WHERE YOU ARE HAPPY EVERY HOUR ! Parade time for all the students at BreknRidge Farm !

“Both foals were born with these incredible shoulders, and are truly gifted

in their range of motion

Thank you for your help and this opportunity to breed back to

Mr. Amazing!”

I received this note this morning…I have so much to share with you all

about Lingh’s foals…am crazy busy, but will asap !  Thank you all for

staying in touch !

Congratulations to Johanna, the very lucky owner and breeder of a brand new Lingh filly. We think she is very special….

“Here comes some pictures of our beautiful filly out of Lingh- Amiral.

She’s a top mover and very good type! A superhorse and so cute and nice to handle, though she has alot of ENERGY and ideas!
Her name is Darlingh….:) ”

A Gallery of photographs will be added after the weekend.  Stay tuned !

Off to a horse show with 2 great horses, we have been so busy at the stable there is no time to use the computer….I will write up the results as soon as they return…. my advice for the week ?   BREED BACK TO LINGH….the babies are really nice !!!

Well….the saga of the Merlin chase did not end when suddenly the same day, Merlin was to be caught up for the blacksmith – that’s the same day he led us on a unsuccessful chase….so the next day, Merlin was polite and walked up to us as he was doing days prior. He was stalled and readied for the blacksmith and lo and behold….he does not like the blacksmith – though a kinder man we have not met…so we have used another tactic, and we are wiser….

Hanging out in a smaller pasture now...

We are proud to announce a new addition to the LINGH family and to one of America’s most dedicated horseman.  Story and more photos to foloow…

Title of Short Story: A Beautiful New Day

Word Count: 1000

Author: Stefanie LeGrande

Bio: I have been riding horses my whole life. My short story contains true bits and pieces of my actual life. I am a Registered Nurse now but was a Licensed Veterinary Technician in an n Equine practice for 10 years. I just recently received a full scholarship to obtain my Masters in Nursing Education. I do have a new daughter that I was blessed with late in life as well as a 9 year old son and a wonderful supportive husband. My background until the last few years was in reining and working cow-horse. I have been pursuing learning Classical Dressage for the last year and a half. I have fallen in love with Dressage and will continue to ride and learn for the rest of my life! Hopefully moving up the levels as money, time, great instruction and the right horses become available throughout this journey!

It was cold with a north wind as typical of an Oklahoma night. Maryann was exhausted from working overtime through the month of December and now being on foaling watch with her Dutch warmblood mare Sienna. For the past ten days she has been checking her every few hours during the night. Although exhausting work, she could barely contain her excitement at the approaching time of finally seeing her Lingh foal.  As Maryann entered the barn she was greeted by soft snorts of acknowledgement from Sienna. “Hello, sweet girl.” Maryann enters Sienna’s stall and begins a careful check around Sienna’s tail base. She notes definite relaxation of the muscle tone over the past several days. “Easy, girl.” “Just let me check your bag.” Speaking quietly to her, Maryann leans down and notes that Sienna has “waxed-up” quite a bit compared to earlier in the week. Sienna, although quiet seems a little more restless than she normally is in the stall. “Ok big girl, I am going to bed down outside your stall tonight.” “You think tonight is the night you are going to give me my dream baby by Lingh?” She quietly tells the aged mare how important this Lingh baby is that she is carrying. Sienna presses her big head into Maryann as she massages behind her ears. “Ok girl, I will be right here in case you need anything.” Maryann exits the stall and settles into her cot with a blanket wrapped around her. Max the barn cat jumps up to snuggle in for some warmth. Maryann reflects about the past year and how these grand events came about.

Maryann has a great foundation of caring for her equine partner as a Licensed Veterinary Technician. She spent ten years in an equine medicine and surgery center before becoming a registered nurse. She also showed horses her whole life, mostly working-cow and reining horses. During the last three years was drawn to classical dressage. She was fortunate to grow up around true “old-time” horsemen of all disciplines. While riding working-cow horses as an amateur, she was mentored by a world class horsewoman. She was taught the fundamentals of letting a young horse mature, being soft with your hands and that it was ok to “love” your show horse, and that learning never ends when it comes to riding. The high cost of traveling and cattle fees as well as going back to school influenced the difficult decision to sell her cow horse. Another change in life brought the blessing of a daughter late in life. When Maryann was exposed to the art of dressage, she was taken by its beauty. She saw parallels to the fundamentals she was taught early on by older horsemen and women. Some of these were; training in a relaxed environment and encouraging a content horse to develop a harmonious understanding with his rider.

