Ingrid Wiegmann has been awarded the Gustav Rau Medal for her services. The native of Barmstedt is known for her nationwide foal emergency service "Ammenstuten Deutschland", which brings together orphaned foals and nurse mares. Deeply moved, Ingrid Wiegmann received the Gustav Rau Medal in bronze in Warendorf from the hands of FN Vice President Theo Leuchten. The Holsteiner Breeding and Sports Promotion Association had nominated Ingrid Wiegmann for the honour and was represented on site by Denise Behrmann from the association's board of directors.
Born in Berlin, Ingrid Wiegmann first came into contact with harness racing as a young girl. However, her parents forbade her from training as a harness racing driver; instead, she completed commercial training at the trotting track in Berlin. During a holiday at a trotting stud in Königslutter, she met her husband and moved from Berlin to Lower Saxony, where she worked at a trotting stud. When this was taken over by a Hanoverian breeder, she came into contact with riding horses. When one of her mares died during the birth of a foal, she turned to a breeding association and immediately received help there. A nurse mare was found in Hanover. Following this, she received enquiries from similarly affected breeders and was able to help them and report on her own procedures. Thanks to her horse sense and great empathy for horses, the experienced breeder soon became a great supporter for other breeders in their greatest need.
For more than 20 years, Ingrid Wiegmann has been acting on a voluntary and independent basis as a coordination office for nurse mares and orphaned foals – doing so day and night and nationwide. In the first 15 years alone, she was able to arrange over 350 mares and orphaned foals, and the numbers kept growing; in 2022 alone, there were 142 foals and 245 mares! In the meantime, there are up to 600 enquiries per year from home and abroad. Phone calls are often conducted over many hours and at all times of day and night, giving instructions from afar, or she and her husband set out themselves to give vital tips for mares and foals. Ingrid Wiegmann is one of the most experienced intermediaries for nurse mares and orphaned foals, and her database also contains searchable locations of frozen colostrum supplies, which are often vital for survival as first aid.
Ingrid Wiegmann is furthermore a member of the Holsteiner Verband, hosts training courses on her farm near Elmshorn, for example for young breeders, and supports events with floral decorations from her own garden.
