Dr Barnadoās is a long established childrenās charity that supports vulnerable children. Initially it ran homes which provided education and taught practical skills for thousands of kids in dire poverty in the 19th century. Today they tend to support families and kids in poverty or at risk from abuse, drugs etc. But still with a focus on providing opportunities for the children. Princess Diana used to their president, I think.
Probably because they made an offer she couldnāt refuse. I would imagine an Olympic medallist horse if Gioās age would sell for life-changing money. At the end of the day, owning horses is a business for Charlotte, and I rather suspect she intended to train him up and sell him when she bought him.
Thatās pretty cool that heās going to one of her students. Keepinā him in the family, as it were. Charlotte has pretty much done what she set out to do with Pumpkin, and now she can help someone else reach their dreams with him.
Plus, sheās got a slew of nice horses waiting in the wings. Canāt keep 'em all!
Wishing Pumpkin and his new person lots of luck!
Exactly. Where do people think Carl got the money to buy his property?
The nosey part of me would love to know but I was guessing very high 6 figures, possibly brushing against 7 figures. There have been enough stories of international horses that couldnāt touch Gio selling for 400-650k+ so it would seem that it would have to be significantly higher than that.
Thus is pure speculation on my part as I donāt know the woman, but she took Gio to the Olympics because MSJ Freestyle, her expected mount, was unfit and TeamGB needed itās superstar competition rider. The horse really stepped up. It hadnāt even done a Freestyle before and the music only arrived a couple of days before the test. Her riding was exceptional and teased every mark possible out of the performance, hence the unexpected individual and team medals. I suspect that was a brilliant example of a horse exceeding all expectations. So a horse to sell now for a very good price.
Recently CD won the National PSG title, in a class of 35, riding Imhotep whom she has subsequently said is likely to be her next Olympic horse in Paris 2024. I hope that Gio will contribute to the development of Annabella Pidgley as a Young Rider and onwards into a first class Olympian rider.
I honestly thought that Totilas was past his performance prime and purchased as a stud horse. A horse just canāt be ridden/campaigned as hard as he was as a youngster/early adult and be the same horse when Matthias got the ride. Thereās a reason why most Olympic athletes retire and canāt compete in their 30s. So much wear and tear on the body.
Ok, when somebody extremely talented and deeply caring wants to buy your horse and they have unlimited funds to purchase the horse, care for them, and complete them, thatās got to be really hard to turn down at any level.
At This level, as has been pointed out, that is life-changing money.
Where is the downside here other than pulling at the heartstrings?
Agree with J-Lu and ASB_Stars, and I also suspect that Dujardin knew Gio lacked some aspects of movement (he tended to go up-and-down rather than cover ground) that would always hinder scoring against top competition. With so many other quality young horses in the pipeline, she could sell him and not be at a loss in future.
I would think easily into the 7 figures if there isnāt some known physical issue that would prevent him from competing at that level for years to come
Some nasty comments on FB have accused Charlotte of āfakingā Freestyleās issues in order to take Gio, thus raising his price tag.
Which, good lordy, if your second string hoss brings home, what, two Bronze medals? Yes, what a conspiracy. Some people are dumber than the box the rocks were in.
Agreed. Heās only 10, so many years left.
If people want upper level riders to keep their horses then āthose someoneāsā need to start paying us professionals a heck of a lot more moneyā¦ the likelihood of this happening is a pipe dream which is one of the reasons the industry is dying.
Even if Charlotte wanted to keep the ride; as a professional she would be foolish to not take the money off the table. Especially life changing money which is what Iām sure is what we are talking about.
By securing her financial future sheās placing herself in a much better position to keep producing top horses and producing top results for team GB.
Hopefully the new rider is a fantastic match and this new combination will be an asset to the team.
I understood that Charlotte wasnāt the only one to take a younger horse to Tokyo with the idea that they might do better with the heat and humidity. There is nothing sinister here. Charlotte is still riding Freestyle. The young rider is a fabulous up and comer with a lot of money who has been in training with Charlotte and will add depth to British international dressage. Meanwhile, Charlotte has barnful of quality horses coming up. This seems to be, in so many way, an excellent sale and the horse will stay under her supervision and Iām sure the match was already deemed a successful one when she decided to sell. The young riderās success on Gio will only ensure MORE life changing horse sales for Charlotte in the futureā¦I am sure the price tag on Gio was into the 7 figures.
Okay I have a question. Since Gio has proven himself as a top contender, medalling at both Olympic and European competitions, does that put a limit on what his new rider can compete at? That is, Gio can or can not be a Young Riderās horse, or compete on the small tour? Is there a rider minimum age limit for riding GP? I do understand the levels for pony, child, junior and YR but is there a minimum for under 25?
Just asking, being curious.
The minimum age for U25 is 16.
There is also a āChildren on Horsesā section, hereās a British Dressage page for you explaining how itās organised here for FEI levels https://www.britishdressage.co.uk/get-involved/bd-youth/competing-with-bd-youth/international-competitions/
I donāt believe thereās any reason he canāt compete in FEI JR or YR. Lots of those horses have previously competed at higher levels before being taken over by young riders
Yep. Jan Ebelingās Olympic mount Rafalca I believe went on to do the Jr/YR stuff with his son, Ben. Iām sure there are others, too, that one just popped into my head first.
