It is with immense sadness that we have said goodbye to Valegro and Uthopia and without question, some losses just feel bigger than others.
Trying to write a tribute to these two horses feels harder than can be comprehended. The yard just doesn’t feel the same without them, there’s an emptiness.
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 all the team and myself are deeply grateful for the joy they gave to us at home but also to their fans around the globe.
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 and so too did the health challenges, 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, and the yard has changed forever and so have we, we’ve lost part of our family. I will love and miss them always. The impact they had will always 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 Hester MBE