Lying on the cot, she thinks about how just three years ago she was pregnant surfing the internet, dreaming of riding dressage someday. She remembers watching videos of Lingh “dancing” with Edward Gal. The Valentine’s Day video his owner Karen put together actually brought tears to her eyes. Would she ever be able to ride a dressage horse like that? She chuckles as she thinks of the sweat and soreness trying to back in shape after the baby and learning a new riding discipline.  Now she has this incredible “gift”, having the opportunity to breed a mare of Sienna’s background to her dream stallion, Lingh. To imagine so many hopes and dreams are on centered on this foal. Someday her young daughter will need a horse of this caliber to compete as a young rider.

Sienna begins to move around her stall. “Easy, old girl.” Maryann tells her while getting up to check her. “It’s tonight, isn’t it big girl?” Sienna settles a bit and Maryann stretches back out on the cot next to Max, who has no intention of leaving a warm spot.

Her dressage mentor, Lilly has helped bring her along as a rider as well as her equine mentor Sassy.  “Sassy” is a kind Percheron mare that she bought to learn dressage. Sassy and Lilly were patient with her as she got in shape after the pregnancy. They helped get her to her first set of goals of dressage. Maryanne smiled thinking of Sassy; she is truly a good soul but is limited in her athletism. Maryanne has been able to ride a few finished horses of Lilly’s. But, the dream of owning her own had seemed far away until Lilly talked complete retirement of her graceful old mare Sienna. Maryanne thought about it for a long time before bringing up the possibility of her taking care of Sienna in her retirement. She approached Lilly discussing the extra care that Lilly needed to keep her comfortable through carrying a foal and how to keep extra weight on her. “Please, just give me one chance to breed Sienna!”  Lilly appreciated Maryanne’s hard work in learning dressage on her Percheron mare and understood the lack of funding for a top quality horse. Sienna after all had almost two decades of an international show career and she would receive outstanding care for the rest of her life from Maryanne. After, much deliberation she agreed to let Maryanne breed and care for Sienna.

Maryanne has dozed off for a short bit when she heard Sienna grunting. She quietly observes the mare lying flat out. Sienna labors very little more and a foal emerges. It’s a filly! Maryann quietly enters and begins to dry the filly with towels. She is already struggling to her feet. What balance already! Sienna rises and helps lick her filly dry. Maryanne doctors the naval and carefully watches as the filly tries to nurse for several minutes. Finally the satisfying sucking sound! Maryann takes a deep breath and notices the sun rising as a beautiful new day with a bright future begins. She thinks to herself, “Thank you”.

Thinking about breeding to Louisville ?   Here are some pictures from last month….he is growing leaps and bounds…he actually played games yesterday and was not going to be caught.  Gave us a sunburn and blisters.  Merlin lives with Patches, our 27 year old trail horse that came from Sedona when we moved. Patches is probably the best and bravest trail horse i ever sat on.  He now lives in Northern Michigan and is helping to raise Merlin…

Behind, beside, in front, and then behind...yesterday Merlin had all the moves !

Till alla mina svenska vänner:
En vän till mig visade en video som hon hade tagit när hon visade
sin son, som har speciella behoeften, denna video från Lingh. Hon var
överaskad över hans reaktion.
Typiskt för honom är att stanna oreagerad och nu blev han väldigt
livlig och enthousiastisk efter att ha sett “the dancing horse” – den
dansande hästen.

De påminnade mig av allt detta fantastiska arbete som häst terapie
gör för att hjälpa individer med speciella behoeften. Häst terapi får
mera och mera uppmärksamhet som än accepterade form av behandling, som
hjälper med koordination, tal och kommunikation, självkänsla och mycket
annat. För första gången Dr Tricia Wilmoth presenterar häst terapi som
en del av terapautisk lösning för att behandla autism. Hon kommer att
göra det på en konferens för Autism i juli 2010, som hölls för 41.
gång.
För att stöda detta arbete, linkar jag nu till deras websida –

North American riding for the handicapped association www.narha.org.
Finns det likadana organisationer i Europa – låt mig veta!

tack försök ska svara på engelska, men om du kan inte. …please skriver snart, och jag ska arbeta på min svenska

Best regards, Karin from America !!!

I am sharing this amazing letter I received from Oguz from Istanbul, I will translate the best I can.

Hellow,

I found Offield Farms through Internet Explorer. I am your very interested fan from Turkey.

I have enthusiasm for Offield Farms, Trainers,  Riders, and I believe, one day, that all the people will be busy with this nice horse discipline. World Transformation Dressage !  I am not a rider, I haven’t got a horse. In my next life I would like to become an Offield Farm rider.  I also found a Dressage Museum in Texas.

I like to watch your videos, enjoy them,  I hear admiration of the harmony of the horse and rider. I imagine talking with you about an Istanbul Horse Show, a medal Ceremony on the Podium. Do you think you could come to Istanbul ?   Can you let me know ?  I don’t feel enough people show interest in Dressage. I turn on the sports channel and where is Dressage ?……..

