An application was submitted by the Newent Initiative Trust to erect a half-size statue of the horse in the Market Square in the town.

The bronze horse will measure just over a metre in height and will stand on a 72 centimetres high plinth.

The steed will be just under 1.5m in length.

The design and access statement for the plans, which have now been approved by the Forest of Dean District Council, promises the statue of the now 18-year-old Valegro will help Newent become a visitor destination, with the town first mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book

A gold-painted post box was erected in Newent after London 2012 to mark the success of Dujardin, who riding Valegro won Olympic titles in the team and individual dressage at those Games.

Another resident of Newent, Carl Hester on Uthopia, was also part of the gold medal-winning dressage team at London 2012.

Dujardin and Valegro went on to win a third Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016 in the individual dressage, cementing the combination's position as the most dominant pair in dressage history.

They also won a silver medal in the team dressage, again with Hester, who this time was riding Nip Tuck.

Valegro, a Dutch Warmblood gelding, is co-owned by Hester, together with Roly Luard and Anne Barrott, and Dujardin had started riding him after originally joining his stable as a groom.

The original plan was for Hester to ride Valegro but Dujardin developed such a bond with the horse their partnership lasted all his career.

Valegro is also a double world champion, having won the grand prix special and grand prix freestyle at the World Equestrian Games in 2014 in Normandy in France.

Valegro and Dujardin marked his retirement from competition in December 2016 with a special performance at the London International Horse Show that was televised live on BBC.  

"The proposed statue in Market Square will complement the gold post box situation in Church Street outside the post office that commemorates Newent's gold winning Olympic dressage team," the submission from the Newent Initiative Trust read.

"This post box alone attracts many tens of visitors during the year, all wishing to have a photographic link with the success of the British Olympic team."

It is not the first time that Valegro has received this kind of recognition.

In 2015, Breyer Animal Creations, famous for its models of horses, created a special edition of Valegro who was "shown performing the elegant pirouette".