Limbridge by Limbus-Cambridge, bred by Ralf Pawlowski, has been named Holsteiner of the Month for August. The 13-year-old gelding would have deserved this title several times already this season, for example following his second place at the CSIO in Rome a few weeks ago. Limbridge once again demonstrated his top form at the CHIO in Aachen in early July, when national coach Otto Becker selected him and his rider Jana Wargers for the Nations Cup team. With just one time penalty in the first round and one knockdown in the second – the pair had lost a shoe in the pouring rain – the duo played a key part in the German team’s triumph. The national coach subsequently nominated the pair for the World Championships, which are taking place this week in Herning, Denmark.
Limbridge was born at Ralf Pawlowski’s stud in Heidenheim, Baden-Württemberg. “It was a Sunday morning,” recalls his breeder, “and I was supposed to go to a confirmation, which I didn’t really feel like attending. When the mare started foaling, I told my wife that I couldn’t come along,” Pawlowski still smiles 13 years later. The very next day, he sold the handsome colt to Christoph Kaufmann. Limbridge was slightly too small for both the young stallion licensing in Holstein and the riding test in Marbach. And even today, at around 1.66 metres, he is no giant in terms of height. At the ages of five and six, he later placed in the Small Final of the Bundeschampionat; at seven, he competed at the World Championships in Zahgersheide; and at the age of eight, he was sold to Ashford Farm in Belgium. Before Jana Wargers took over the training of the Holsteiner, Eve Jobs rode him successfully up to 1.60 metres. However, it is only with Jana Wargers that Limbridge seems to be a perfect match.