Gonzalo Castillo Arroyo Goes Independent with Own Business in Duisburg

Dressage

Spain

Spanish professional dressage rider Gonzalo Castillo Arroyo has made the move to independence after six years working as an assistant rider for Finnish Olympian Henri Ruoste.

Castillo and his life-partner, Hungarian Grand Prix rider Berill Szoke Toth, have set up their own training and sales business in Duisburg, Germany.

A Life with Horses

Gonzalo felt a passion for dressage from an early age and knew he wanted to work with horses the rest of his life.

He took his first steps in his professional career in 2016 in Spain, working for Spanish former team rider Jordi Domingo. With Gustaaf (by Charmeur x Rousseau) he placed 9th at the 2016 Spanish Young Horse Championships and rode the 2017 Catalonian regional championships.

In the summer of 2017 Castillo moved to The Netherlands, where he briefly worked under Kirsten and Annemarie Brouwer at Platinum stables and competed nationally up to Intermediaire I level. In 2018 he moved to Germany to ride for Heiner Schiergen.

Gut Bertingloh

Gonzalo found a steady base and home at Henri Ruoste and Senta Kirchhoff's Gut Bertingloh in Menden, Germany later in 2018. There he focused mainly on riding and was taught to produce the Grand Prix level movements on horses.

His competition career was initially more on the back burner, but he achieved a milestone when he rode his first Grand Prix test aboard Christian Zimmermann's Roble in the summer of 2021. This year when he made his international Grand Prix debut aboard Berill's Qatar (by Quaterback x Stedinger) in February , showing him at CDI's in Le Mans, Troisdorf, and Hagen.

"Gut Bertingloh was a dream place for me all these years," said Gonzalo. "I will be always grateful to Henri and the Gut Bertingloh team for their trust these past years. I rode amazing horses and learned a lot in every part of the dressage business. I’m sure that our collaboration will keep on going in the future as well."

Going Independent

After six years under Ruoste's wings, Gonzalo has decided to go independent in the spring of 2024 with girlfriend Berill Szoke-Toth as his wingman on this new adventure.

"I felt that after almost 6 years I needed a new challenge," he said. "That's why now I decided to take the next step and go independent together with Berill."

Berill on her young GP horse Velasco in the Louisdor qualifier

As of 1 June 2024 the couple will relocate to Judith Koeppel's 360° Sportpferde equestrian center in Duisburg, where they will have their own stable wing.

"The stable has all the possibilities that a rider can wish for. We are really excited about the new chapter and can't wait to start," said Castillo. "We are bringing our own horses and already have a few clients that will join us."

The couple will be running a sales and training business with a particular focus of training young horses up to Grand Prix level.

For more information, reach out to Gonzalo at +49 172 727 95 95 or via Instagram.