In April 2020 and in the interest of legacy I wrote a Wikipedia entry recording the thoughts and notable works of Harveywetdog. I admit I was ignorant of the rules concerning self promotion on Wikipedia and consequently my entry was correctly deleted and my account expunged from the system. As a result my original words and links were sadly lost but nevertheless here is a rewrite. Perhaps when I'm gone someone will be able to enter it onto Wikipedia as a fitting epitaph for my time on the Harveywetdog Project.
Now that he has retired from competition how will you remember Valegro?
You will all have your own favourites and for me it will be the memory of his appearances at Hartpury in the run up to the Rio Olympics.
Now if we can claim Hartpury as Valegro's home ground then nearby Newent in Goucestershire (or is that Hestershire?) can surely claim to be his "home town".
Small wonder then the Newent Initiative Trust has chosen to honour their equine neighbour and local hero with a full size sculpture depicting the Olympic superstar at the height of his powers.
This is the story of how I came to be in Newent the day the sculpture appeal was launched and how you can help support the appeal.
Social media is a wonderful thing! Scanning through Facebook on Sunday 26th November I noticed a post by Charlotte Dujardin that she would be appearing in Newent with Blueberry on the next day. A little bit more digging told me that this was due to take place at 14:00 the next day and that it was in support of the Valegro Sculpture Project being run by the Newent Initiative Trust. An announcement on the local BBC News confirmed the arrangements and my plans for Monday 27th November were set.
Newent is only 20 minutes away so I arrived early to see where the appearance was due to take place and to make sure it was really going to happen. I arrived at the historic Market Square just in time to find Keith Urch making the final arrangements and so I was able to ask him a little bit about the project. It appears that the sculpture will be of Valegro on his own in classic competition pose although the final location is yet to be agreed and subject to planning of course. Having said that I did like the idea of Valego apparently skimming across the surface of the Newent Lake but we'll have to wait and see just where he lands!
While we waited for our star I was able to take in the publicity material (sorry it got a bit scrunched in my pocket).
Publicity Leaflet
Courtesy Newent IT
Publicity Leaflet Reverse
Courtesy Newent IT
Cometh the hour cameth the man (plus a rain shower) and although Charlotte and Alan took us by surprise by bringing Valegro round from the Co-Op car park in a slightly different direction to what we've been told we were treated to Valegro in close up for photo opportunities and speeches. Charlotte explained what Valegro meant to her and why he deserved this celebration of his career, then came the magic moment when she asked an awestruck little girl "do you want to touch him?" and he was then surrounded by his adoring fans for 20 minutes of pats and have you got a treat for me?
In the middle of all of this Charlotte was presented with a bouquet by the Mayor and Andrew ? talked about the difficulties Market Towns like Newent faced at the current time and how important the sculpture would be in attracting visitors. Andrew also spoke about the challenges the artist would face in capture the power and magnificence of Valegro in competition.
The appearance finished with some Photographs with Valegro, Charlotte and Alan in front of the Black and White Market Hall and then it was back to the Co-Op car park for the horse box and home.
If you want to contribute the link to the CrowdFunder Page is here offering a range of options and explaining what you will receive in return for your support.
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