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‘What could go wrong?’: TV presenter set dressage challenge by Charlotte Dujardin

Becky Murray Becky Murray

    • A television presenter who has never sat on a horse before has been challenged to take up dressage by Charlotte Dujardin to mark this year’s Olympics.

    Dan Walker and his five BBC Breakfast co-hosts will take part in the Tokyo 2020 Presenter Challenge which involves each of them being paired with a British athlete to learn a new sport.

    On Tuesday morning’s (24 February) programme Dan and his colleagues found out via video which athlete they would be paired with, with Dan receiving a message from dressage superstar Charlotte who introduced her triple gold medal-winning partner Valegro.

    “We challenge you to take up dressage,” said Charlotte.

    As the challenge was revealed, a nervous Dan could be heard telling his colleagues he has never sat on a horse.

    The full details of Dan’s training are still to be released but a BBC spokesman told H&H Dan will be taking a closer look at the sport and exploring what it entails, and will “learn the basics” before he goes to meet Charlotte.

    A spokesman for British Dressage said “this is going to be worth following” adding that there was no one better to mentor Dan – who tweeted “What could possibly go wrong?”.

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    A spokesman for the British Equestrian Federation said the organisation will keep fans updated with how Dan gets on in the saddle in the run-up to Tokyo.

    The other combinations taking part in the challenge are:

    • Naga Munchetty and taekwando Olympian Jade Jones
    • Charlie Stayt and swimmer James Guy
    • Louise Minchin and sport climber Shauna Coxsey
    • Nikki Fox and boccia Paralympian Jamie McCowan
    • Sally Nugent and world champion athletics star Katarina Johnson-Thompson
    • Mike Bushell and Olympic gymnast Max Whitlock

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    Becky Murray
    Becky Murray

    H&H senior news writer
    Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
    Becky Murray

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