Jordan Linstedt and Lovely Lola. Photo by Ride On Photo.
A talented young Hanoverian mare kept popping up on my “Weekend Winners” column each Monday, earning eye-popping dressage scores and going on to finish on them more often than not. In fact, Lovely Lola has finished no worse than second (and typically has gone home with the win) in 14 of her 17 USEA starts with Washington-based Jordán Linstedt.
Needless to say, I had to know more about this talent moving up through the levels with Jordán, who herself has many career accomplishments to her name, notably with her longtime partner, the late RevitaVet Capato.
It was more happenstance than decision that brought Lovely Lola (LondonTime – Hauptstutbuch Laetizia) to the U.S. and, more specifically, to Jordán’s home base in Redmond, Wa.
In October of 2018, the tragic news of RevitaVet Capato’s death rippled through the eventing community. The devastating loss of her partner was deeply painful for Jordán. Nevermind that she’d learned of a talented mare in Germany that longtime friend Jean Moyer had spotted on a shopping trip. Nevermind that Jean had immediately called Jordán, knowing she’d found a horse that would be a perfect new ride.
“When Capato passed, it was the week we were to go forward with purchasing Lola,” Jordán recalled. “I told Jean I just couldn’t do anything at that time. I couldn’t picture it.”
Jean held out, holding on to the mare for a few weeks before reaching back out to Jordán to offer the purchase rights to her once more. At that point in time, with some encouragement from her now-husband, Jordán took a deep breath and pulled the metaphorical trigger.
“I wasn’t sure if I could do it. There was too much emotion after losing Capato,” Jordán said. “But my husband, who was my fiancé at the time, encouraged me to go it. ‘If she doesn’t work out, she can be a resale project,’ he said.”
Jordan Linstedt and RevitaVet Capato. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.
Thanks to support from client Bridget Brewer, Lovely Lola was soon on her way to the U.S. When she arrived in December, Jordán describes herself as a kid in a candy store, immediately smitten with the mare. It was then that she knew she’d made the right decision.
And Lola quickly showed that she belonged. Jordán would spend the winter forming a relationship and getting to know the then five-year-old before bringing her out for her first foray into the eventing world in March of 2019. Not two months later, Lovely Lola brought home her first win.
The rest, as they say, is history.
“She’s got all the talent in the world,” Jordán said of the mare, who she says could easily go on to be a pure dressage horse or even a show jumper. Laughing, she adds: “I’d rather keep her and take her all the way with eventing, though.”
Jordán likes to take her time producing young horses. Lovely Lola completed 12 events at the Novice level or below before stepping up to Training level, and completed four Training level events before doing her first Modified. For her, the game has been all about keeping the mare confident.
“She can be a bit spooky out on cross country and I think she’s so careful and sensitive that if I were to go too fast it could cause a setback,” she explained. “So I want to take my time and prove to her that it can be easy.”
Easy it has been, there’s no questioning that. Lola is a pleasant horse to be around, making producing her that much more enjoyable. “She’s a really relaxed, quiet mare in some ways but she has this fire to her at the same time and I love that about her,” she described. “If she didn’t have that toughness she might almost be too pleasant for the upper levels! I do like that I can make her a little hot but she doesn’t lose the quality.”
With Covid-19 and Jordán’s pregnancy in 2020, there was ample time for Lola to gain strength and learn the foundations of the sport. Now, Jordán’s eyeing a season at the Modified and Preliminary levels before aiming at the CCI2*-L at Galway Downs this fall. Of course, it’s all about what Lola wants to do – Jordán says she’s just enjoying the ride.
Jordán Linstedt and Lovely Lola in Lola’s Preliminary Debut at Aspen Farms. Photo: Cortney Drake Photography –
www.cortneydrake.com.
“I think one thing about Lola is she’s come to me in the same way as many of my other special horses,” Jordán said. “All the horses I’ve had or ridden or produced, I’ve never gone out and looked for myself. They’ve all come to me for one reason or another. I had gone on lots of horse hunting trips for clients or students but never for myself with money in hand. So she’s similar in that regard and I think that Jean, who is just a phenomenal horsewoman, saw something in her that she knew would be special for me to produce to the top level. I’m really grateful to her for that and for pushing me to purchase and start her.”
In her grief in the wake of Capato’s death, it was hard for Jordán to see what came next. Fortunately, what came next was the start of something new, something to focus on and to get a groove back with. It was, by all accounts, what Jordán needed to help her heal.
“I kind of went forward in this really difficult traumatic time (with purchasing Lola),” she said. “At first, it wasn’t the most exciting thing. I didn’t have a ton of feelings about it because of Capato. Now, I’m totally smitten. And thankful to have her. I have every high hope for her.”
