Sharon Hardy and Lover Boy Lagoheider

Winners of the 4-year old and Older Stallions Under Saddle Class at 2001 Dressage at Devon were Sharon Hardy and her own Lagoheider. In a neck to neck race with Ursula Ferrier on Scimitar, it was this duo that caught the eye of the judges most and received the blue ribbon.

Bred by Gerd Sosath in Germany, Lagoheider is by Landadel out of a Godehard mare. The dark bay Oldenburg stallion was owned by the Dutch Van der Kamp family of stallion station De Havikerwaard in The Netherlands, when Hardy first came in contact with him December 2000. "He was in training at Johan Hinnemann's, together with Welt Hit II," Hardy said. Although Hardy had not really set her sights on Lagoheider, she admits she immediately fell in love with him and wanted to buy him. "He was not really for sale, but Hinnemann did the talking with the Van der Kamps and then he became mine."

When you hear Hardy talking about Lagoheider, you sense herdeep ankered love and appreciation for this gorgeous bay. "He's a lover, he is so mushy," she snickers. She praises him most for his excellent temperament. "He's actually a gelding, but with something extra," Hardy joked. Lagoheider has a lineair way of thinking and hardly behaves as a breeding stallion. He is trained at S-level (PSG) dressage and S-level jumping. He was the winner of the Oldenburg Stallion Licensing and is approved for eight different registries.

Hardy is based in New Jersey where she owns and operates a small breeding farm of mainly Hanoverians and Oldenburgs. Her preferred bloodlines are Rubinstein, Regazzoni and Furioso, but she also has two Weltmeyer gets. As bi-talented as she is, Hardy masters both dressage and show jumping skills. Her friend and show jumping trainer Anne Kursinksi recently sold one of Hardy's own bred products, an 8-year old Hanoverian jumper by Ramiro x Woermann, to one of her students.

One year ago, Hardy was invited to ride a clinic with Albrecht Heidemann and was completely blown away by him. "He's been coming over every two months now, but it is not enough," Hardy realizes. So that's why she decided to move to Frankfurt, Germany, for at least one to three years. "You don't get enough exposure of top level dressage in the U.S.," she said. Hardy's short term goal is to qualify for the Pan-Am Games, but her ultimate dream is to go to the Olympics Games.

Hardy is at the brink of purchasing a 10-year-old Hanoverian Grand Prix schoolmaster. "I want to get the feel of top level dressage on the schoolmaster so that I can spare Lagoheider for the international competitions. I need to get the experience in Europe and have someone on the ground to constantly supervise me," Hardly confesses. She believes that in Frankfurt she can looking for.

Lagoheider has only been up for breeding to a limited number of mares and he will now be primarily focussed on his competition career. With his recent 2001 Dressage at Devon Stallion Under Saddle Champion's title, Lagoheider is already rising to the expectations of his owner.

Text by Astrid Appels

Related Link:
Eurodressage.com: Lagoheider Sold to the U.S.A.

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HorsesDaily "On the Scene" at 2001 Dressage at Devon