Oguz, It’s Karin here. I will write to you in Turkey. We can become friends and maybe your ideas will help us over here in the United States to promote Dressage to a wider audience….I want to thank you for writing to me and I wish I had many riders riding with me for Offield Farms….that would be so much fun…. Sincerely, Karin

Your inquiries from two very separate points of land, people and economies arrived in the mail and mare owners from both areas are interested in breeding to Lingh.  I would love to hear more news from these regions about your breeding programs…. email me at info@offieldfarms.com Thank you !

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HICKSTEAD AND LINGH FIRST STALLIONS TO RECEIVE CANADIAN SPORT HORSE PLATINUM PERFORMANCE PREMIUM

HICKSTEAD AND LINGH FIRST STALLIONS TO RECEIVE

CANADIAN SPORT HORSE PLATINUM PERFORMANCE PREMIUM

Two of the most gifted equine athletes in the world – top-ranked international dressage stallion Lingh, winner of the 2005 FEI World Cup, and Olympic show jumping superstar Hickstead – are the first two Canadian Sport Horse Association breeding approved stallions to be awarded Platinum Performance Premium.

The CSHA National Board of Directors has approved the new Platinum Performance Premium to recognize exceptional achievement in sport at the highest level: a first, second or third placing at the Olympic Games, World Championships or Pan Am Games.

Hickstead, a small stallion (16 hands) with a huge talent, won the hearts of Canadians and equestrian fans worldwide after his electrifying gold medal win at the 2008 Olympics with rider Eric Lamaze. As well as the individual gold, Hickstead and Lamaze helped clinch the Olympic team silver for Canada. The pair has had numerous Grand Prix wins worldwide (including the 2007 $1 million CN International at Spruce Meadows and last year’s the €200,000 Global Champions Tour Final Round in Qatar) and has represented Canada in 10 Nations Cup competitions. Hickstead was ranked the number one show jumping horse in the world for both 2008 and 2009 by the World Breeding Federation of Sport Horses (WBFSH).

Hickstead, a 1996 stallion, is by the International Grand Prix jumper Hamlet out of the star Preferent mare Jomara. Jomara is by the well-known and recently deceased stallion, Ekstein. He combines scope, power, technique, intelligence and temperament.

“The reason that the breeding programs in Europe are so successful is because they use good quality sires and mares, and often they are able to replicate that quality in the foals,” says Eric Lamaze. “I think it will be interesting to see what he can bring to the Canadian breeding program.”

“Being based in Europe now, I have seen a lot of Hickstead babies,” he continues. “ I have first-hand experience watching his offspring, which were products of him being used for breeding before we bought him.  They all look really good, and they are all very big!”

Experienced breeder and horseman Francis Berger, who operates South Shore Farm outside of Montreal, is Hickstead’s exclusive North American agent. Limited doses of frozen semen are available on a first-come, first-serve basis at a cost of $5,500 US per dose. (Contact Francis Berger at 514-24-4035.)

Lingh’s international performance career has placed him at the top of the index established by the World Breeding Federation of Sport Horses, ranking him the number one dressage stallion and third in the world overall. His breathtaking performances at the 2005 FEI World Cup in Las Vegas, where he claimed the Grand Prix and the Silver Medal overall with rider Edward Gal, thrilled the dressage world. He was purchased by American Karin Reid Offield in 2006, who continued to compete with him at the grand prix level.

“I appreciate all of the interest I have had from Canadian Dressage fans in Lingh and my website (www.lingh.nl),” says Karin. “I have many friends from Canada from my show jumping years and I woke up one morning and decided to become involved with Canada’s breeding programs. It’s going to be years until we know how good Lingh’s foals will turn out to be, but I know that Canada loves great sport horses and I believe very strongly in Lingh and his ability to produce great competition and recreational horses. His foals are easy to handle, intelligent and very, very capable.”

Karin says when she read about the Canadian Sport Horse Association and its mission, “I felt as though it would be a perfect match with Lingh.  Every day I receive letters from Lingh breeders and their personal goals are the same as the CSHA. I also have a great interest in Lingh being used as a hunter sire. I rode hunters for many years and I have a feeling he has what it takes to sire a great hunter. His jumping bloodlines are evident and his willingness to work is superior. Put those traits together and since his offspring are so pleasant to work with, I think we have a winner.”

Mares will be selected based on their quality such as the depth of pedigree, quality of conformation and movement, production records to date, and performance history, as well as those who are good frozen semen candidates.

Susanne Hassler and Hassler Dressage are handling breeding queries. For information, click on www.hasslerdressage.com or call 410-885-3824.

Attachments: Olympic gold medal showjumper Hickstead with Eric Lamaze. Photo credit: Cealy Tetley.

