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Visits since 1 January 2000
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"The Horseman" by Marian Carpenter
In the entire horse community, among all the breeds in the world, there is no higher praise that can be given to any person than to call him a horseman. A simple word, yet it is one that implies the attainment of that most difficult and elusive of states: that of being as one with a horse. Few achieve it. And then, often for only brief, fleeting moments here and there. Even fewer manage to consistently and continually attain the level at which man and animal move as a single being, with beauty, grace, and power. Every year, The Pyramid Society’s Egyptian Event is blessed by the presence of just such a horseman. Each year, he brings his exquisitely-trained dressage horses down from the North, swooping in like an avenging angel, his personality as strong as his talents. He is Leslie Wagschal, a passionate man, with passionate horses and a zesty love for life. He is also a good man, and most who meet him know they have been touched by an extraordinary spirit. At the most recent Egyptian Event in June, 1993, Wagschal and his number one dressage horse, Shalom Mishkoh, were particularly impressive. His official demonstration was on Thursday during the week, but his admirers wanted more. In fact, country singer Lynn Anderson was so taken by Wagschal and Mishkoh that she asked to ride the nearly white gelding in her Saturday night show at the Event. "She is a great rider, and rides cutting horses very well," explained Wagschal, "but he was a little too much for her. At his level of dressage training the smallest touch is a major cue. It is too difficult to sing and hold a microphone and hold Mishkoh all at once!" So, Lynn Anderson rode another horse, but she asked Wagschal and Mishkoh to be a part of her act. And what a part they were. With Wagschal in formal attire, the pair danced freestyle to the strains of Anderson’s song "The Pony." The arena was dead black, the only light a bright spot on horse and rider. Unrehearsed, they moved gracefully to the music. As the audience exploded with appreciation, Mishkoh did too, but Wagschal quickly brought him back under control. As the tempo slowed, so did the pair, until the handsome Grey moved in one place at the passage and piaffe - perfectly in time with the music. And the crowd again went wild. The very athletic Shalom Mishkoh is by the straight Egyptian stallion Serenity Osiris (*Khofo x Serenity Bint Nadia) and out of a stakes-winning Thoroughbred mare, Echo Princess. He was carefully bred, raised, and trained by Wagschal at his Shalom Farm Arabians near Gormley, Ontario. In open competition, he has won countless titles, moving from dressage Level I in 1985 to Intermediaire Level I (the next level above Prix St. Georges) by 1991. Mishkoh has been the Canadian National Dressage Champion over 40 Warmbloods, generally recognized as the masters of today’s dressage competition. He has taken home blues in open competition at shows ranging from Bloomfield to Devon to Detroit. Several times, he has won the Tournament of Champions in Canada. In Arabian competition, Mishkoh has eight National Championships, two Reserves, and 12 Top Tens. He has 17 Regional Championships, one Regional Reserve, and 19 Top Five awards. The gelding is expected to receive the IAHA’s Legion of Supreme Excellence Award in June, 1994, at the 14th Annual Egyptian Event. Wagschal has other fine horses as well, including the Egyptian stallions *Ibn Amoura (Ibn Abla x Amoura I) and Shalom Yarom (*Ibn Amoura x *Shalom Ha’Yonah). All told, 30 horses inhabit the farm, which is run by his son, Benno. (Daughter Zipporah, 17, also works at the farm and goes to school, and son Wolf attends a hotelier school in Switzerland, Wagschal’s native country.) In addition to the horse business, Wagschal, a former architect, and his wife Marny take into their home troubled teenagers "no one else wants," says Wagschal. (See the article "Troubled Teens..." page 76PR, February, 1988, Pyramid Report.) "We have seen miracles happen; it always moves you. Right now, we are taking more classes in order to help these abused kids even more." "I love what I am doing and have been doing it for the last 20 years. The horses are so very important. Now and then I sell one to put groceries on the table. We aren’t rich, but we are happy. I love my wife Marny more now than ever. Everything I do, you see, I do for my wife and kids, to make them proud of me. I live on the recognition, too, a bit," Wagschal admits with a smile. "Now, God has blessed me to have Mishkoh. I have the pleasure and honor of guarding him. There will never be another like him." Or another horseman quite like Leslie Wagschal.
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