Lotje Schoots' Career Launching Grand Prix Horse Torricelli Passed Away

Dressage

The Netherlands

Lotje Schoots' career launching Grand Prix horse Torricelli has passed away on 7 September 2026. He was 26 years old.

Torricelli was a 2000 born Dutch warmblood by Florestan out of Nadaula (by Pion x Doruto). He was bred at broodfarm Het Maalwater in The Netherlands. He was originally named Torricelli M, but also went with the suffix LS and with the prefix Equitop.

From Young Horse to Grand Prix

The bay gelding arrived in Lotje's barn in 2002 when he was a two year old and the pair went from young horse level to Grand Prix together.

Trained by Alex van Silfhout, Lotje took him to the 2006 World Young Horse Championships in Verden, where they were 8th in the 6-year old finals before riding tackling the young riders' classes with him. Torricelli was produced up the levels alongside Schoots' number one, Reine B, but Torricelli went the longest way as Reine B's international career ended in 2008.

The pair became Dutch champions at Medium and Advanced Medium level and at Young Riders level in 2009. Between 2011 and 2014 they competed at international Grand Prix level with CDI starts in Amsterdam, Drachten, Villach, Hickstead, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and Aachen.

At the Dutch Grand Prix Championships they were 11th in 2011, 8th in 2012, and 15th in 2013.

Their last CDI as a pair was in Villach in May 2015.

Schoolmaster

With Meddens at the 2017 CDI Aachen Indoor

Torricelli continued as a youth riders' schoolmaster, first with Pauline Leffelaar and then with Aimee Meddens, who showed him internationally from November 2017 till October 2017. She rode him at junior and young riders level and finished 6th at the 2018 Dutch Junior Riders Championships.

Torricelli did his last CDI in October 2018 in Le Mans with Meddens, but afterwards continued as a schoolmaster with a few more riders.

Retirement

Torricelli spent his entire life with Schoots and she announced his passing on Facebook.

She reminisced on his arrival in the bar. "He was 2 and I was 14. I remember it like yesterday. He wasn't the most handsome but had such power. The start was far from easy. He was young, tall, so incredibly hot, afraid of other horses and never seemed to tire. When he was 5.5 years old we started training with Alex van Silfhout. From that moment we started to understand each other and grew into a combination. We rode at the CHIO Aachen and he gave me the chance to ride my first World Cup qualifiers."

At the 2026 World Young Horse Championships

Lotje continued, "perhaps our fondest memories are of the moments between competitions. The hours we spent together at the stable, the training, the trail rides, and all the adventures we shared. You taught me so much, both as a rider and as a person. And even as he got older and taught several girls how to ride, he always stayed cheerful and was always eager to work. In recent years — and especially in recent months — it was mainly the peaceful trail rides with our dear Nikki."

She concluded, "for 24 years, we were inseparable! We grew up together, and now I have to go on without you. Your empty stall — it hurts so much."