Kristi has been battling duodenal cancer which has sadly returned once more, and she had a longstanding dream to meet the superstar Valegro.  When Kristi’s friend Jane asked Willberry if he could help, Willberry got straight to work and contacted Carl Hester’s fantastic team.  They were immediately keen to help out, and even though Valegro is now retired, they were delighted to invite Kristi to the yard to meet him.

Kristi and Jane arrived at the beautiful yard in Gloucestershire where Carl and Charlotte Dujardin are based, and were surprised to be greeted by peacocks, hens and guinea fowl before they could even see a horse!

Alan Davies, International travelling groom for Carl and Charlotte, came to greet them and took them to meet all the beautiful dressage horses in the yard...... WOW!!! One intelligent head after another came out to say hello, and enjoy the cuddles from the ladies, with Jane taking a particular shine to the stunning mare Times Kismet.  After a tour of the arenas and a wonderfully entertaining insight into ‘behind the scenes’ life from Alan, it was time to meet the great man himself...          

Valegro and Uthopia had two special stables to themselves with views of the fields, and Kristi could barely wait to stroke him!  With the stable door wide open, he stood politely and soaked up the adoration and love as if it were only to be expected!  Uthopia was equally gracious next door, and two kinder, more gentle horses would be hard to find.  Valegro (aka Blueberry) even had his own Blueberry horse treats made especially for him by NAF!

Kristi and Jane finally had to drag themselves away and leave these incredible athletes, but they took with them some very special moments to store in their special memory banks ❤️

Our huge thanks go to Alan Davies for so generously giving us his time, and such fascinating and funny anecdotes of life looking after the very best dressage horses and riders of our time.  We are forever grateful and send all our love to the whole team there.