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Watch Charlotte Dujardin riding Valegro’s freestyle on a catch ride

Dressage videos 28 Videos Amy Woodhead: how to ride a canter half pass to wow the judges 02:58 Amy Woodhead: how working for Carl Hester has set her up for success 06:14 Watch Carl Hester at home: 'I can't wait to get out of bed and train horses towards grand prix' 02:31 Tales from Hartpury: the nine-year-old rising star with an Olympic dream 02:35 Winter Dressage Championships day four: one-two for Dujardin 03:43 Sophie Wells' rising star impresses on prix st georges gala night 01:22 Winter Dressage Championships day three: former runaway horse shows what she's made of for championship first-timer 03:30 Tales from Hartpury: the event horse making waves in her new career 01:56 Tales from Hartpury: Five horses and 13 tests — but did this rider remember where to go? 01:04 Tales from Hartpury: the horse with a rare skin condition that travelled in first gear for six miles 02:02 Winter Dressage Championships day two: Dujardin wants her rising star's foal for Easter 03:35 Tales from Hartpury: meet the family pony rubbing shoulders with dressage's big guns 01:08 Winter Dressage Championships day one: a shock victory and a horse defies the odds to do a double 04:43 H&H dressage editor’s Area Festival video diary: Disbelieving the results of my small and fairly average horse 05:03 Watch Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro's European freestyle dressage test 07:13 Watch Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro wow the crowds at Hartpury 09:37 What is 'breath energy' and could it help your riding? 03:48 Watch Charlotte Dujardin riding Valegro's freestyle on a catch ride 06:38 Ruth Edge: How to ride the perfect 10m circle 01:18 Exclusive: watch Valegro work out on a water treadmill 02:46 'Squat to exhaustion': meet Alice Oppenheimer 02:43 Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin: A bit of banter 03:15 Maria Eilberg: How to improve your horse's walk 02:03 Maria Eilberg: how to improve your horse’s trot 01:21 Michael Eilberg: How to ride a square halt 03:35 Michael Eilberg: introducing collection in canter 05:01 Michael Eilberg: teaching your horse to rein back 05:03 Watch Farouche's winning test at the BD nationals 05:44

  • When dressage fans hear the ‘How to train your dragon’ score, we instantly conjour up a vision of Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro, but fans in New York were treated to a rather different picture when the world number one rode to her famous freestyle music on a horse she had only sat on once before.

    Having decided it wasn’t in Valegro’s best interests to travel over to America so soon at the Europeans, rather than let down her North America fans, the 30-year-old borrowed Evi Strasser‘s attractive grey grand prix horse Renaissance Tyme and rode her freestyle as a demonstration at Rolex Central Park Horse Show in New York instead.

    “For me, this week has been completely different because I’ve had no pressure,” said Charlotte.

    “It’s been complete fun to be here in New York. I’ve done some sightseeing and it is brilliant to be here and to see the show, the backdrop and how everything is set up.

    “It was like learning new buttons with Evi’s horse. This is literally the second time I’ve ridden him — I hadn’t at all gone through the lines, so it was a hope and a prayer that it all came off,” she added.

    “He’s a fantastic horse. Evi Strasser has done an amazing job and I’m so lucky to be able to come here and ride him.”

    Continued below…

    Germany’s Isabell Werth and El Santo NRW gave the New York crowd a commanding performance with a final score of 80.333% to claim the U.S. Open $75,000 Dressage Freestyle title at the show.

    “It is an outstanding and special atmosphere and beautiful venue. The skyline is brilliant — never have I seen a skyline like this for a competition,” said Isabell.

    “I think the special thing about this freestyle is that you have a lot of transitions and a lot of combinations between extensions, half pass, passage and piaffe. There’s no break and no time to think. But, now after a while I feel really at home in this freestyle and together with this music.”

    Pope Francis’s appearance in Central Park, whilst on his visit to America, was an added surprise to proceedings at the show.

    “I was standing on the roof of the steward trailer and caught the eye of the Pope,” added Isabell. “It made this show a double [of] highlights in my life. It was really amazing and a feeling I will never forget.”

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