Former British team horse Dougie Douglas notched up his first victory under his new US rider Katie Dinan.
The 11-year-old gelding, who was produced and previously ridden by Holly Gillott (pictured, top), was sold for a record €1.4m (£990,000) at Goresbridge sales in November. He is now owned by Grant Road Partners LLC.
The son of Ard VDL Douglas joined Katie’s Florida yard in December. The pair enjoyed their first win together during the Winter Equestrian Festival at Palm Beach, topping the $50,000 (£39,154) national grand prix on Sunday (21 February).
“Holly did an unbelievable job producing him because he is a joy to ride, and he seems to love showjumping as much as I do,” said Katie.
“He has had a lot of experience on big grass fields, so it was always my plan to jump him in the grand prix here. I could not have hoped for it to go better and he loved being out there.”
The 20-year-old daughter of billionaire Jamie Dinan is currently studying at Harvard University alongside riding and trains with Swiss showjumper Beat Mändli.
“It was my first time trying to go fast with this horse and he got really excited and very into it. We were having fun out there — so it was really a nice feeling,” added Katie, following the class that produced just three clear rounds.
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The chestnut gelding was a consistent Nations Cup horse last year for Leicestershire-based Holly, who made the decision to sell Dougie to fund her future horsepower. They also triumphed in the Bunn Leisure Derby Trial at the Hickstead Derby meeting in June.
“He is very brave,” said Katie of her new ride.
“This class used to be a derby — it was nice that they included the hedge, the water jump and planks. It was something a little bit different for the horses,” added the showjumper who started competing Dougie in January.
