Andahazy
was known all over the country, all over the world, as one of the most
distinguished and influential horsemen of the twentieth century, a man
who over the years rubbed shoulders with many United States Equestrian
Team dignitaries including William Steinkraus, Bert NeNemethy and Frank
Chapot.
Hunting
Valley Stables, Lake Erie College and the entire equine community of
the Chagrin Valley has been blessed to lay claim on this man for eternity.
He was not only an innovative thinker, but a creative dreamer. His vision
to incorporate an accredited equestrian program at Lake Erie College
nearly half a century ago inspired other equestrian programs all over
the country to follow suit and model their academic programs on the
first born. That embryonic birthright emerged out of a desolate 12-stall
tool shed which Laddie, with hammer and saw, transformed into a makeshift
stable in 1955.
It
was due to Laddie Andahazy's efforts and perseverance that Morley Farm
and the George M. Humphrey Equestrian Center was acquired, that the
entire academic equestrian program at Lake Erie College has evolved
into what it is today, the first equestrian program in the country to
offer full fledged major accreditation. The concept extended like wildfire
to encompass hundreds of higher education institutions in the country.
Laddie
always advocated that ideas will manifest if they are held firmly in
consciousness without thought of failure or negativity, that positive
enthusiasm creates its own reality. "If you can imagine it, it
can happen," he enthused. "You have to have the thought first,
the inspiration, then the perspiration. Anything can happen if you believe
it can."
As
Director of the LEC Equestrian Program, Andahazy was the driving force
behind the entire concept of the Jumper Prix de Ville or Prize of the
Cities, initiated in 1966. Shortly thereafter he introduced the Dressage
Prix de Ville. Based on a team competition, the Prix de Ville format
not only allowed competitors the opportunity to compete under FEI Rules
(Federation Equestrian Internationale), which was another first in the
horse world, but it also laid claim to drawing some of the top names
in show jumping today, names that have gone on to hit some major imprints
in the grand prix show jumping world, an impressive role call including
Michael Matz, Norman Dello Joio, Donald Cheska, Conrad Homfeld and Bernie
Traurig, the latter who in the 70's would work out of Hunting Valley
Farms.
One
of the major accomplishments Andahazy is best known for is having organized
the very first Grand Prix Jumping Competition in the United States held
in Moreland Hills, Ohio on July 25th, 1965. After traveling through
Europe during an Academic Term Abroad with LEC students, Laddie had
an opportunity to visit many legendary equestrian centers and learn
about their course designs. Inspired by the Mexican Olympics and what
the Europeans were doing at the time, particularly in Germany, he brought
these concepts back to the United States and implemented them in ways
no one in this part of the globe had ever witnessed.
At that time, his ideas were bizarre, unorthodox, but they worked and
eventually they received an applaudable welcome reception. People were
hungry for a new equestrian focus and Andahazy received a standing ovation
for his efforts, enough applause to earn him the 1965 American Horse
Show Association Course Designer award for his design of the Cleveland
Grand Prix. It was a 16-obstacle, 844 yard course which challenged 28
horses. The course included a 6'2" white Cleveland Wall and with
his usual hands-on approach, Laddie assisted not only in capacity of
Course Designer for the event, but he also built several fences from
the ground up, including cutting down and hauling birch trees to build
an aesthetic vertical obstacle.
When
the famous water jump, bank and grob that he designed and built at the
polo field grounds in Moreland Hills was unveiled, he was met with incredulous
stares. "Man, you must be crazy!" Laddie would in later years
chuckle in amusement as he recounted the reactions. "They never
saw anything like it," he laughed. But it worked to the point where
equestrians across the country began embracing Andahazy's newly introduced
grand prix jumping format, a format which has since grown to encompass
a multi-million dollar show jumping circuit that continues to this day.
His impact on the horse industry, its economic growth and development
in the United States can never be adequately measured.
He
came to the United States from Hungary when he was only eight-years-old
and was so fanatically attached to horses that he used to do handsprings
down at the Cleveland Riding Academy just for the privilege of hauling
water to the horses. Laddie began his riding career as a trick rider
performing for the Parade of Years at the Great Lakes Exposition Center
in Cleveland in 1937. He'd precariously hang upside down off the side
of a wildly galloping horse with only an ankle wedged over the withers
and perform pretzel contortions as well as Houdini-like feats of balance
as he raced around the arena to the delight of spectators.
Although
he gained a reputation as the equivalent of a rock 'n roll rodeo riding
dare devil, it was an experience that proved essential in his teachings.
Over the years he would often pass on variations of these unorthodox
methods when teaching riders how to achieve a natural equilibrium and
state of balance while either mounted, kneeling or standing on a moving,
living, breathing dance floor: the horse. It was a shrewd tactic, an
insanity everyone eventually learned to trust and embrace with open
arms. They never saw anyone like him and probably never will. Not only
was he an innovative dreamer, his dreams worked and his life remains
an inspiration to others.
Fluent
in four languages, Laddie struggled to the top of the equestrian world
armed with little more than enthusiasm, inspiration and fanatical initiative.
As a member of the 12 man assault team of the 294th Joint Assault Signal
Company that landed at Omaha, East Red Beach on D-Day during World War
II, Laddie was wounded in action, hit by shrapnel after surviving a
raid on a famously sandy beach that left many of his company dead.
