LT HOLSTEINERS
A PASSION FOR BOUTIQUE BREEDING WHERE WE VALUE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY.
Located in the beautiful New Zealand region of Taupo, the LT Holst horses are brought up on rolling countryside and given the best possible start in life.
Ewen Mackintosh
The co-owner of a successful sheep shearing business, Ewen came into horses quite unexpectedly. His brother - who was heavily involved in horses - sadly passed away and Ewen ending up purchasing a mare and 2 fillies whilst sorting out his late brother's estate. He went on to form a working relationship with Ross Smith with whom he worked with: buying and selling horses, for 5 or 6 years. He was recommended to send his horses to Brooke and Oliver Edgecombe for breaking in and their working relationship formed from there, the rest - as they say, is history! In fact, Ewen often wonders whether he would still be in this business without the expertise of Brooke and Oliver -
"To me, their professionalism cannot be questioned, there is a lot of trust involved and for me, that is the biggest factor".
With his passion to learn, he went from having limited knowledge of horses, to striving to own one of the most successful up and coming breeding business in New Zealand. Having made 7 trips to Europe over the past 8 years, he has formed many good contacts overseas. Ever modest, Ewen puts a lot of his fortune down to luck. Lets take Andrea for example, he nearly didn't buy her but he went with his gut feeling and brought her on a whim. So far, he has managed to bring quality horses with both proven and modern bloodlines into the country and hopes the future looks even brighter
Ewen is adamant in saying that although he has learnt a lot, the knowledge is endless and he never stops learning - everyday is a school day!
A family man at heart, the majority of the horses are named after close family members of Ewen, mainly cousins and Aunties.
While he leaves the riding to Brooke and Oliver Edgecombe, Ewen is the man behind the breeding - he even foals all of the mares himself! But he pays a lot of the credit to Dr Lee Morris from Equibreed -
"Lee deals with all of the breeding side, she is the one that impregnates the mares and performs the embryo transfers for me, before doing business with Lee, I had no luck and so i am forever grateful for her input in the business".
Brooke and Oliver Edgecombe
Husband and Wife duo; Brooke and Oliver are based near Waipukurau in Central Hawkes Bay. They have a small number of horses that they produce up to World Cup level and also run the family farm that they live on with their beautiful 2 year old daughter Sophie.
A well respected pair on the showjumping circuit, both are well renowned young horse producers as well as being fierce competitors in the bigger classes. Oliver won the prestigious Olympic Cup in 2007 on JJ Freelance and Brooke has numerous other titles under her belt.
Brooke and Oliver started off breaking in horses for Ewen. He liked what he saw and so began their business relationship.
Brooke and Oliver still break in all of the LT Holst horses, and once they start their competition life, they take shares in the horses and produce them through the ages and for sales purposes.
Brooke and Oliver state how they are grateful for the opportunity to ride and produce such quality European horses and they would not be able to do this without Ewen.
"We leave him to the breeding and he leaves us to do the riding, he trusts us to do the job and it seems to work".
Dr Lee Morris
Australian born Lee is the Specialist Equine Reproduction Veterinarian at Equibreed NZ Ltd. She graduated from the University of Sydney in 1992 and in 2004, she became a Registered Specialist in Veterinary Reproduction in Australasia. Her special interest include artificial insemination, embryo transfer, epididymal spermatozoa, hysteroscopy, equine laparoscopy, semen freezing technology, sex sorted semen and challenging cases of mare or stallion infertility.
Lee and the rest of the team at Equibreed are a vital part of LT Holst, Lee performs all of the Artificial Insemination of our broodmares, and the embryo transfers from our competition horses.
Without her, we would not be able to 'do what we do', so we are very grateful for her extensive knowledge and hard work.
Taupo Vets
Taupo Vets are essential for our day to day running. They are on-hand to assist with any veterinary care any of our horses may need, whether this is due to illness, accidents or just general well-being.
Kipstagram Video & Design
Helen Kippen from Kipstagram Video & Design has developed this very website. She manages the website and also the social media pages.
She works closely with Ewen, Brooke and Oliver to ensure the LT Holst horses are marketed in the best possible way.