Several years ago, I saw this wonderful 4 years old stallion in a small dark barn in Holland. It was just broken and the first time I saw it move, it was without a rider, running around in the dark indoor.
I asked the owner what kind of a horse this is. I liked it a lot and would love to see it go under saddle. At that time I was looking for good young horses for several clients of mine.
So, I got to see it under saddle and loved it even more. What a great talent this horse showed already at 4 years old and just broken I thought. So, I video taped it and sent the video to a lady in the USA who had bought a very good horse from me before and she was looking for another one. I also had told a good friend of mine in The Netherlands about the young stallion I had seen. In the past I had found good horses for my friend as well and he had told me that if I ever see another good young horse, I should call him. So I did.
We went back and saw the stallion again. On the way back home, he didn’t say much. He knew that I had sent a tape to my client in the USA and that I was waiting for an answer. The only thing he said when I dropped him of at his house again was, that if my client decides not to buy this 4 years old green stallion I should call him again, he maybe might be interested.
After a few days, my US client got back to me and told me that she liked it a lot, but had also seen a different horse that she preferred. Too bad I thought, since I had not seen such a good horse for a long time. So I called my good Dutch friend again and told him about her decision.
The only thing he said was; “OK, then I’ll buy it”!!!
WOW, I had not expected a decision from him so soon, but this was great news. We then went back to the barn one more time and we purchased the stallion.
Now, the problem was, he had this wonderful stallion that had passed the vet check with flying colors, but he had no rider for it. He first thought that this horse would be for his daughter, but decided different after a few days. My friend then told me that there is this great young guy riding and training at their barn and he would like to have him train the stallion for him. The trainer’s name was Edward Gal and of course the horse I am talking about is LINGH!!!
Several years later, when I was at the 2005 Worldcup Dressage in Las Vegas watching Edward and Lingh in the opening Grand Prix (the first time he beat Anky with Salinero), this story went through my mind again, I had goose bumps during the whole ride and I could not talk for several moments!! What a great moment this was for me.
This is the beauty about horses I think.
Today, when I was looking at your website _www.lingh.nl_ (http://www.lingh.nl/) , I saw your question “send us your stories of Lingh”, so I thought I should share this story with you! It’s a real story and we all know what happened after this!!! GOOD LUCK KARIN!!! WHAT A HORSE!!!
Regards,
Norbert Gieling
