Goodbye to Charlotte Dujardin's "Blueberry" and Carl Hester's Uthopia

„Sleep well Blueberry and Uti, two of the greatest horses of our generation. 🕊️

It is with immense sadness that we have said goodbye to Valegro and Uthopia and without question, this is a loss that just feels hard to comprehend“, writes Carl Hester in a message on Instagram, announcing the death of record-breaking horses Valegro and Uthopia.

Charlotte Dujardin, who began her career in the big arena with Valegro, nicknamed Blueberry, and still holds the world record in freestyle with 94.3%, wrote:

„Dear Blueberry,

I love you. I don’t know how to start this with any other words. I knew of course this day would come, but I don’t think I could ever be ready for it. And I’m sitting here, summoning up the courage to write this, knowing I’ll never have the words, knowing they’ll never be enough."

The world record holder, Valegro

Individual gold medalist at the Olympic Games in London and Rio de Janeiro, undefeated at all European and World Championships between 2012 and 2015 – even this seemingly sober statement hardly does justice to the extent to which Valegro shaped the sport of dressage, captivated audiences, and remains undefeated and holds world records to this day. 

His European Championship freestyle in Aachen is shown in the video in this article.

Carl Hesters special partner, Uthopia

Uthopia, one year older than Valegro, was presented by Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin in major international competitions with great success and impressed in every respect. As the stallion was not particularly tall, Carl Hester had to have a shorter tailcoat specially made for him. Exactly ten years ago, at the London International Horse Show, Uthopia and Charlotte Dujardin won the Grand Prix, came second in the freestyle and bid farewell to the international competition stage in Amsterdam in January 2016.

A partnership that was never separated in life: Valegro and Uthopia

Uthopia and Valegro not only won team gold together at the Olympic Games in front of their home crowd in London, but also spent their retirement together with Valegro in the meadows of England. 

„Their entire lives ran in parallel; they travelled to the shows side by side, lived in neighbouring stables, grazed in the same fields and retired together. Their bond and companionship were absolute.

As life as old boys advanced, so too did the health challenges, so allowing them to leave this world together was the final act of loyalty and dignity I felt I could give them, honouring a partnership that had never been separated in life“, Carl Hester continues writing.

Carl Hester on Instagram:

„Sleep well Blueberry and Uti, two of the greatest horses of our generation. 🕊️

It is with immense sadness that we have said goodbye to Valegro and Uthopia and without question, this is a loss that just feels hard to comprehend.

Trying to write a tribute to these two horses feels harder than I imagined. The yard just doesn’t feel the same without them, there is an emptiness in the air.

Valegro and Uthopia did more than win medals and write history, they gave our sport a golden era. They both showed that greatness can be gentle, sensitive and harmonious and they made a nation proud and inspired so many.

Being part of their journey will always remain one of my proudest achievements and the whole team and myself are deeply grateful for the joy they gave to us at home but also to their fans around the world.

Their entire lives ran in parallel; they travelled to the shows side by side, lived in neighbouring stables, grazed in the same fields and retired together. Their bond and companionship were absolute.

As life as old boys advanced, so too did the health challenges, so allowing them to leave this world together was the final act of loyalty and dignity I felt I could give them, honouring a partnership that had never been separated in life.

They leave behind a huge void, the yard has changed forever and so have we. They were our family and I will love and miss them always.

The impact they had will remain but sadly, we don’t get to keep horses forever. We only get to carry what they leave inside us. And these two left us so much.

Carl x“

Charlotte Dujardin on Instagram:

„Dear Blueberry,

I love you. I don’t know how to start this with any other words. I knew of course this day would come, but I don’t think I could ever be ready for it. And I’m sitting here, summoning up the courage to write this, knowing I’ll never have the words, knowing they’ll never be enough, but wanting to share something anyway because so many people loved you and it just feels like the right thing to do. You have been and still are so loved.

You have been my constant, my rock. Through the highest highs and the lowest lows, your gentle presence, your steady heartbeat, the silent moments we shared together have been my everything, the place I could always go to. In those quiet moments we had so many conversations without words; you loved me completely, as I am. You saw my heart and I yours.

I’ve never sat on a horse like you, Blueberry. It was always your heart and your mind that made you the best. We grew together, learned together, believed together. You would enter the arena and just know how special you were - I could feel you grow. The hush of the crowd as everyone turned to look at you. It would make me sit a little taller, shoulders back, head up - I just wanted to do you proud, to show the world what you were capable of; I could feel every muscle in your body move, every breath you took, every shiver of excitement and we would just melt into each other, it was like you could hear my heart speak and I yours. A partnership that everyone talks about, but you can’t really know until you’ve experienced it. And we danced Blueberry, didn’t we dance…“

Photo: Pferdefotografie Lafrentz