There is really only one perfect animal that could feature on the Linsenhoff family crest: the horse! For generations these strong animals with their gentle nature have played a key role in the life of this family.
The first generation
Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff’s
grandfather, Adolf Schindling, discovered his love for horses by a rather curious route. After completing his commercial training, he signed on with the Marine Artillery and was sent to a distant German colony – to Tsingtao in China. Horse-racing was a popular leisure activity for the colonial masters there. Even though he could not ride at all, Adolf Schindling took part in an amateur race and even completed it safely. That sufficed to awaken his passion for horses. And because he was a man of vision, his projects always met with success. Through the VDO tachometer works he became one of the outstanding entrepreneurs of his time. He never lost his love of race horses, and this brought him to set up the Asta stud – which even produced two Derby winners.
The second generation
His daughter Liselott
also loved horses, but she only shared his love of race horses to a certain extent. She went her own way and devoted herself to classic horsemanship – dressage. Naturally Adolf Schindling did his utmost to support her, by buying superb horses and hiring the best trainer, Otto Lörke. As a result the Schwarz-Gold Competition Yard became a minor empire within dressage circles, because Liselott had since married Friedrich Linsenhoff, also a superb horseman. It was not unusual for the name Linsenhoff to take first and second place in a dressage test. Liselott followed by Fritz – or sometimes the other way round. But the real star was Liselott. She became Olympic Champion.
The third generation
There is no doubt that the passion for horses, and even this special winning gene, was passed on to Liselott’s daughter Ann Kathrin. She was riding horses almost as soon as she could walk and started her career in dressage – also achieving the triumph of an Olympic gold medal.
Innumerable rosettes, cups and medals decorate the Schafhof,
the family seat at Kronberg im Taunus. But the Schindlings and Linsenhoffs were always concerned about more than just equestrianism. Treating horses with respect and living in harmony with them is the source of real fulfilment. That tradition is now in its third generation at the Schafhof – with Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff, her husband Klaus-Martin Rath and their five children.
