In the elite international world of dressage, one name stands above all others and that is Carl Hester and Rowena Luard’s Valegro. This extraordinary athlete’s achievements, with rider Charlotte Dujardin, have made Valegro a household name, sold out countless arenas and catapulted the sport of dressage to one of the most popular Olympic summer sports. And this December, Breyer will honor dressage’s super-star athlete with his own Breyer portrait model created in his likeness.
The dark bay 2002 KWPN gelding earned two gold Olympic Medals for Great Britain in dressage at the 2012 Olympic Games in London (team gold and individual gold), followed by winning both the Grand Prix Special and the Grand Prix Freestyle at the 2013 European Championships, followed by winning the dual World Championship medal for the Grand Prix Special and the Grand Prix Freestyle at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France in 2014. He was also the 2014 World Cup Dressage Champion and is currently ranked World No 1.
In addition to all his extraordinary victories, Valegro has shattered world records time and again when it mattered most! He is the only horse ever to concurrently hold World, Olympic and European Gold medals; all three World Records (Grand Prix 87.46%–at the famed Olympia horse show 2014, Grand Prix Special 88.022%–Hagen Germany 2012, and Grand Prix Freestyle 94.3%–Olympia 2014); two Olympic records (Grand Prix 83.784% and Grand Prix Freestyle 90.089% in 2012); the Fédération Equestre International (FEI) World Number 1 ranking; plus FEI World Cup Number 1 placing!
The Breyer portrait model of Valegro will be a dynamic new sculpture created in his likeness with a special launch in December 2015 in the United Kingdom. In North America and Worldwide, Breyer’s Valegro portrait model will be available at retail in January/February 2016.
Fans in the U.S. will be able to see Valegro compete in the upcoming World Cup Dressage competition, Las Vegas, April 15-19, 2015. After the World Cup, Valegro will concentrate on securing a berth on the British Dressage team for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
For horse-crazy girls, there are only two kinds of horses: real horses and Breyer model horses. The iconic Breyer brand, a division of Reeves International, was founded in 1950, and is the leader in creating the world’s most authentic and realistic model horses for play and collecting. These hand-painted, collectable model horses and animals have a worldwide following, thanks to the incredible sculptures that form the foundation of the line. Today, Breyer has expanded its play lines to include play sets, craft activities and horsey accessories for its younger fans and its collector lines to include resins, crystal and porcelain. To see the complete line of Breyer horses, and to follow the development of the Breyer Valegro model, visit us at BreyerHorses.com!
