From the British Equestrian Writers’ Association
Charlotte Dujardin, who landed team and individual dressage gold medals at the London Olympics with her brilliant 10-year-old bay gelding Valegro, collected the BEWA Trophy at the annual awards lunch in central London yesterday.
Dujardin, 27, also set world records in the grand prix and grand prix special disciplines while she broke three Olympic records at Greenwich Park.
She also rose to world No1 and on Tuesday night won the Reem Acra FEI World Cup at Olympia for a second successive year.
Valegro, co-owned by Dujardin’s trainer, mentor and Great Britain team-mate Carl Hester and Roly Luard, was named BEWA Horse of the Year.
The Liz Dudden Trophy for a major contributor to equestrian sport went to London 2012 showjumping course designer Bob Ellis.
Ellis gained worldwide acclaim for the quality of his courses at Greenwich Park, with the showjumping highlight being Great Britain’s stunning team gold medal triumph after a 60-year wait.
And young eventer Sophie How collected the Cynthia Muir Trophy, awarded to a rider aged 21 or under.
How and Pebbly Aga Khan won the European junior individual eventing title at Strzegom in Poland three months ago, beating her British colleague Emily King into second place, and was also part of the gold medal-winning Great Britain team.
BEWA also held their annual general meeting yesterday, with Andrew Baldock, PA’s rugby union and equestrian correspondent, elected the association’s chairman.