Charlotte Dujardin cleaned Valegro's stable - now the pair are the greatest duo in dressage

Taking two gold medals on her home turf at the London Olympics was a far cry from the girl whose fascination with horses led her to cleaning Carl Hester’s stables, but it was typical of Charlotte Dujardin’s journey.

An up-and-down dressage career with illuminating highlights such as London 2012 and depressing lows such as the potential sale of her partner in crime Valegro added another chapter this week.

Dujardin scooped the Sunday Times & Sky Sports Sportswoman of the Year 2014 award, just the third horsewoman to do so after Pippa Funnell and Zara Phillips, in recognition of the stranglehold that she currently possesses over her entire sport.

Privilege

But Dujardin’s path to the top wasn’t always so assured. Unlike many of her peers, she wasn’t born into a privileged family and could only afford Fernandes, her first horse, after the inheritance left by her grandmother.

Her admiration for Hester, the veteran of four Olympic Games, eventually led her to receiving lessons via the assistance of Dujardin’s teacher and friend Ian Cast.

These humble beginnings were eventually what Dujardin credited her Sportswoman of the Year award to. Lacking the financial backing of prospective rivals she mucked out stables, groomed Hester’s horses and got her hands dirty – literally and figuratively.

Valegro, a Dutch warmblood gelding, was one of the horses that Dujardin groomed, originally for the purpose of preparing him for Hester. It didn’t work out that way.

Prominence

Dujardin competed on Valegro when he was just nine and promptly won a European gold medal – a sign of things to come for a duo so promising that plans for Hester to ride the horse were shelved.

It was the spectacle of the London Olympics where Dujardin rose to public prominence – not necessarily to her benefit. She won a gold in the individual competition and, as if to underline her burgeoning brilliance compared to her peers’ privileges, teamed up with Laura Bechtolsheimer (the granddaughter of a billionaire) to win the team event. These gold medals were Britain’s first in dressage in over a century.

But it led to personal problems for Dujardin on account of her ascension into the public eye, not to mention the looming prospect of losing Valegro. The horse, now valued at several million pounds, was touted for sale by its owner Hester meaning every ride that Dujardin enjoyed could be her last. Last year it was decided Valegro would stay.

Greatest

A remarkable set of trophies was completed in April when Dujardin and Valegro won the Grand Prix and World Cup final in Lyon. In August, they were truly confirmed as the greatest dressage duo of their time with a second world championship in Normandy.

At the time of her Sportswoman award, Dujardin owned every available top-level individual dressage title. The individual Olympic freestyle, World freestyle and Grand Prix Special, and European freestyle and Grand Prix Special titles made her the only person to ever boast this collection simultaneously.

Not bad for a girl from Enfield who cleaned stables just because she loved her sport.