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Q &A with Karin Reid Offield on Her Purchase of Lingh
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CAPTION: Group 4 Securicor Lingh (Flemmingh x Gazelle), 13-year-old, 16.3-hand, bay Dutch stallion, at the 2006 World Equestrian Games ridden by Holland’s Edward Gal.

Mary Hilton: Congratulations, Karin! Lingh is one of the top horses in the world and has been competing internationally since he was six years old. He’s been partnered with Dutch rider Edward Gal for the Dutch A team since 2003, and they’ve had some fantastic results –in 2003, they were the Dutch Champions, in 2004 they qualified for the Athens Olympic Games (though Lingh was injured and didn’t compete), they were the Reserve Champions at the 2005 FEI World Cup Final in Las Vegas and Reserve again in the 2006 World Cup Final in Amsterdam, and they were on the Silver Medal Team at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen. What plans do you have for his career in the ring?

Karin Reid Offield: Edward has been showing Lingh since 2001, placing in Prix St. Georges and Intermediaire I. My plans are to take it a day at a time with Lingh, and build a partnership of trust.

KRO: I first saw Lingh at major international competitions such as the World Cup in Las Vegas where he won the Grand Prix ahead of Salinero and the best horses in the world. He fascinated everyone there, me included, with his amazing gaits and brilliant expression. Then, when I arrived in Holland to try him, that’s when he had my full attention. His good looks, gentle spirit, and ground manners all were readily apparent. He has all of the attributes I would consider in purchasing a horse.

MH: Lingh was up for sale by owner Theo van Sadelhoff in 2004, and several top international riders were reportedly interested in buying him, but he was not sold and then he was secured for Edward Gal to continue to ride. How did your acquisition of Lingh transpire?

KRO: Unfortunately the owner recently decided to sell him and when Edward was unable to secure a buyer I was contacted and was able to fly to Europe to try him.

MH: In 2005, Lingh was approved by the KWPN as a breeding stallion and ranked as the number three dressage horse in the world that year by the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses. What are your breeding plans for Lingh?

KRO: We plan to offer frozen semen during his competitive years. I am certain that his arrival in the United States will be well received by the breeders. I have him on my website now, www.Offieldfarms.com, and you can learn more about him there.

MH: Though you have been a rider most of your life, the sport of dressage is fairly new to you, but you have managed in under 10 years to acquire the skills to ride at the Grand Prix level and win USDF Championships at FEI levels. Still, your first CDI (international competition) was only last year. What would you say to people who might assert that a world-class horse should go to a world-class international rider instead of to an amateur?

KRO: I guess I would say that if you work really hard to get as good as you can be, in the art and sport of your choosing, your status as an amateur or a professional doesn't matter. We have a wonderful situation in our sport where men, women, young, old, Thoroughbred, Quarterhorse, pros and amateurs can compete against one another. Wow.

MH: Under Edward Gal, Lingh achieved record high scores in the Grand Prix and has shown that he can earn 9s on his pirouettes and 10s on his piaffe and has scored as high as 85%-plus on his musical freestyles. Is this intimidating to you to show Lingh, as people will undoubtedly compare your riding and scores to the riding and scores of Lingh with Gal?

KRO: No one can compare to Edward and Lingh, they had many years together and many competitions. Lingh and I will be judged on our own merit. He is a fabulous horse. I hope many, many spectators will come from far and wide to watch him! He is well loved.

MH: You currently train with Robert Dover. Though Robert has retired as a rider, will he ride Lingh? If Robert wanted to make a bid for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, would you give him the ride on Lingh?

KRO: I purchased Lingh for myself to ride, Robert 's competitive career is 100% over and he is looking forward to helping me and others to do their best in the art and sport of dressage.

MH: You now have three world-class breeding stallions – Lingh joins Hexagon’s Louisville and Tiamo Trocadero – that you ride – have you shown breeding stallions in the past?

KRO: Yes, I have owned stallions throughout my riding career. Alla Czar (the famous hunter sire, after I retired him) was my first European dressage horse. The first horses I chose to show in dressage were Quarterhorses and Thoroughbreds.

MH: You are riding another new world-class mount, Welt Adel, that you recently acquired. You also have horses for sale. All of your horses are such top quality – what determines which to keep and which to sell?

KRO: I am trying to stay in the show ring. I have sold several of the young horses I bought when they were three, four, five years of age. My 11-year-old (who I adore and have had since he was three), I have now decided to sell as a lower level horse. As most riders and owners eventually realize, it’s difficult bringing them along through the levels. Sometimes you have to decide that the FEI arena does not suit them. Getting a young horse to Grand Prix is hard, no matter who you are and how much world experience you have.

MH: You are the owner of Offield Farms and have been working hard to promote this enterprise. Offield Farms was the 2005 Presenting Sponsor of the FEI World Cup Dressage Finals in Las Vegas. Currently, your offer to the U.S. dressage community of free subscriptions to the website www.DressageDirect through their membership in USDF and USEF has also put Offield Farms on the map in dressage. What is your overall plan for Offield Farms and ultimately, what is your goal for Offield Farms?

KRO: My goal at Offield Farms is to promote dressage, offer competitive breeding stallions, have fun and to ride better every day. Riding comes first for me.