LT Holst Freda, a horse that makes everyone stop and stare as soon as she enters the ring. A horse that New Zealanders have watched progress through the years, from a four year old right through to the biggest stage at the FEI World Cup Finals in Texas.
Julie Davey with LT Holst Freda, Copyright Photo: KAMPIC / Kerry Marshall
In the capable hands of Julie Davey, she has won countless titles, all through the age groups, right up to the Olympic Cup, and now she adds the Equibreed Art Embryo Series to her accolades, for her breeder, Ewen Mackintosh of LT Holst Sporthorses.
LT Holst owner and founder, Ewen Mackintosh, purchased LT Holst Andrea from Europe as a four year old. He then took embryos from her to enable her to begin her illustrious competition career. Freda was the result of Andrea’s first embryo flush, along with her “twin” Francis. Freda was purchased by Julie Davey as a two year old, and the rest, as they say, is history!
A family picture – Ewen with LT Holst Francis, LT Holst Freda, LT Holst Andrea and LT Holst Elizabeth. Photo Supplied.
Whilst Ewen is the man behind the breeding, even foaling all the mares himself, 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”.
Whilst Freda may be his most successful homebred to date, NZ is fast filling up with lovely LT Holst horses looking to stamp their mark on the equestrian scene. Whilst Ewen may have taken a backseat from breeding, some of his mares are still active under different partnerships with some impressive youngstock coming through, all of which is exciting for the future of NZ breeding.
Ewen with Julie and LT Holst Freda at the FEI World Cup Finals 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo from Facebook.
Winning the Equibreed Art Embryo Series is fitting as Lee works closely with Ewen and he describes her and the rest of the team at Equibreed as “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”.
Lee states that “EquiBreed ART is very happy to support breeders, like Ewen, who have the vision and the commitment to produce such world class horses for NZ and for our riders. By using embryo transfer, these classy mares could continue with their careers whilst contributing to the next generation. Congratulations to Ewen and LT Holst Horses – what a great ride!”
The embryo series takes place every season, and is a great way to recognise the breeder, so if your four legged friend is an embryo baby, make sure you enter them into this series. Contact us for more information!
11 May 2026
The Jumping Team