The Dude made quite a splash last year when he and Will Simpson won five grand prix classes on the HITS Desert Circuit (Calif.) but now The Dude is moving on to a new home.
Nicole Walker, an amateur rider who represents Canada and rides with Irish star Cian O’Connor, has bought the 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Carry Gold—Honey Moon, Argentinus). “He’s beautifully broke and he feels like he’s floating. We’re just getting to know each other, but he’s lots of fun so far,” said Walker, 22.
The Dude was developed from a 5-year-old to a top placer in the 7- and 8-Year-Old Young Jumper Championship classes with Harriet Bunker. Simpson took over the ride in 2014 and he and The Dude won more than $125,000 in grand prix prize money in 2015, placing in the top 10 of classes in Thunderbird, British Columbia, Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Alberta, and up and down the West Coast. They were ninth in the $150,000 Longines World Cup Qualifier at Del Mar (Calif.) in October and 12th in the $100,000 Longines FEI World Cup Qualifier in Las Vegas in November.
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Walker first got to know The Dude in January when her family was visiting the Heidegger family of Monarch International, who owned him. She then showed him at Week 6 of the HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, Calif., in early March before shipping him to O’Connor’s winter base in Wellington, Fla.
Walker showed The Dude in a 1.35-meter amateur class at the HITS Ocala Winter Championship on March 27. Walker also won the $25,000 U-Dump High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic that week aboard Deko de Landetta Z. She also has Blue Lloyd, O’Connor’s ride for individual bronze at the 2012 London Olympic Games, in her string.
For now, with The Dude, “We’re just getting to know each other, then we’ll go to Europe this summer with my coach Cian,” Walker said. “We’ll hopefully jump some bigger classes from there. He has the best personality. He’s like a puppy dog just being around him or taking him for walks, but when he gets in the ring, he gets his game face on. He squeals and bucks in the ring because he loves his job.”
