GoffertTribute

Goffert 369

1994 - 2007

On February 13th, 2007, the Approved KFPS Stallion Goffert 369 was euthanized due to a severe colic attack. Those are the facts of the story, but they cannot begin to tell the story of this great horse who was a true member of our family, and who will live in our hearts forever.

This picture, which shows the love and bond that was shared by Belinda and Goffert, was taken by Jacob Melissen during a standing ovation following their exhibition in Leeuwaarden in 2005. Jacob took many fine pictures of this horse, but this is the one that Belinda cherishes most. It was the night that people came from all over Europe (and the US as well) to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the Friesian Studbook. In 125 years, the Friesian Studbook had registered thousands of horses and Approved many fine stallions, but none had ever accomplished what Goffert did. Goffert had become the first fully Approved KFPS Stallion to compete at Grand Prix Dressage at the CDI level. The knowledgeable crowd roared their approval at end of his freestyle while the sound of Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" rocked the hall. Goffert had truly become "simply the best...better than all the rest". From Palm Beach to Lexington to Raleigh, and finally, Saturday night under the lights at Devon, Goffert had a profound and moving effect on all who had the chance to see him.

Goffert was born, strangely enough, on June 14th, 1994 and was given the registered name Herbie, the name we preferred for him until the end. His birthday also just happened to be on what would become our wedding anniversary, so we will forever celebrate the two together. Herbie's breeder was Mw. H. Hofman from Wommels, in the Province of Friesland. His father was the Preferent stallion Reitse and his mother was Nynke J, (Cobus x Ritske). It was a serendipitous breeding on many levels. When we started our search for Iron Spring Farm's first Friesian, we had no earthly idea that we would find a horse such as Goffert. We thought that a dressage horse, cleverly disguised as an Approved Friesian Stallion would be good place to start. We were shown just that at the Nieuw Heuvel in Lunteren. Fresh from a show where he had won both his Z Level classes that day, against almost all warmbloods, stood Goffert. The first thing you see is his incredibly intelligent eye, an eye that was constantly monitoring, and assessing all before him. In all the years we had him at the farm, he could tell in an instant when something was new, out of place, or just needed attention. His rider at the Nieuw Heuvel, Sabine v/d Loenhorst, just raved about him. They also had a very special bond that continues to this day, as she rides one his sons with much success.

Our next bit of serendipity came when Mary Alice Malone, the owner of Iron Spring Farm and a rapidly growing string of Approved Friesian Stallions to ride, asked Belinda to take over the ride on Goffert. It was a decision that changed our lives in many ways, and we will forever be in her debt for making it. The support that Mary Alice has given us over the years with Goffert has been nothing short of tremendous, and we are deeply grateful.

It takes a great deal of commitment from a team of people to reach the heights of International Dressage, and no tribute to Herbie would be complete without giving credit to that team. Herbie's feet were a challenge due to an insidious case of white line disease, and without the care of our blacksmith, Ed Scheckner, Herbie would never have been able to perform at Grand Prix. The countless hours that Ed, his crew, and Jeanne (Jeanne Pakes, Belinda's groom since the dawn of time, you might remember her touching biography on our About Us Page.) spent not only making Herbie comfortable, but competitive, deserves it's own tribute. Our vets, first Dr. John Lee when Herbie was at Iron Spring, and Dr. Steven Berkowitz when he came to Inspo, kept him in top health, always. And then there is the maestro, Theo van Bruggen, who created a musical freestyle that enchanted everyone who saw Belinda and Goffert perform it. Thank you Theo, from the bottom of our hearts.

I could literally go on for many pages about this horse and the people he affected. We received calls and emails from all over the world, offering support and sympathy for Belinda, Jeanne, and Mary Alice, and we would like to thank everyone for their concern. Those who know her best, know that that a huge hole was ripped in Belinda's heart when this happened, and they also know that she would not have missed the last five years for anything in the world. It was truly a privilege to have been so close to such a horse as Herbie. Sometimes we search and search for words to express our feelings, and then one day you're driving down the road and Garth Books comes on and sings:

And now, I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

Believe me when I tell you, this is one dance that we are so grateful that we didn't miss.

Thank you Herbie, and Godspeed.

To see and hear Theo's wonderful tribute to Goffert, please follw this link and save it to your hard drive: