GoHorseShow.com has learned that two of the industry’s most dominant stallions, Invitation Only, the #1 AQHA All Time Leading Sire of Point Earners, and multiple World and Congress Champion sire, Lazy Loper have been sold to Fritz and Carole Leeman of Massillon, Ohio. Purchased from Ohio Pine View Farms, the two stallions will remain under the management of Roger Landis and Debbi Trubee and will stand at Landis and Trubee’s 26 acre North Farm in North Lawrence, Ohio, just five miles from Leeman Farm.
“The first thing people are going to want to know is how will things change,” Debbi Trubee told GoHorseShow. “I would like to reassure the breeding customers that there will be absolutely no change and no disruption to the breeding program. All of the Pine View Farms stallions will finish the 2015 season at Pine View. Everything is going to be the same as it has been. Fritz and Carole want to ensure that there is a seamless transition and that all obligations will continue to be met the same as they have always been for the stallions’ breeding customers.”
Mike Farina’s Ohio Pine View Farms, located in North Lawrence, Ohio, originally purchased Lazy Loper in 2003 and Invitation Only in 2005. During this time, Invitation Only cemented his place in AQHA history becoming the #1 AQHA All Time Leading Sire of Point Earners as well as AQHA’s Leading Sire eight years in a row. Invy was recently honored at the 2014 Congress where he made an unprecedented appearance at the red carpet event.
Lazy Loper, the 2005 AQHA World Champion in Junior Western Pleasure and AQHA Top Five Sire, has sired multiple AQHA and Congress champions including One Lazy Investment, Lopin For A Chex and VS Flatline, to name just a few.
“They’re obviously very famous studs and we’ve lived so close to them,” Katsy Leeman, Fritz and Carole Leeman’s granddaughter, told us. “We’ve always known about them and have watched their babies throughout the years. The opportunity presented itself and it just wasn’t something we could pass up!”
The Leeman’s young AQHA World Champion producing stallion, How Bout This Cowboy, as well as Willy Be Invited, will continue to stand at their picturesque 200 acre Leeman Farm. Pine View stallions, Winnies Willy, owned by Deb Cook, The Best Martini, owned by Rhonda Malone, and Lopin Lazy owned by Patti Cerio, will finish the breeding season for 2015 at Pine View Farms. Winnies Willy and The Best Martini will stand at Landis and Trubee’s North Farm for 2016.
For Fritz and wife, Carole Leeman, keeping the successful combination of Landis and Trubee (pictured here) together 
with Invitation Only and Lazy Loper, was integral to the purchase of the two stallions from Ohio Pine View Farms.
According to Fritz Leeman, “Keeping Roger and Deb played a very big part. It took Roger and Deb to be tied all together with the studs to make it all work. I don’t think it would have worked well just us doing it. They are pretty excited about it, and so am I.”
“Fritz is the most excited person I have ever seen buy a horse in my life,” Debbi Trubee told us. “He is like a little kid. He is giddy!”
“I’m always giddy,” joked Fritz. “I believe life is what you make of it and I thought it would be a great thing for all of us. I think Invitation Only is a great horse and at 26 years old he looks incredible! We felt he needed a good home and if we can breed him to some of our great mares and get something done, it will be fantastic! We can only hope we can do that in the next few years. It made us pretty happy because we have been trying to make this happen for a few months.”
“Roger and I are very invested with Lazy’s customers and we are very happy that we are able to continue to work with them,” Debbi said. “We love the heck out of our customers. I love working with the people and seeing their babies and seeing how excited they are when the babies are born. As far as Invitation Only is concerned, if Roger could sleep in front of his stall, he would. Invy has had the best of care his entire life and that is not going to change. We still breed and his semen is still good, but at some point it’s going to end. To know that horse will never have to worry about what is going to happen to him is so important to both of us.”
Fritz Leeman (pictured left) is the longtime owner and operator of Brewster Dairy, the largest manufacturer of Swiss cheese in the United States. Fritz and wife, Carole, have been active in the horse industry for over 35 years and have watched their three children, and two of their grandchildren, Katsy and Kyle, grow up showing horses.
“My wife Carole never gets involved in the cheese business, but she’ll give me her two cents in the horse business,” said Fritz. “She has wanted me to buy these guys for the past four months. She would not stop. She was a broken record and she just wouldn’t quit. She would say, ‘You can’t let those horses go somewhere that they might not get a good home.’ She was worried about that. At first, I told her that it really wasn’t our problem, but I guess it was!”
According to Fritz, it took quite some time for the deal to come together.
“A guy who I have known for years, who also knows Mike Farina, asked me if I wanted to buy Invitation Only and Lazy Loper. Mike had been talking to him and I told him, ‘Sure I’m interested.’ So between what Mike wanted and what I wanted, it took a while. But a little negotiation is good for all of us. It took three or four months, but we got it done and I’m very happy it is done. It’s wonderful.”
“We are still kind of in shock that we were able to buy these horses,” Carole Leeman told us. “It’s all so new to us. We are so excited and we are very fortunate to get them. Their appreciation will keep going with our family. We will keep them happy and healthy and safe.”
“We are all pretty excited about this opportunity,” Katsy, who just graduated from Auburn University, said. “Invitation Only is Invitation Only. Lazy is at the peak of his greatness with his breeding. He is really producing some awesome horses. How Bout This Cowboy is young, but from his second foal crop he already has an AQHA World Champion. It’s going to be great to tie those two together and watch what they can do. I think they are going to change the industry together.”
“We are just still in a dream about this. Hardly anybody gets to have this big of a dream come true in their life,” said Carole.
Fritz summed it up well. “It has worked out really well for both of us. Carole’s happy, I’m happy and it should be a lot of fun.”
