Eurodressage is reporting that Gio was sold to Annabella Pidgley.
Lucky new junior owner/rider.
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WOW! Can you imagine the pressure to ride that one well? It’s as difficult as Matthias with Totilas
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At least this girl has Charlotte as her coach, which will hopefully help
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Annabella Pidgley is one of the best up-and-coming young riders in the UK, is trained by CD and comes from a very solid equestrian background. There is a lot of continuity for Gio that I feel Totilas lacked. Lucky girl, that one.
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Wonder why the sell, just better prospects or was Gio not going to be able to handle the pressure? He and Charlotte are both so wonderful.
Charlotte seems to have a bounty of gifted horses lined up. Gio is abviously the perfect partner for Ms Pidgley and MAY have small physical limitations for the very highest levels. There is no doubt that he can handle the pressure and has probably been placed in the perfect situation. It would not be surprising if Annabella has already been involved in Gio’s training. The future for GB dressage is looking better and better, with riders like Lottie Fry and Annabella Pidgley.
Just saw H&H story; https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/charlotte-dujardin-gio-annabella-pidgley-767563
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He’s already proven he can. But running a profitable business sometimes means selling the good ones when you have the opportunity - and it sounds like this is the best possible situation for him. I believe there was also a co-owner with Charlotte, so you never know what sort of deal they had.
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When I read the story, I though to myself “I bet this horse’s value is at it’s pinnacle. Perfect time to sell”
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Unfortunately that IS the business side of things.
BTW, if anyone wants to buy ME a horse Charlotte trained, I wouldn’t turn it down.
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I’ve always wanted to see what a world-class rider (like Charlotte) could do with a talented but plain OTTB.
Not some bred to the hilt dressage superstar from birth, but just a plain jane average mover.
Would be fascinating to watch the process.
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Jep. This is not a sport that brings in the money like soccer or tennis, selling top-dollar horses probably brings in a lot more income than sponsorships.
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Exactly. Similar in eventing with (eg) Horseware Woodcourt Garrison – the horse was going delightfully for Sarah Ennis, but was at the peak of its value immediately after the Olympics.
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yeah, i’m in the market for a stepping-down FEI horse – if anyone wants to light some cash on fire for me i’d be quite at their leisure.
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Interesting side note - Michael Jung sold Fischer Takinou to the same family - the other sister is an eventer.
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Ya think they would adopt a 52 yo broken down woman?
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I wonder how much the horse going to a student that will continue to train with Charlotte played into the decision to sell the horse. I read about the situation after a friend posted about it on Facebook. It sounds like the family has supported dressage for years.
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It’s an interesting family - I went down a rabbit hole reading about the late Mr. Pidgley and his children from his first marriage. He was a “traveller” who made tons of money building houses. He died, I believe last summer.
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I always loved Pumpkin as soon as I saw Charlotte on him. What a horse. Wishing the new partnership the best, although I’m bummed we won’t get to watch Charlotte continue the journey. I’m happy to hear that she will still be involved.
Any guesses on how much he went for??
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Tony Pidgely was born to a single mother and ended up at Dr Barnado’s. He was adopted by a traveller couple. He left school at 15 and by the time he was 19 he had a haulage company which he sold and went to work for a builder. When he was sacked he started his own building company and ended up as a very influential man in London’s property market. He died after a stroke in 2020.
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Who or what is Dr. Barnado? Is that somewhere in the attached article?
