Indigro – Andrew Gould on the stallion taking him to new heights

Indigro is the 12-year-old powerhouse dressage stallion taking Andrew Gould to career-best scores and establishing himself as certainly one of Britain’s brightest hopes for future championship groups.

“About 5 minutes into using him for the primary time, I assumed, ‘That is mega’,” says Andrew. “He was the perfect horse I’d ever ridden, by far.”

Indigro’s early years

Indigro was bred by John Deenan within the Netherlands and is sired by Negro, out of Pralina (who’s sired by Jazz). He was licensed as a KWPN stallion in 2016, and was competed by Kirsten Brouwer as a younger horse.

In 2019, he was purchased by Rom Vermunt and Harld Bruinier and moved to the Glock Horse Efficiency Centre to be skilled up the degrees by Edward Gal, earlier than being bought by Tatiana Skillman in April 2022 for Andrew to experience.

Andrew instructed Horse & Hound that he had noticed Indigro in a video posted on-line, and though the stallion wasn’t on the market, he organized to view him by way of connections of seller Craig Rawlins. And it didn’t take lengthy for him to recognise that the horse was one thing particular.

“We had been searching for an Olympic prospect, and whenever you’re searching for a horse like that, it’s by no means straightforward,” Andrew explains. “They’re normally so tuned in to their common rider, and also you’re pinning your entire future on an hour or two within the saddle. It’s worrying.

“However when I discovered him, I simply knew. It’s uncommon for me to really feel an immediate connection like that with a horse.”

Indigro and Andrew Gould wasted no time in making their mark on the British circuit. The pair debuted at Hickstead Premier League, inserting second behind Anabella Pidgley and Gio within the inter II on 72.5% – selecting up a ten for his passage, which Andrew has since described as “probably the greatest on the circuit”.

“It was a last-minute determination to go to Hickstead for our first present collectively, and what an incredible expertise it was, couldn’t be happier with the sensation he gave me within the enviornment,” Andrew stated on the time.

At their subsequent outing, Wellington Premier League, the pair claimed victory within the inter II on 72.94%, earlier than stepping as much as grand prix only a month later at Hartpury, the place they received once more with 73.46%.

“He’d not competed since he was six, so he was having to study his commerce once more,” Andrew later defined. “Nevertheless it was an incredible begin”.

Their Hartpury victory earned them a spot within the grand prix on the 2022 Nationwide Dressage Championships, the place they completed general runners-up to Gareth Hughes and Sintano Van Hof Olympia, and took third within the freestyle with just below 78%.

The pair made their worldwide debut a month later at Keysoe CDI, sweeping each the grand prix and the freestyle.

“This primary 12 months was meant to be all about attending to know him and constructing a relationship with him,” Andrew added. “Nevertheless it all went a lot faster than we anticipated.”

Andrew Gould: “It felt like an unrealistic dream”

Regardless of having solely been collectively just a few months, and each nonetheless comparatively new to grand prix, Andrew and Indigro’s standout performances secured them a coveted place within the World Cup qualifier on the London Worldwide Horse Present (LIHS).

They posted 69.55% within the grand prix earlier than lighting up the freestyle with a career-best 78.06% – nonetheless the best rating of Andrew’s profession so far.

“I’m so happy with him,” Andrew stated afterwards. “Within the lead-up, we simply wished him to have a constructive expertise, so to return away with these scores was unimaginable.

Andrew Gould using Indigro in the course of the grand prix on the 2022 London Worldwide Horse Present. Credit score: Alamy Inventory

“All of it got here collectively – there have been issues we will nonetheless enhance, however the best way he rose to the music and embraced the environment gave us actual perception into the sort of horse he’s.

“London has all the time been a present I wished to experience at, however till this 12 months, it felt like an unrealistic.”

For Andrew’s groom, Nat Campbell, it was additionally a standout second within the stallion’s burgeoning profession.

“He was one of many youngest there, and he confirmed everybody what he may do,” she stated. “I keep in mind standing along side the sector feeling sick with nerves.”

Worldwide breakthrough and workforce competition

In 2023, Andrew and Indigro turned their focus to worldwide competitors, making their Nations Cup debut in Compiègne with a 68.98% grand prix rating.

“Even then, what stood out was his piaffe and passage,” recalled choose Isobel Wessels. “He’s an actual machine in these actions – naturally energetic and engaged in a manner many horses aren’t.”

Additional Nations Cup appearances adopted in Rotterdam (71.09%) and Aachen in 2024 (71%), steadily constructing the pair’s worldwide profile. The selectors had taken discover – by summer time 2024, Andrew and Indigro had been named travelling reserves for the Paris Olympic Video games.

With an extra workforce place up for grabs at this summer time’s European Dressage Championships in Crozet, the pair have been thrust into competition.

Grand prix scores have taken on heightened significance within the lead-up, with workforce medals on the Europeans hinging on them.

Andrew and Indigro strengthened their case with the best British rating within the Nations Cup grand prix at Lier (71.15%), adopted a month later by a private better of 72.2% at Wellington CDI.

Andrew Gould and Indigro within the grand prix at Wellington CDI3*. Credit score: Kevin Sparrow

Nonetheless, Andrew stays centered on the larger image.

“That fourth spot is open, and I anticipate we’ll be slogging it out over the following three exhibits,” Andrew stated. “Indigro’s scores are enhancing, and it seems like issues are falling into place.

“However I don’t really feel stress as I’ve by no means been on a workforce, so I’m nonetheless studying. I nonetheless assume it’ll take one other 12 months for me to be the place I wish to be.”

For Isobell, the sky’s the restrict for the pair: “An Olympics – why not? Choice is all the time powerful, however Indigro is totally one of many robust contenders.

“He was a bit of tight within the extensions and tended to shorten within the neck – not from poor contact, simply behavior. However Andrew’s accomplished a incredible job. There’s now extra openness, extra swing by way of the physique, and an actual softness within the canter work. I believe his scores will preserve rising.”

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H&H dressage and sport horse editor

Oscar graduated from York St John College with a grasp’s diploma in Literature in 2021 and joined Horse & Hound in October 2023. Oscar labored for high dressage rider Emile Faurie for 4 years after ending an equine administration course in school. Beneath Emile’s tutelage, Oscar competed on the 2015 Nationwide Dressage Championships and travelled with Emile’s horses to CDIs at Aachen, Vidauban, Saumur and Achlieiten. Oscar continues to compete in dressage, alongside his day job.