The Olympian revealed that Harlotte Dujardin’s bronze medal-winning dressage Gio helped her recover from a broken heart when her fiance left.
Dujardin, sharing the title of the most decorated Olympic female athlete with cyclists Laura Kenny One year after her 13-year partner Dean Golding left, she won her most recent medal.
In an interview with “Daily Mail”, the 36-year-old said that in the last few years of their difficult relationship, she felt very down, and she considered self-harm.
Dujardin said that when Golding finally left forever, it was her new Maggio—the well-known “pumpkin”—that made her get through.
I lost my relationship.I am about to lose my horse-my whole life has been turned upside down
She admits that their relationship always has to compete with her career.
Golding once hung a sign that said “Can we get married now?” on the shirt after Dujardin Rio Winner of the 2016 dressage test gold medal.
Dujardin told the “Daily Mail” that Golding left her for the first time on the eve of the Rio Olympics-at about the same time, her teammates Carl Hester Is considering selling her famous dressage horse Valegro.
“It feels like I had everything, and then everything was taken away. I lost my relationship. I was about to lose my horse-my whole life was turned upside down,” she said.
“If I can return the medal to me and get everything back to its original condition, I will do it.”
She said that Vallegro-nicknamed Blueberry-was what allowed her to move on and face the loss of him, and it also made her lose two stones and consider hurting herself.
“I remember having to go to the show, and everyone would say,’Are you okay?’ Whenever I was with Blueberry, everything disappeared. I was in my bubble,” she said.
“But when I’m not by his side, my situation is not good.”
Hester finally decided to keep Valegro and withdrew from the race after the farewell performance at the 2016 London International Horse Show.
Dujardin and Golding also fixed some problems before Rio de Janeiro and got engaged again, but they broke up completely during the lockdown period when she was supposed to play. Tokyo
“Actually, one year to the next day after we broke up, I participated in my Grand Prix (personal dressage) in Tokyo,” Dujardin said.
“A year ago, I was very upset. This is one of the worst days I have experienced emotionally and physically. I don’t know what to do with my life,” she said.
“But that morning in Tokyo, I just thought,’Look at me now, I’m here to participate in the Olympics. I just won the team bronze medal. How happy can you be?
“I thought I would spend the rest of my life with (Golding).
“Heartbreak may be one of the hardest things to deal with, isn’t it?”
Dujardin said she dealt with the breakup while resting in Cornwall, where she spent time galloping along the beach and swimming with her horse-“anything that kept me away from Dean”.
When she returned to work in Hester’s yard in Gloucester, she turned her full attention to a chestnut pony-a pumpkin-she had bought after Rio de Janeiro and realized he was special.
Riding a pumpkin helped her prevent heartbreak, because it was “only me and him”.
Dujardin still wanted to settle down. He said: “I can see that I have children, and one day I can say to them,’Mum is the most decorative’.”
She joked: “Laura may beat my six medals. But I can win more titles in Paris in 2024 and continue to be in dressage for many years. So, hope I can get back my most watched title. .”