It
was an emotionally painful time in his life, one that he would frequently
recount, but a time that allowed him to connect on a deeper level with
unexplored values and the intensity of his life's purpose. Later, he
fought with the Fifth Armored Division stationed in France, Germany,
Belgium, Holland and Luxemburg. Fiercely loyal to both his tribal and
familial units, Laddie was proud to serve his country and graciously
accepted the honor to fight for freedom.
A
multi-faceted man, Laddie was not content to confine his obsession to
horses but extended it to incorporate art, music, and even ballet, areas
which seemingly abstract, managed to connect their threads into his
equestrian explorations. In working with horses he often utilized his
ballet background to stretch their forelegs prior to working, increasing
their range of movement, a simplistic theory and one that follows a
clean and logical law of physics as well as joint and muscle mechanics.
It was yet another example of an Andahazy technique that no one else
had at that time thought to implement.
Laddie always advocated versatility whether in horsemanship or in life
interests. He was an American Horse Show Association judge in ten disciplines,
including western, dressage, hunters and jumpers, carrying his licensing
well into his late 80's. He also held Canadian and European Equestrian
Federation judges cards as well, an unheard of collection of prestigious
credentials.
Andahazy
was responsible for founding the Cleveland Chapter of the Professional
Horseman's Association and served on the board of the American Horse
Show Association Hunter and Jumper Committee. In 1975 he was nominated
for the AHSA annual Horseman of the Year award. He was instrumental
in founding the Western Reserve Carriage Association, and introducing
dressage to Ohio. In his younger days Andahazy won his share of major
competitions aboard his well known hunter, jumper, dressage and driving
horses.
Mr.
Andahazy encouraged the introduction of vaulting in the United States
and not only instructed but arranged several vaulting performances at
both Lake Erie College and several grand prix jumping competitions over
the years. He was also avidly involved in promoting foxhunting and was
instrumental in assisting both the Grand River and the Chagrin Valley
Hunts in implementation of their programs.
In
1977, Laddie retired from Lake Erie College and served as a consultant
to the college, organizing jumping and dressage competitions until 1990.
Throughout the 80's and 90's, he trained and instructed out of Hunting
Valley Stables in Hiram, Ohio, religiously appearing 24/7/365 for twenty
years. During this time he bred, raised and started hundreds of horses
at HVS and organized horse shows, hunter paces, and combined training
events at the facility.
Laddie's
enthusiasm was infectious, contagious. He would inspire even the most
adamant cynic. One of the most valuable gifts he gave to the millions
of people who were privileged to have his life breath through their
manes, was inspiration, a confidence and influx of self esteem that
cannot be garnered through any other source other than a horse.
He
would utilize unorthodox tactics to achieve his ends. If a horse was
preparing for a dressage test, he would send them off to the side of
a hill and instruct his student to work in adverse conditions, practicing
movements on uneven footing and up and down difficult terrain. Once
they got into the show ring on flat and perfect footing, he theorized
the test would be a piece of cake.
In
order to prepare eventing horses for cross country work, he would hide
in the bushes and instruct the rider to gallop down the lane. You never
knew where he was hiding but invariably, he would leap out of the brush,
arms exploding wildly as the horse passed. It would prepare the horse
(and rider!) for any surprises, not to mention developing a great seat
and a be-prepared attitude on the part of the rider. He would insist
that horses could jump an obstacle up to three feet high from a standstill,
as well as a walk, in order to prepare them for the possibility of being
eliminated for a refusal. "Jump from the halt, angel!" It
was unheard of. But it worked.
He
would encourage horses to gallop through water, to swim, exposing them
to all sorts of improbable surprises, desensitizing them and offering
a comfort zone of safety and trust. He utilized existing obstacles that
were not necessarily traditional, but with the intent of exposing the
horse to all situations. His horses jumped over canoes, picnic tables,
motorcycles, water troughs, benches, coffin-like ditches and even brush
fire.
On
one occasion while preparing for a combined training event, Laddie needed
a bank jump, and saw that there was a house being constructed across
the road. After some negotiation, he obtained permission to utilize
the imperfect terrain as a makeshift practice bank jump. He then instructed
the horse and rider to jump down a three-and-a-half foot drop into the
basement, take three strides and jump back out the other side. It was
a ludicrous Voila. In his creative genius he had devised a way to introduce
his charges to an obstacle they would no doubt encounter at the competition.
Paper
thin riders were frequently referred to as "Chubby". Those
lacking courage were affectionately chided as "Marshmallows"
while most everyone, horses and humans alike, were called "Angels".
When a particularly frightening fence was looming in the foreground,
Laddie's mantra would roll off his tongue, "Shut your eyes!"
He'd advise. (A frequent and excellent tactic he utilized to build rider
sensitivity and feel was to ride several strides with closed eyes, reducing
sensory stimuli.) "Make the sign of the cross and go!" It
was his classic line and in some strange way, it worked and the entire
principle of making it alive to the other side of a massive and challenging
obstacle was somehow reduced to the simplistic concept of confidence.
It
was all about self esteem and the individual's personal belief system.
The confidence learned from experiences with horses was transferred
without conscious awareness to other areas of life. Laddie was eternally
encouraging, always advocating that there is nothing anyone can't do
as long as they have their confidence and belief firmly in place. It
was a central theme, a message of his legacy. Laddie G. Andahazy rode
horses well into his 80's. He made the final transition on September
20th, 2002 at the age of 92.
