Louise Bell's Into the Blue Slowing Down from International Sport

Dressage

Great Britain

Louise Bell has quietly is slowing down her career-defining Grand Prix horse Into the Blue from international competition sport.

Into the Blue is a 19-year old AES registered gelding by Ublesco out of Viva (by Calvaro Z x Louella Inschallah III). He is bred by John and Clare Whitaker.

A Pink Snake

The show jumping bred roan Into the Blue came out of the stables of the legendary John Withaker and sold to Louise Bell as a 3-year old. Louise, who had her career in showing before switching to dressage, nick-named him "Dynamo" and at a later point Tonya Wood stepped in as co-owner.

"John rang me and said, ‘I might have one for you; if anything, you’ll like the colour!’," Louise reminisced to Horse and Hound about finding Into the Blue. “So I trundled up to Yorkshire, and I can only explain Dynamo’s colour as pink. I got on and he was like riding a snake — he was so flexible in so many ways. He had a fantastic walk, nice trot and a brilliant canter, but he was all over the place! But I completely and utterly fell in love with him."

Representing Great Britain

The roan was a Supreme Champion Working Hunter, but when it comes to dressage he made his show debut under Bell in Addington in December 2011 when he was 5.

He made his international show debut at small tour level in 2015 in Barcelona. They moved to medium tour level in 2016 and did their first international Grand Prix in Hartpury in July 2017.At the British Dressage Championships they were third in 2019. Bell and Into the Blue represented Great Britain in numerous FEI Nations Cups, including in Hickstead, Uggerhalne, Geesteren, Aachen, Compiegne, and Rotterdam. They competed in World Cup qualifiers in London, Stuttgart, and Neumunster.

There was a year break from international showing in 2022, but they returned in March 2023 in Addington. Rotterdam in June 2023 was their last international on the European mainland, but they continued showing internationally in Great Britain. In 2025 they rode two CDI's, in Addington and Wellington Heckfield.

Slowing Down

Bell confirmed to Eurodressage that Into the Blue will no longer be competing internationally as he turns 20 in 2026.

The horse has started in 249 classes on British soil (national and international) and his internationally tally of tests is 130 in total.

Succeeding Into the Blue as Louise's Grand Prix hopeful is the home-bred, 2018 born British sport horse Peaky Blinder (by Uthopia out of Working Girl (by Renkum English Man)). Louise purposefully chose the match mixing a dressage stallion with a working hunter mare. She has nick-named him Duggy and he's showing at national small tour level. Louise also competes Jambo VZ, a 2014 born KWPN gelding by Davino VOD x Jazz, at advanced medium level.