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Valegro: The Little Horse with the Big Dream
Valegro is quite simply a phenomenon. He is the best dressage horse the world has ever seen, and possibly the best horse. With his young rider he has won Olympic, World and European Gold medals, the World Cup twice, and he holds all 3 world records in dressage. He is the only horse ever to hold all these medals and records at the same time and not surprisingly is ranked number one in the world. Valegro will compete for Great Britain at this year’s Olympics in Rio – in London 2012 he won team and individual gold medals for Great Britain.
The combination of Valegro and his young rider and their trainer is outstanding and charted as one of the most successful in the world of sport and equestrianism ever. Behind this success is a truly outstanding trainer, mentor, horse-owner and friend – Carl Hester – who gave up the ride on the best horse in the world to his young pupil so Great Britain could have a chance at an unprecedented Olympic team Gold Medal, knowing he could ride his other team horse (Uthopia) to achieve a high score too.
This, book one of ‘The Blueberry Stories’, tells of the trials, tribulations, adventures and characters Valegro meets along the way to success in a child-friendly fictional format. A series will follow and includes a learning and technical aspect to pass on some equestrian knowledge in a fun and friendly way, edited to Key Stage 2 to make them suitable for use in schools. This rags-to-riches story of a small horse rising from humble beginnings to become the best the world has seen is a unique, heart-warming and compelling read. The books will appeal to all young readers as well as equestrian fans.
The combination of Valegro and his young rider and their trainer is outstanding and charted as one of the most successful in the world of sport and equestrianism ever. Behind this success is a truly outstanding trainer, mentor, horse-owner and friend – Carl Hester – who gave up the ride on the best horse in the world to his young pupil so Great Britain could have a chance at an unprecedented Olympic team Gold Medal, knowing he could ride his other team horse (Uthopia) to achieve a high score too.
This, book one of ‘The Blueberry Stories’, tells of the trials, tribulations, adventures and characters Valegro meets along the way to success in a child-friendly fictional format. A series will follow and includes a learning and technical aspect to pass on some equestrian knowledge in a fun and friendly way, edited to Key Stage 2 to make them suitable for use in schools. This rags-to-riches story of a small horse rising from humble beginnings to become the best the world has seen is a unique, heart-warming and compelling read. The books will appeal to all young readers as well as equestrian fans.
136 pages, Paperback
Published August 28, 2016
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April 22, 2021
I needed some light reading after that heavy classic, so I picked up the Blueberry Stories by Carl Hester. This series focuses on the dressage horse Valegro, nicknamed Blueberry, and his rise to fame as an Olympic gold medalist. The twist is that it’s told from Valegro’s point of view. The first book, “Valegro: The Little Horse with the Big Dream,” starts with Valegro’s arrival to Carl Hester’s farm and his first couple of years there.
Valegro is nicknamed Blueberry when he arrives on the farm. There he starts to learn what it means to be a dressage horse. He makes friends with the one-eyed dog Lulu, and his traveling companion, Orange the chestnut horse. From the beginning, the concern is that Blueberry won’t grow big enough to be a good dressage horse for Carl, who is a tall man. While learning dressage, Blueberry finds that he loves it. He makes that his dream and pushes himself to become a great dressage horse.
This was a fun book to read. I have known about Valegro as a dressage horse since he started in the Olympics, so to read Carl Hester’s account of the horse’s progress was a lot of fun for me. Hester is not the best author I have read but the story flowed well. It was meant for kids and reads as such. I haven’t read a fictional book from the point of view of a horse in a long time, so that was a lot of fun as well. If you love horses, it’s a fun and light read and it’s great for kids who love horses too.
Valegro is nicknamed Blueberry when he arrives on the farm. There he starts to learn what it means to be a dressage horse. He makes friends with the one-eyed dog Lulu, and his traveling companion, Orange the chestnut horse. From the beginning, the concern is that Blueberry won’t grow big enough to be a good dressage horse for Carl, who is a tall man. While learning dressage, Blueberry finds that he loves it. He makes that his dream and pushes himself to become a great dressage horse.
This was a fun book to read. I have known about Valegro as a dressage horse since he started in the Olympics, so to read Carl Hester’s account of the horse’s progress was a lot of fun for me. Hester is not the best author I have read but the story flowed well. It was meant for kids and reads as such. I haven’t read a fictional book from the point of view of a horse in a long time, so that was a lot of fun as well. If you love horses, it’s a fun and light read and it’s great for kids who love horses too.
Displaying 1 of 1 review