.
David Bowie’s father did PR for Dr Barnardo’s.
Years ago, there was a rule that horses that competed in a top level championship like the Olympics or WEG (not sure about Europeans) couldn’t compete at Young Riders. That was also when the Pan Am Games were at small tour, so horses did go from the Pan Ams to Young Riders. I don’t believe the U25 level was up & running yet at that time. But no such rule has existed for a while, as far as I’m aware. I can think of a few horses since then that have gone from competing on senior level teams to Young Riders.
Thats what Valegro was just not TB lol
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I think it’s super smart for the future of Team GB and of course for Charlotte. It isn’t cheap to produce and show these horses year in and year out.
I can’t think of a better situation, a horse who is small and incredible going to a JR or YR who can carry on learning and growing with him. It is very very exciting for the future of British dressage.
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Valegro was not an average mover. His talent was clear even as a rowdy 4 year old.
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And I’ll add - consistent with his bloodlines. Negro/Ferro on top and Voltaire/Ladykiller/Nimmerdor/Furioso II on the bottom… I’m not that into breeding and even I know those are good sport horse lines. No surprise to me he was talented.
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But he was for the level of horse was competing at…Charlotte even said so herself. She talked a lot about how “plain” he was when she bought him. His talent was more in his trainability and of course she saw something… but it wasn’t a big fancy mover.
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Charlotte didn’t / doesn’t own Valegro, she was given the ride by the owners Carl Hester, Anne Barrott, & Rowena Luard, before 2012 as Carl was getting on better with Uthopia.
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Marketing.
He won young horse championships at different levels, he wasn’t subpar. But it makes the story sound better if he was.
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Well, a horse costing only €5k wouldn’t shout superstar. Hester liked his canter. Excellent training produced Valegro’s success.
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Also, athletes of other high level/pro sports are payed very well. This doesn’t really happen in equestrian sport, for the most part. So it makes sense to sell in order to earn some “big money” that can also fund things such as a new facility, more horses, and whatever else.
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If this is an “average mover” I will eat my hat. Find me an OTTB with a canter anywhere near that and I’ll eat another hat.
As an aside, are they using those elastic rein connector things with him in this video?
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Most likely! Charlotte and Carl have said they like them with the young horses.
And, while I agree with you about the quality, if I squint, I can sorta see how someone might say that, for that echelon of competition, this is not an out-of-the-box spectacular mover. But I sure wouldn’t kick him out of my barn 
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Early videos have Carl saying Valegro is going to be a world champion someday. There was never any thought he was ordinary by normal people’s standards. Ordinary by Olympic rider standards maybe.
And yes he was inexpensive because he was very young, not particularly tall, and by a sire who wasn’t fashionable at the time out of an underwhelming dam line.
Excellent training absolutely produced Valegro’s success, but so did good breeding, suitable confirmation, a superb brain, and three very correct, athletic gaits. It’s not like he was some draft cross pulled out of a field at 3 and developed to Grand Prix.
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And I wouldn’t be surprised if the fact that Carl was involved resulted in a nice price cut because someone knew he would develop this horse nicely.
The narrative that valegro was some plain nag pulled out of a field is so annoying. Everyone loves a rags to riches story. At 4 this horse was an absolute beast dripping with talent. It could have easily been squashed but that hindend as a youngster outperforms a whole lot of fully developed FEI horses.
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I don’t think he looks all that fancy compared to what else is out there in that world in that video. I just think they know what to look for better than others ahha
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He wasn’t “flashy” if that’s what you mean by “fancy.” Carl and Charlotte speak often about not going for the type of horse that seems to dominate the young horse championship ships in recent years, with the jaw dropping, exaggerated movement. They have concerns about long term soundness with that type of movement, and believe a horse with a huge walk will find it harder to piaffe and passage. They look for quality and correctness of gaits in an uphill confirmation that is built for collection. Good gaits in that type of high quality horse can be developed into “flashy” through training.
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He failed his stallion grading, which is why Hester got him cheap. The horse went back to the breeder at one point as being no good but then Hester had second thoughts and picked it up again on the way back home. As it happens, the Van Olsts produce top horses so no, it wasn’t a draught cross out of a field.
There is more “rags to riches” in a lot of Hester’s horses because his own life is similar. Nip Tuck, for example, was a mistake as two sale horses got mixed up and the buyer got the baby horse Hester had intended for himself.
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Replacement (2yo);
