RUMOURS are rife regarding the sale of the two most famous horses of the moment – Gloucestershire’s own Uthopia and Valegro from the British Olympic dream team.

Uthopia, ridden by Carl Hester, and Valegro, ridden by Charlotte Dujardin, were part of the gold medal-winning dressage team at London 2012. Valegro and Dujardin also took individual gold.

Newent-based Hester, who owns stakes in both horses, confirmed after the Olympics that he was potentially looking to sell both horses to fund his future dressage career.

It is believed that the pair of horses could be sold for upwards of £10 million.

Uthopia is believed to belong to former eventer Sasha Stewart, with a minority share owned by Hester and his syndicate. FEI records list Stewart and Hester as Uthopia’s owners since September 2011, with Stewart again being listed as owner for a period from 2009-2010.

The sale of the horse is complicated by the fact that Stewart, from Northern Ireland, was declared bankrupt in 2010, meaning that any assets she owned then had to be sold off. Her legal representative states that any sale of the horse could not take place until the question of ownership had been resolved.

Hester said: “I presume the plan will still go ahead and he will be sold. But I’d rather dwell on the fact that the people who own these horses decided to keep them for the Olympics.”

Valegro, ridden by Charlotte Dujardin, is also co-owned by Carl Hester as well as his long-term business partner Roly Luard. Valegro’s price tag is believed to be £6m.

Hester has owned both horses ‘since they were babies’.

Laura Bechtolsheimer’s Olympic horse, 17-year-old Mistral Hojris, is currently taking a holiday at home in Ampney St Peter, and will only be sold if the price is right.

Bechtolsheimer said: “Alf’s future is up to Alf.”

OLYMPIC GOLD medal winner Laura Bechtolsheimer is to wed international polo-playing boyfriend Mark Tomlinson.

Tomlinson, whose parents own the Beaufort Polo Club near Tetbury, proposed to Bechtolsheimer last Wednesday after three years together.

The 27-year-old dressage superstar from Ampney St Peter took team gold and individual bronze at the Olympics earlier this month.