Karen Reid:An American Pioneer in Holsteiner Breeding
FOX FIRE FARM is no stranger to Holsteiner enthusiasts in North America. Its location is impressive—a beautiful hillside on Fox Island in Washington state with picturesque waterfront views from the house and stallion barn. The island boasts fishing and scuba diving and sometimes if you are lucky, you can see killer whales pass by. The farm is home to Karen Reid, a breeder standing
Holsteiner stallions for over 20 years. “Having only ten acres has probably been a blessing,” says Karen, “otherwise I’d have too many horses that I could not afford!” The front five acres include her craftsman home with a gorgeous waterfront view of Puget Sound and the stallion barn and arena. The back five contain the mares and foals and a home for Corrie Chamberlin, Karen’s barn manager, stallion handler and rider. Next door Karen leases ten more acres to raise her youngsters on. The magnificent horses share the property with dogs, chickens and colorful Koi fish. Besides standing her own five stallions, Karen is an entrepreneur—a true pioneer—in
importing and brokering frozen semen for additional stallions standing at the Holsteiner Verband in Elmshorn, Germany—an impressive offering for North American breeders for 20 years now. How did this Northwest breeder come to offer the unique service of frozen semen from the prestigious stallions of the official German Holsteiner breed? According to Karen, “It was a long slow process; something the Germans were initially totally against.” This is the story of how she made it all happen.
FINDING HORSES Karen grew up in Carmel, California and rode as a young girl with cowboys on a 26 thousand acre ranch rounding up cattle. “These cowboys were real and they taught me a lot,” she remembers. She always loved the outdoors and all animals of any shape or size. Karen became hooked on the hope that one day she could ride her own horse. Marriage and raising a family unknowingly suppressed her horse passion, until one day at age
By Adriana van Tilburg & Liz Cornell
36 she walked into the local tack store. Karen was amazed and confused looking at all the tack, bits, blankets and more. The store owner suggested she should ride “English” because with her long legs she thought Karen would like that. She started lessons at a local barn and soon gravitated toward dressage. Rekindling an old passion, a new chapter in Karen’s life began. She bought a Trakehner gelding and competed in her first show in Washington and came away with a first place and a coffee cup as her prize. What a thrill! “’Bert’ wasn’t going to be my dressage star so I went in search of a dream dressage horse,” says Karen. “I found the Holsteiner stallion Constitution by Caletto I in the wild mountains of eastern Washington.” The owner had been busted on drug charges and had to sell all his horses. “I agreed with the seller to pay
30 March/April 2011 Above: Karen and her early stallion Constitution. Photo by Lynn Vasil
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