Caroline Roffman announced today, Jan. 23, the sale of Grand Prix horse Her Highness O to Denmark’s Signe and Thomas Kirk Kristiansen.  

“I run a sales and training barn, and a lot of horses in my stable are for sale,” said Roffman, 26. “She was never listed for sale or anything like that, but I’d had a few offers and some interest in Europe and then once we were home. But when I met her new owners and they showed interest in buying her, it was the first time I considered selling her.  It’s the perfect home, and [Signe] rode her absolutely beautifully.”

Roffman and the 12-year-old Hanoverian (Hohenstein—Wild Lady O, Weltmeyer) mare traveled abroad to the Fritzens CDI**** (Austria), Verden CDI*** (Germany) and the Aachen CDIO***** (Germany) last year as part of the short list for the U.S. Dressage Team at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (France). They were not included on the team.

“[Selling her] was such a bittersweet thing,” said Roffman, who runs her Lionshare Dressage in Wellington, Fla. “I love that horse. She’s been so much for me, and she’s a very special horse. I’ll never find another like her, and it’s hard, but it’s a part of the business. It’s tear-worthy; I’m not going to lie. I’ve done some of that. But it’s giving me the security to find horses in the future. It’s really hard, and I would never have done if it was the wrong situation, but it was so much the right situation.” 

Roffman started competing “Hannah,” who was then owned by Jennifer Lind, in 2012. The mare had been mainly used as a broodmare before, and Roffman later purchased Hannah from Lind. Roffman rode her to the USEF National Developing Horse Prix St. Georges title in 2012, and the pair came out at Grand Prix in late 2013.

“Jennifer brought her to me as a sales horse, and we had a sales fall through on her, and I’d just had a sale with another horse go through. I bought her about three or four years ago not really knowing how good she’d be,” said Roffman. “She just kept getting better and better.”

Though she doesn’t have a Grand Prix horse in her barn now, Roffman is excited about several young horses she’s bringing up the ranks.  

“I love developing horses, and I’ve been lucky at a young age to make up a lot of FEI horses,” she said. “I love the training of horses; for me, the showing is the icing on the cake. It’s a long road, but I have some very good young horses, and I have a lot of hope for them.”