Karin
Karin Offield explains her choices: it’s time for Lingh
By Claartje van Andel dressagedirect
Lifelong horse lover American Karin Offield fell in love with Dutch stallion Lingh when she saw him win the Grand Prix class at the WC Final in Las Vegas in 2005, an event sponsored by Karin’s Offield Farms. That time the remarkable Lingh showed by Edward Gal won the Grand Prix class by beating Olympic champion Salinero and Anky van Grunsven. Few would have guessed at that time that Karin Offield would become the new owner of Lingh. But it happened. “I was and am captivated by horses and especially to Lingh”, Karin Offield simply states. She tells her Lingh-story leading to a thrilling new climax…
The very well moving and athletic Lingh is an amazing character. He’s an audience horse. He appeals to the crowd, he reacts with the crowd. He shows his emotions and ‘talks’ to other horses. But what turned out to be really special for Karin Offield, is how Lingh taught her to improve her riding. “You never can be casual in your daily ride with Lingh! There is nothing casual”, Karin summarizes. “I took my job with Lingh very seriously. In the end my American trainer Robert Dover must have said a dozen times that there wasn’t a rider in the world feeling the lectures and movements so correctly as Lingh made me feel them. And he was right! Lingh is mechanically so correct that he is amazing in one word. I have had three Grand Prix horses and experiences, but through Lingh I have experienced an amazing process and breakthrough of learning. Just by his excellence and because he is so good mentally, he made me better. As a rider I needed to learn to sit more quietly and he taught me how to do that. He made me a better person too. Horses can surely open many doors in your life. ”
Developing partnership
It was a long process that brought Karin Offield to this insight. She likes to express some details that brought her this development.
Karin says: “As riders you get up every morning with only one purpose. That’s to ride your horses better than the day before. Therefore I get to bed early, I refrain from late night parties, I go to the gym, keep on healthy food and do a fitness practice every day, just to get the best rides! I love parties and of course I didn’t stay home every night… so this was sometimes difficult for me but it worked out for me to be this serious. Sometimes when it turns out that you have a complete lack of communication with your horse you’re not too proud. Little by little you want to be proud of yourself and your horses. You just keep at it…trying, trying. “
“During the next years Florida circuit, and Lingh and I became better partners, I wanted his passage to become more like I remembered in Las Vegas. As this pictures shows I got the front end where I wanted and then still had to work on his activity behind!”, Karin says.
The first experiences with Lingh in the show arena in Florida have been described by Karin as ‘a rough start’. “It was to say a little hectic!”, Karin remembers. “Many people came to watch and there was much to comment upon, but my friends stayed by my side encouraging me and cheering me on. I did not want to let them down. It was a difficult time. “ Robert Dover was beside me every step of the way. Because we had not watched him show in Europe, we took it easy with Lingh, asking simple questions and Lingh always responded honestly. When we did run into a training problem we were successful in “figuring it out ”. because Lingh’s work ethic was so accessible to us. Robert’s years of experience gave me the confidence not to question his methods and little by little we succeeded solving any training issues.”
After a rough start in Florida, this photograph was taken later in the summer in July at the Windy Hollow Hunt Show, in Augusta, New Jersey. We were 2nd that day with a 66.66 % in the GP-B!
“During the latter part of the Florida circuit we chose to show in small neighborhood Grand Prix’s where Lingh and I worked on our partnership. In late spring, we all traveled north to North Carolina. I wasn’t ready to show in the CDI yet but we schooled in all the arena’s becoming more secure every day. I had Hexagon’s Louisville too. I was so proud riding these amazing stallions on the showgrounds and through the woods. We had many admirers. I also had Oz ( born Olaf ) by Wagenaar , my 10 year old with me and I showed him in his final Forth Level classes before moving on to the FEI classes. We had a very successful showing and since I bought him as a three year old it was a very proud moment!”
