Indigro is the 12-year-old powerhouse dressage stallion taking Andrew Gould to career-best scores and establishing himself as one of Britain’s brightest hopes for future championship teams.
“About five minutes into riding him for the first time, I thought, ‘This is mega’,” says Andrew. “He was the best horse I’d ever ridden, by far.”
Indigro’s early years
Indigro was bred by John Deenan in the Netherlands and is sired by Negro, out of Pralina (who is sired by Jazz). He was licensed as a KWPN stallion in 2016, and was competed by Kirsten Brouwer as a young horse.
In 2019, he was bought by Rom Vermunt and Harld Bruinier and moved to the Glock Horse Performance Centre to be trained up the levels by Edward Gal, before being purchased by Tatiana Skillman in April 2022 for Andrew to ride.
Andrew told Horse & Hound that he had spotted Indigro in a video posted online, and although the stallion wasn’t for sale, he arranged to view him through connections of dealer Craig Rawlins. And it didn’t take long for him to recognise that the horse was something special.
“We were looking for an Olympic prospect, and when you’re looking for a horse like that, it’s never easy,” Andrew explains.“They’re usually so tuned in to their regular rider, and you’re pinning your whole future on an hour or two in the saddle. It’s stressful.
“But when I found him, I just knew. It’s rare for me to feel an instant connection like that with a horse.”
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Andrew Gould at home in West Sussex with Indigro for a Horse & Hound interview in 2023.
(Image credit: Andrew Sydenham)
Indigro and Andrew Gould wasted no time in making their mark on the British circuit. The pair debuted at Hickstead Premier League, placing second behind Anabella Pidgley and Gio in the inter II on 72.5% – picking up a 10 for his passage, which Andrew has since described as “one of the best on the circuit”.
“It was a last-minute decision to go to Hickstead for our first show together, and what a great experience it was, could not be happier with the feeling he gave me in the arena,” Andrew said at the time.
At their next outing, Wellington Premier League, the pair claimed victory in the inter II on 72.94%, before stepping up to grand prix just a month later at Hartpury, where they won again with 73.46%.
“He’d not competed since he was six, so he was having to learn his trade again,” Andrew later explained. “But it was a great start”.
Their Hartpury victory earned them a place in the grand prix at the 2022 National Dressage Championships, where they finished overall runners-up to Gareth Hughes and Sintano Van Hof Olympia, and took third in the freestyle with just under 78%.
The pair made their international debut a month later at Keysoe CDI, sweeping both the grand prix and the freestyle.
“This first year was meant to be all about getting to know him and building a relationship with him,” Andrew added. “But it all went much quicker than we expected.”
Andrew Gould: “It felt like an unrealistic dream”
Despite having only been together a few months, and both still relatively new to grand prix, Andrew and Indigro’s standout performances secured them a coveted place in the World Cup qualifier at the London International Horse Show (LIHS).
They posted 69.55% in the grand prix before lighting up the freestyle with a career-best 78.06% – still the highest score of Andrew’s career to date.
“I’m so proud of him,” Andrew said afterwards. “In the lead-up, we just wanted him to have a positive experience, so to come away with those scores was incredible.
Andrew Gould riding Indigro during the grand prix at the 2022 London International Horse Show.
(Image credit: Alamy Stock)
“It all came together – there were things we can still improve, but the way he rose to the music and embraced the atmosphere gave us real insight into the kind of horse he is.
“London has always been a show I wanted to ride at, but until this year, it felt like an unrealistic.”
For Andrew’s groom, Nat Campbell, it was also a standout moment in the stallion’s burgeoning career.
“He was one of the youngest there, and he showed everyone what he could do,” she said. “I remember standing at the side of the arena feeling sick with nerves.”
International breakthrough and team contention
In 2023, Andrew and Indigro turned their focus to international competition, making their Nations Cup debut in Compiègne with a 68.98% grand prix score.
“Even then, what stood out was his piaffe and passage,” recalled judge Isobel Wessels. “He’s a real machine in those movements – naturally active and engaged in a way many horses aren’t.”
Further Nations Cup appearances followed in Rotterdam (71.09%) and Aachen in 2024 (71%), steadily building the pair’s international profile. The selectors had taken notice – by summer 2024, Andrew and Indigro were named travelling reserves for the Paris Olympic Games.
With an additional team place up for grabs at this summer’s European Dressage Championships in Crozet, the pair have been thrust into contention.
Grand prix scores have taken on heightened significance in the lead-up, with team medals at the Europeans hinging on them.
Andrew and Indigro strengthened their case with the highest British score in the Nations Cup grand prix at Lier (71.15%), followed a month later by a personal best of 72.2% at Wellington CDI.
Andrew Gould and Indigro in the grand prix at Wellington CDI3*.
(Image credit: Kevin Sparrow)
Still, Andrew remains focused on the bigger picture.
“That fourth spot is open, and I expect we’ll be slogging it out over the next three shows,” Andrew said. “Indigro’s scores are improving, and it feels like things are falling into place.
“But I don’t feel pressure as I’ve never been on a team, so I’m still learning. I still think it’ll take another year for me to be where I want to be.”
For Isobell, the sky’s the limit for the pair: “An Olympics – why not? Selection is always tough, but Indigro is absolutely one of the strong contenders.
“He used to be a little tight in the extensions and tended to shorten in the neck – not from poor contact, just habit. But Andrew’s done a fantastic job. There’s now more openness, more swing through the body, and a real softness in the canter work. I think his scores will keep rising.”
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Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the magazine’s dressage editor and sports manager, overseeing coverage of equestrian sport. After studying equine science at Myerscough College, he spent four years working for leading dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing at the 2015 National Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs including Aachen and Saumur. He holds a master’s degree in Literature from York St John University (2021).
