Charlotte Dujardin of Britain riding Valegro, individual gold medal, dressage, London Olympics (photo, FEI)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Dual Olympic gold dressage winner Charlotte Dujardin and her British owners became the first British “combination” to lead world individual dressage rankings Wednesday 5 September, said Lausanne-based FEI. Dujardin’s success came as the rider on star Dutch warmblood Valegro, from Carl Hester’s stables. The horse, which is being called “the Lionel Messi of the dressage world”, according to The Guardian, is known as Blueberry at the stables.
Dujardin’s two gold medal wins at the London Summer Olympics this year allowed her to move to the top of the FEI (International Equestrian Federation) rankings with 2,867 points, ahead of Dutch rider Adelinde Cornelissen and horse Jerich Parzival. Cornelissen had led the field since July 2011. She now has 2,750 points.
The 27-year-old Dujardin and 10-year-old Valegro took their second Olympic gold medal at the Grand Prix freestyle event at Greenwich Park, where they performed to film soundtracks from the Great Escape and Live and Let Die. Dujardin participated for the first time in a Grand Prix event only last year.
The British dressage team, which included Laura Bechtolsheimer and Carl Hester, in addition to Charlotte Dujardin, won the first British gold medal ahead of Germany.
