As she begun her career under saddle, Emma noted the mare, who grew to be 16.3h, had a superb attitude to her work and a fabulous walk.
Blundell said: “Freestyle was the first foal we bought and was the first horse I competed myself in Dressage young horse classes where she took me to my first ever British Nationals.
“What a fairy tale of a horse she is and what an introduction to Dressage she has given us. I am blown away by Charlotte’s performances every time I see her train or compete. I’m grateful she is on Team MSJ.”
Charlotte achieved fame by winning Olympic gold with Valegro in 2012, but is now proving she is not a one-horse rider; Freestyle is becoming a worthy successor to the much-adored Blueberry.
Charlotte has known Emma for many years, before she founded the MSJ Stud. Freestyle was the first of the Stud’s horses that Charlotte rode.
Interestingly, it wasn’t her paces that attracted Charlotte first.
She said: “She had a look on her face that I just fell in love with: massive eyes that looked like she was wearing eyeliner and big, floppy ears.
“Being young, she was still quite weak when I started training her, but I could already feel there was something in there, and after a few months I knew she was going to be a special horse – as with Blueberry, it felt like we clicked.”
Charlotte and Carl Hester performed a demonstration at London Olympia Horse Show in December 2017.
Charlotte rode her ‘up and coming’ mare and the comparisons with Valegro continued. Carl noted her big floppy ears as Freestyle was dubbed Mrs Valegro.
Speaking after her Olympia demo, Charlotte said: “I’ve had her since she was five. She has come on beyond belief, she’s got a heart of gold.
“I have to say there are glimpses of Valegro in the arena. She is incredibly brave when she goes in.”
After Charlotte won Individual and Team gold in 2012, she suffered mentally with the uncertainty over Valegro’s future ownership. So that she’s never in that powerless position again, Charlotte now only trains and competes horses she has at least a 50 per cent share in.
The Mount St John Stud has no standing stallions, so they have the flexibility to choose the best the world has to offer.
They place emphasis and importance on the dam to ensure foals are only bred from the best bloodlines and from mares who have excelled in competition.
She may only be nine, but Freestyle, via embryonic transfer, has produced three foals: a 2013 Ampere filly called MSJ A La Freestyle, a 2014 De Niro filly called MSJ Dancefloor, and a 2014 San Amour colt named MSJ Streetdance. Freestyle is already a grandmother from her progeny!
