Perhaps one of the most beautiful stallions from the Excellent Dressage Sales 2021 collection was Newton’s Law (In Style x Johnson). This striking 3-year-old stallion was sold for € 22,000 to a Dutch owner and moved to the stable of dressage rider Ingrid Gerritsen almost immediately after the auction. We spoke with her about the development that this young, talented stallion has gone through in recent months.
Super concentrated under the saddle
Ingrid Gerritsen: “Newton’s Law came to me in March. He was not yet saddlebroken at the time, so I had him saddlebroken by Lauw van Vliet. After one month I started training him calmly. Despite being a stallion, he is super concentrated under the saddle. There is a lot to experience at the accommodation where I rent stables, but he is always well focused on me. He can be more ‘stallion’ in handling. He always wants to let you know that he is there and can be quite impressive. He seems to love that everyone is looking at him. However, I never feel that he is difficult to handle and once in the grooming area he is very focused on what he has to do.”
Scores around 80% in young horse competitions
Ingrid: “Newton’s Law is of course still very young, so I’m taking it easy with him. On average I ride him 3 to 4 times a week and then a maximum of 20 minutes, so that he can slowly gain more power. And that seems to work well for this horse. He has already gained a lot of power in the past year and has developed a lot under the saddle. You also saw this during the few young horse competitions I rode with him. He ended at the top every time, received good points and received positive comments on, among other things, his handsome appearance.
For example, we entered the Prinsenstad Dressage competition for young horses and also the Hövelers young horse competition (Pluvinel). Both times Newton’s Law scored around 80%. I’m of course very happy with that. My dream is to one day compete in a World Championship for young dressage horses. Perhaps Newton’s Law can bring me one step closer to this dream.”
Fantastic character and easy moving
Predicting what the future holds for Newton’s Law is still difficult due to his young age, but it’s well worth keeping an eye on the stallion. Ingrid: “I think the greatest quality of Newton’s Law is his character. He is so easy with everything. In addition, he switches so easily in between the gaits. Under the saddle, he already shows that he has multiple gears and I think this can only get better. Finally, he is just very handsome, which is of course to his advantage in the dressage arena.”