*9International Grand Prix dressage stallion Lingh. Photo credit: m-elle@andersson-fotodesign.com

For more information:

Lu Lancaster, National Secretary

Canadian Sport Horse Association

613-686-6161 or 613-686-6170, csha@canadian–sport–horse.org.

www.canadian-sport-horse.org

For Immediate Release                                                        Contact: Karin Reid Offield
info@offieldfarms.com
May 21, 2010

PETOSKEY, MI – “Unbelievable quality of instruction and presentation. Very inspiring;” “Couldn’t have been organized better” were some of the comments given by instructors, riders, and auditors in response to the inaugural Dressage Tool Box Symposium held May 15 and 16 at Bay Harbor Equestrian Club. Sponsored by Karin Offield of Harbor Springs,  www.lingh.nl, and Barnby Notes, the symposium gave attendees a unique opportunity to advance their skills in horsemanship and share openly the “tools” that will advance their skills as dressage teachers and riders.

Dressage is the systematic training of the horse to increase it’s suppleness and athletic ability. As an Olympic level competitive discipline, dressage displays the beauty and grace of the horse and rider in partnership as they perform what appears to be an effortless mounted ballet. On a more fundamental level the foundation of dressage will benefit any rider who desires to communicate fluidly and bring out the best performance of their horse.

This inaugural clinic was open to all dressage instructors. Offield stated “the purpose was to share the diversity and range of ideas from dressage instructors; to show and tell the technical skills. The manner in which we teach and learn as students takes years by experience. As riders we learn in varying amounts every day. As instructors we are constantly examining those “lightbulb moments” to see why a certain “lesson” was suddenly learned. It’s like life – but on a horse.”

Instructors with backgrounds as diverse as equine and human biomechanics,, therapeutic riding (NARHA), Centered Riding, and US Dressage Federation Gold Medalists from national competition participated. Also participating were several USDF certified judges and instructors. Each instructor taught 2 lessons focusing on a specific dressage fundamental or movement to mounted students who indicated they needed an additional perspective in refining their understanding of that particular skill. The riders were asked to list the lessons that they needed to learn.

Karin Offield, as moderator and inventor of the Symposium model was able to craft the lessons program to fit the needs of both the instructors and the riders. The auditors played an active part in the program too by changing their observation vantage point from lesson to lesson. When asked “What is the reason behind hosting a Tool Box Symposium?” Offield replied, “ I am talking about getting a region together to introduce, to discover, and to work together so that all of our instructors skills and tools, our clients horses, and our dressage tests are better. For all of us to meet the instructors in our region is super. What better way than this to make sure that we are all training our horses in a modern, respectful and intelligent manner!”

Special guests from Michgan State University attended. As experts in their fields of teaching and learning, Dr. Hilary Clayton, BVMS, PhD, MRCVS,  professor and McPhail Chair in Equine Sports Medicine; Karen Waite – Equine Extention Specialist; and Narelle Stubbs – research associate and Physiotherapist from Australia and England helped us see the subjects more clearly. “It was fun and very enlightening.”

Local participants in the Harbor Springs area included Nancy Williams riding her rescued Thoroughbred Trakehner cross, Dreamer who won the group’s heart for his wonderful work ethic and athletic ability. Karin Offield also rode William’s little gelding in a session on developing the canter pirouette. Prix St. George competitor and USDF “L” judge, Kim Aikens from Petoskey instructed. Young riders Suzannah Simon from Charlevoix and Miles Hayes also wowed the crowd. Other participants came from around Michigan and as far afield as Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, and Virginia. There were 55 attendees.

The symposium goals were twofold; one, that all participants go home with new “tools” added to their collection of both teaching and riding skills and two, that the program serve as a model for additional Tool Box Symposiums to be held across the country. Unlike many European countries, the United States does not have a regional national training center program for dressage riders and young horses. Offield hopes that by creating the Tool Boxes this need can be addressed and a 2 year pilot program of National Training Centers can be initiated across the United States. For more information on the selection of a facility as a site for a Dressage Tool Box Symposium in 2010 and 2011 please contact Karin at info@offieldfarms.com. The Tool Box was designated a USDF University accredited program and the organizers and participants were very pleased with their support. For more information on the USDF University please click on this link :http://www.usdf.org/education/university/.

This little foal is listening to the photographer…look at his right ear…more details to follow !

We have great dreams.....

FROM MY FRIEND, SHE WRITES…

“..hey you, just listened to the radio interview…good job, good story, interesting listening…made me think back on
my own impressions inspired by Lingh… not at a world championship,in front of thousands of knowledgeble fans, but in a noisey highway-side indoor ring… One of the finest equestrian atheletes, being his graceful self, under his gracious amatuer rider, on just a regular day, that had nothing regular about it.”

THANK YOU AND THANK YOU MARTHA FOR HELPING ME AND LINGH BE STARS AT DEVON A COUPLE YEARS AGO…IT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY AMERICAN SHOWING CAREER.