Gladheart Linhawk (Funquest Diviner x Rogue’s Midnight Melody)
G
ladheart Linhawk (1998) was the first foal registered with the Gladheart prefix, and although rather diminutive (13.3h), “LC” (or “Little Man” as his Oregon dressage friends have dubbed him) is proof you don’t need a big horse for dressage. LC has been both a benchmark in what type of athletic ability we strive for in our program, as well as an outstanding example of what a talented Morgan can do!
Initially trained and shown by his amateur owner to First Level, LC is one of the few Morgans to have successfully competed through Grand Prix. With his trainer, USDF Silver Medalist Kimberlee Barker, he has been an Adequan/USDF All-Breeds Award winner at every level from First through Prix St Georges and Morgan Dressage Association Awards of Excellence recipient at all levels from First to FEI, often capturing Champion or Reserve titles. He has earned his AMHA Bronze, Silver and Gold Medallions and USDF Performance certificates at First, Third and Fourth Levels.
Linhawk and Kim have been a popular pair for dressage demonstrations: the only Morgan in the Oregon Dressage Society’s Introduction to the 2011 USEF Tests Seminar, Second Level horse and rider pair for the 2011 USDF “L-Judges” series with Axel Steiner, and a demonstration horse for the Dressage Exhibition at the 2009, 2012 and 2019 Northwest Equine Expositions, as well as being a participant in the 2012 USDF Region 6 Adult Clinic with Lilo Fore. L.C. and Kim have also been featured in Chronicle of the Horse and The Morgan Horse.
In 2015, Linhawk underwent colic surgery at the Oregon State University’s Lois Bates Acheson Teaching Hospital and began a long road of recovery and rehabilitation. We are so incredibly grateful to the faculty and staff at Oregon State for their skill and care of LC, and it almost goes without saying that we are greatly indebted to Kim for her dedication in rehabilitating LC. That he was brought back to debut at Grand Prix in 2018 at the age of 20 is a testimony to his care and to the toughness of Morgans!
As LC has been retired and is now our home Schoolmaster, it has been fun (and a little bittersweet) to look back over his long career. We hope you will also enjoy the “recap” of LC and Kim moving up the levels in the videos we are sharing below.
Pedigree Video: USDF 2012 ADULT CLINIC WITH LILO FORE Video: NW EQUINE EXPO (2019)
Video: Freestyle Fun (2018) MEDIA: Chronicle of the Horse Schooling One-Tempis (2015)