“Te horses are doing it, not us. We take them to what we hope is going to be their potential. When you do it that way, then it’s just step after step in the dressage pyramid.”
I went into the stall with him and got to know him. His personality was just perfect, and that’s when I knew for sure this was the horse.” The Leatherdales chose to keep His Highness at
Henststation Jens Meyer, and about a year later began his training with dressage legend Klaus Balkenhol and his rider Stefan Wolff. Their team was growing
as the Leatherdales devel- oped a herd of performance horses,
quality brood-
mares and premier breed- ing stallions in three coun- tries.
They continued to
add exemplary sport horse stallions to their roster, including E.H. Herzens- dieb (Tambour–Herzens- freude, Tivano), First Dance (Florestan I–SPS
Dorina,
Donnerhall), Hampton (His Highness–SPS Red Chili, Rotspon), Fairbanks (Flemmingh–SPS Identify, Inself- urst), Beltano (Belissimo M–SPS Heavenly, Hohenstein) and Damsey (Dressage Royal–Ria Grande, Ritual). “We always try to pick the best and, with the stallions
Louise with her Hanoverian stallion Damsey FRH in Germany.
December 2015, while the Leatherdale Farms team eval- uated their goals. “I don’t think we have ever had four stallions of this caliber—proven performance, proven successful offspring—enter into the United States at one time for breeding at one farm,” Dr. Schmidt says. “For our breed- ers and riders in the U.S., it is important that we have stal- lions that create offspring with the highest quality of gaits for the professional rider
along with the will-
ingness and demeanor for the adult amateur. Herzens- dieb, Hampton, First Dance and Fairbanks consistently produce offspring with that unique and very desir- able combination of supe- rior athleticism and talent, along with exceptional train- ability and rideability that
will produce a real fit for North American riders and competitors.” Louise and the entire team at Leatherdale Farms are
we have now, it tends to vary a bit,” Doug explained. “You may keep one because of his movement, another because of whom he can cross well with—the kind of things an owner and manager gradually learns.” In 2006, Doug was recognized as Dressage Cana-
da’s Owner of the Year and in 2011 received the Hannoveraner Verband golden badge, the only Amer- ican to have received the prestigious award. The equestrian world suffered a significant loss with the passing of Doug on his 79th birthday, December 6, 2015. (See his tribute in Warmbloods Today, May/June 2016, p. 54) Prior to his death, the Leatherdale team collectively decided it would be a good business plan to bring four of their breeding stallions to the United States. They agreed that stand- ing them at Dr. Barbara Schmidt’s Bridlewood Farm in Kentucky was the ideal choice. A new chapter in the history of the farm was to begin.
T Continuing the Legacy
he four stallions sailed through their quaran- tine process at Holly Oak Farm near Lexington in
passionately driven to continue Doug’s legacy. Though they have shifted away from breeding horses in Minne- sota, their goal is to develop quality Grand Prix dres- sage horses and offer premier stallions for sport horse breeding in the United States.
German Olympian
Helen Langehanenberg is finding success aboard the famous FRH Damsey, while Mike Suchanek contin- ues his winning ways on the young horses. Olympian Sue Blinks, Canadian Diane Creech and her daugh- ter, Vanessa Creech-Terauds, compete the upper-level North American horses in Canada and Wellington, Florida.
“Horses are vulnerable, so you don’t put pressure on them or the rider,” Louise said of their farm’s philoso- phy. “You just be there for them and support them. The horses are doing it, not us. We take them to what we hope is going to be their potential. When you do it that way, then it’s just step after step in the dressage pyra- mid. It’s done for the horses and, in turn, they take us along with them. Everything we do is about the care, welfare and well-being of the horse. It is all about the connection.”
Warmbloods Today 53
Kiki Beelitz
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100