“From the Carolina’s we moved north for the summer in New Jersey. I started to compete in small shows with Lingh. We built our freestyle and practiced it at a nearby farm with Robert judging and commenting. We practiced and practiced ! Then we went on the road to New York State to Saugerties – a really wonderful competition facility. It was there that my Dutch friend BJ joined up with Offield Farms and we began to turn Lingh out in the style he was accustomed to. DUTCH !! His dutch braids, and the shiny bridle made reflective with hairspray….Lingh and I were ready to go. Confident and in partner with one another! The next big event for us was winning the Grand Prix class in Saugerties followed by mid – sixty scores in our first CDI that summer. After that we went to Devon and that was the moment and competition that all fitted in well. I will never forget those classes – all my friends and family cheering and the huge Devon crowd. Sometimes I still look on the two video’s that I have on my website. I am proud of them and I like to remember the feeling I had. My trainer Robert Dover was very proud and then encouraged me to bring Lingh back to Europe to show the European audience our new developing partnership and be able to improve and grow more. I knew I had a long way to go to become a top rider and much to learn. ..”
Ups and downs
Karin says she has got both the ups and the down with Lingh.
Once again about the ups: “The thing you can do with Lingh is to work on the very small details just because of his excellence. He really taught me to make my aids invisible. I will transport that to other horses in my life. I am very thankful for that.”
Now the downs come in. “In the spring we returned to Europe for the second time in order to train and compete again with the best rider in the world– Anky – but an injury resulting from a stable accident during the winter came in place of my new European dream. It all brought me back to the basics. I had to reschedule my ideas and plans totally and had to come up with a new plan.”
The plan that arose can be described the best as ‘Time for Lingh’. Karin: “I want to give Lingh the longer time to get fit while I spend time with my 90 year old father in the USA. For Lingh I go easier on his sport career and concentrate on his breeding future and reward him first with a new dream location and time. Time for him!”
“As the Florida circuit came to a close, 14 months after buying Lingh, we had a partner ship that was very clear to both of us. I had worked hard and the ride was mine”, Karin Offield says
Flyinge
The new dream location is Flyinge Stud in Sweden.
Karin Offield explains: “What excited me the most is finding the very best place for Lingh. To me Flyinge is exactly what a horse place can be. It’s historically founded already in the 17th century. It has all the tradition, not in horses only, also in knowledge about horses that is inherited from father to son. The stabling is impeccable. It will be a place where Lingh can be the king and where people can visit him, where Lingh will take trail rides along the rivers, and gallop on the race tracks. It’s like it all had to be. Because while I was in the Netherlands I kept on hearing about a young man riding all stallions so well and who was a working student with Anky for six years. His name is Mattias Janson. He lives very close to Flyinge and he will be the rider to exercise Lingh in the way I owe to Lingh: to give him the time to become more fit for the stallion shows to come, making him stronger and stronger.. I can’t wait for you to see Lingh at Flyinge. If I would have been a horse, I would have liked to stay there!”
Time For Lingh
Karin is too happy having received the invitation from Flyinge to bring Lingh to their Stud. Lingh will be available all over the world but have his special lucky place in Flyinge.
Karin summarizes: “I couldn’t have been more excited. He has meant so much in the sport that I am thrilled for him to stand at Flyinge. As he has taught me about riding, now Lingh will teach me about becoming a stallion owner. It will take another lifetime again, but owning him, a stallion such as he is, is a blessing. It’s in the stars whether we will show in the arena again some time. It’s his time now. I am grateful.”
Karin goes on to say, “Every rider in the world that gets up in the morning and heads to the stable finds it is a combination of tenacity, planning and circumstance that allows a person to ride eventually in the really Big Arena. For every child that is out there wanting to ride horses, I encourage the families to teach them dressage first – as it’s the foundation of a wonderful riding life ahead. I would love to see the American kids try dressage on their ponies. I also want to encourage the parents to keep their children riding even during these difficult financial times… What could be better to think about in a new year than horses……? I wouldn’t know. Let’s finish by saying Happy New Years to Everyone from Offield Farms, Lingh and Hexagon’s Louisville!”
All pictures Susan Stickle www.susanjstickle.com www.hoofprints.ws www.susanjstickle.ifp3.com
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With this interview with Karin Offield on her time with Lingh and her special aims with Lingh, we are happy to give you this insight view as the privileged first readers.
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