Dutch Gold, Jennie Loriston-Clarke’s freestyle dressage specialist, has died.
The combination recorded six World Cup wins and contested five consecutive World Cup finals, always finishing in the top five. Dutch Gold is the only British-bred horse to have won the European World Cup league, an accolade he achieved in 1989.
The 28-year-old stallion by Jennie’s former top sire, Dutch Courage, was bred by the late Mrs Goodall and was acquired by Jennie, in partnership with Margaret Clayton, in 1986.
The three-quarter Thoroughbred won the Midland Bank Novice Horse Trials Championship at Locko Park as a seven-year-old, with Jennie in the saddle. The following day, he was on the boat to Rotterdam to contest his first international dressage competition.
The pair was on the British team for four European and two World Championships. In1988, Dutch Gold was the highest-placed British horse at the Seoul Olympics, finishing 14th.
He was retired 12 years ago, having accrued the highest number of points by any horse and been at the top of grand prix level for seven years.
He sired a long list of competing progeny in all disciplines and his genes live on in the latest generation of stallions at Catherston.
The 17hh chestnut Dutch-bred gelding by Waganaar, had been based at Richard and Gillian Davison’s home in Staffordshire since 1999. Gillian rode him at Hickstead, Munich and the national championships.
“Devereaux loved the crowd and lapped up the applause. When he got a bit bored, he would cart me from one end of the arena to the other,” says Gillian.
These articles were first published in Horse & Hound
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