Four grand prix starts. Four wins. That’s Will Simpson’s record at the HITS Desert Circuit so far. It’s a remarkable start to 2015 for the California rider, who in 2008 helped the U.S. team earn gold in the Olympic Games in Hong Kong with the talented but quirky Carlsson vom Dach.

Carlsson was sold after the Games and went on to different riders, and Simpson has been building his string ever since. When The Dude walked into his barn aisle in March 2014, Simpson thought the future might look pretty bright.

The Dude is a 9-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Carry Gold—Honey Moon, Argentinus) that Nicoletta von Heidegger bought in March. The Dude, whose former name was Can Do, was sold at a German auction as a 4-year-old to Colorado, and by 2011 he got his show-ring start with Colorado trainer Harriet Bunker. She showed him up the levels in the Young Jumper classes and up to the 1.30-meter level in 2014 before Simpson spotted him.

Three of Simpson’s HITS Desert Circuit wins in Thermal, Calif., have been with The Dude—the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix classes on Jan. 15 and 22 and the $50,000 Horze Equestrian Grand Prix on Jan. 25. On Jan. 18, he topped the $50,000 Equine Couture/Tuff Rider Grand Prix aboard Katie Riddle, also owned by the von Heidegger family’s Monarch International.

We caught up with Simpson about The Dude, rebuilding his string, and going with the good times…

Will Simpson and The Dude on their way to one of  their HITS Desert Circuit grand prix wins.  Photo by ESI Photography

Tell us about The Dude?

He’s kind of just a winner. He’s very gung-ho and he likes to do it. He’s very green, but he’s a fighter.

Twice now he’s been in competitions where it’s a do-it kind of situation and he just rises to the occasion. He’s got a good fighting attitude. He’s very quiet and nice out of the ring, but when he gets into the ring he’s very fresh and bucking and hot. But he’s almost lazy outside the ring, he’s super-cool.

Nicoletta’s the one who named him The Dude because it seemed to really suit him. One minute he’s just hanging out, very chill, and then the minute you get him in the ring, he’s all business and ready to go.

We held him back a little last year because he was just 8 and we thought, ‘Maybe we shouldn’t do the grand prix yet.’ So, we just did some speed classes and he was very successful in those, so he learned about going against the clock. The scope for really big courses like championships is unknown; I’m convinced it’s there, but we haven’t really tested it yet. That’s just a bit extra, and some horses don’t have it, but I think he will. But the fighting attitude is definitely there, and that’s better than scope anyway.

Nicoletta showed him a bit at Spruce Meadows and some other places, but she’s got a lot of other things she’s doing. She’s working on being a therapist and she’s very busy. She only shows a few shows a year, so she’s given me her blessing to go on with him and see what he can do. He’s a horse of a lifetime.

How does it feel to be on a winning streak like this?

That’s for the press and everybody else to talk about. I just show up for work and do my job and ride around the ring. I don’t keep track of the scores.

And what’s Katie Riddle’s story? You took over the ride on her in February 2014 after the 15-year-old Brandenburg mare (Kolibri—Aylona) had been ridden by John McConnell, Chenoa McElvain, Guy McElvain and Alexander Bontemps since 2011.

I’ve always believed in her. I’d seen her show quite a bit. We had a little bit of a rough start. I had to take her a

Will Simpson on Katie Riddle, who won the $50,000 Equine Couture/Tuff Rider Grand Prix  on Jan. 18 at HITS Desert Circuit. Photo by ESI Photography

lot of places and jump in the 1.40-meter classes to get her confidence up.

Now, she’s super-fit, super-healthy and super-confident, so even though she’s not young, I think she’s very fresh and sound and she’s got some good years to come.

What are your goals for the year with these horses?

The first thing I’m going to do is sign up for consideration for the Pan American team. There aren’t any selection trials; the team is chosen off the computer list, so you never know what could happen, but I want to be sure to be in position so it’s possible.

We just have to listen to the horse. We had originally thought we’d just move The Dude up to the grand prix classes by mid-circuit, and now he’s won three right off the bat, so that changed the landscape a bit for us. We’ll give him next week off, then have him nice and fresh for the World Cup class the next week and we’ll assess again from there.

What are your plans after Thermal?

We’re planning on going to Europe and showing in Austria, because that’s Klaus von Heidegger’s home country. Hannah von Heidegger is super-competitive right now, so we’ll be looking to do that this summer. [Editor’s note: Simpson trains and rides for the von Heidegger family.]

You’ve been looking to rebuild your string after Carlsson vom Dach’s success. Has that been difficult?

These special horses, they’re rare, rare birds They only come around once in a while.

I’m very fortunate to have had nice horses come into my life. I’ve got really nice horses and people around me, and I’m just in a really good spot right now. When the sails are up and the wind is blowing, you just go with it.