Showjumper Holly Gillott has decided to sell her long-term partner Dougie Douglas to help her invest in more horsepower for the future.
The Irish-bred 10-year-old will head to the Goresbridge sales and will feature in the Supreme Sale of Showjumpers on 10 November at Barnadown in County Wexford.
“Emotionally I don’t really feel anything yet, but when it happens and he is sold I know it will be hard and very emotional. It is exciting at the same time, as his sale could set me up for the future as a showjumper,” said 26-year-old Holly. “We bought him from the Goresbridge sales and they approached us while we were over in Ireland in September.”
The Leicestershire-based rider has enjoyed numerous wins and Nations Cup team appearances with the Ard VDL Douglas-sired chestnut gelding.
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“If I am going to progress in showjumping, he has to be sold. He is still in his prime and worth more now than ever — it is the right time to sell him. He’s won while I’ve been in Vilamoura [24 September-18 October] and if he doesn’t meet his reserve, I’ll happily have him back and continue jumping him.”
The pair were members of the victorious British line-up at the Nations Cup in Rome in May and also featured in the teams in Lummen, St Gallen and at Hickstead in July during the Royal International Horse Show.
Holly has produced Dougie since he was a six-year-old and they triumphed in the Bunn Leisure Derby Trial at the Hickstead Derby Meeting in June.
Holly has previously said of the gelding: “He’s very responsive and reliable. It sounds like a cliché, but he is a horse of a lifetime — he’s taken me to places you can only dream of.”
Alongside Dougie Douglas, there will be a further 33 lots including some of the best showjumpers Ireland has to offer during the much-anticipated sale at Goresbridge.
