The 9-year old Dutch warmblood gelding Woodstock has been sold to U.S. dressage rider Arlene Page as future Grand Prix horse. The liver chestnut gelding has been trained and competed by Vincent Guilloteau.
Woodstock is bred in The Netherlands by H. Heslinga and is by Havel our of a Contango dam. The gelding was acquired by Charlotte Lotth in the winter of 2008.
Initially competed by the owner, Vincent took over the ride when Lotth decided to go to college. Guilloteau's confidence in the saddle was rattled by two severe health scares. At age 22 he fell off a horse and was in a coma for a while. In 2006 he suffered from eye paralysis and had to be operated on three times.
Guilloteau regained his flavour for dressage and confidence in the saddle when he started riding Woodstock in 2010. They made their show debut in March 2011 at Prix St Georges level and the pair reached Grand Prix in 2012. Guilloteau and Woodstock won the 2012 French Championships in the Pro category and the horse was short-listed for the French Grand Prix Team Espoir (rising GP pairs).
"This is a special horse and we experienced a lot together. I owe him everything. He gave me confidence, in myself and in my riding after my accident," Guilloteau commented. With the sale of Woodstock, the Lotth family has decided to re-invest in a young horse.
Woodstock flew from Amsterdam to Miami to join his new owner Arlene Page in Wellington on 12 December 2012.
Related Links
French Dressage Groups 2012 Updated
French Dressage Groups for 2012 Announced