Klosterman’s Legacy Continues at Fasig-Tipton

Although Judy Klosterman was suffering from the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease, the Ohio horsewoman’s nurses and staff made a point to let her see the new foals born last spring at the Langsem Farm she and her husband Ken operated.

“She was at the barn for every foaling or we made sure she got there the next day,” said Lindsay Scott, who has managed the 235-acre farm near Loveland, Ohio for three years. “She still knew horses and would talk about them. She wanted to keep her mind sharp.”

Klosterman died Oct. 13 at age 78, but her legacy and horse skills are on full display through Langsem Farm's five-horse consignment at the current Fasig-Tipton October yearling sale. Langsem already has sold one Ohio-bred Yes It's True colt for $9,500 and the rest of the group is on offer during the Oct. 26 final session.

Klosterman, a native of Fort Mitchell, Ky., who with her husband established Langsem in the late 1980s, was named 1992 Ohio breeder of the year and 1999 Midwest region breeder of the year by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

She bred and raced individually or in partnership two-time Ohio champion Naughty, Crusie, Brushy Fork, Enticed, Heavenliness, and Conjuress. Her foundation mare Haveaheavenlytime was named the Ohio broodmare of the year and is present in many of the pedigrees of the Langsem consignment at Fasig-Tipton.

Klosterman also has the distinction of having sold the most expensive Ohio-bred in history, the multiple stakes winner Unbridled Time bought by Bob and Beverly Lewis for $1.15 million.

Scott said Klosterman’s legacy will be “the horses she bred and the people she influenced. She loved the science behind the families and pedigrees. She gave each horse the opportunity to move on with its life.

“Hard-working and passionate are some good words to describe her. She was good to everybody who knew her.”

Kentucky horseman Walter Hillenmeyer III, who advised and worked with Klosterman for decades and is running the Fasig-Tipton consignment along with Scott, said the breeder always strived to breed the best horses she could, sending mares to Kentucky-based stallions.

“She set the bar and we’re just carrying on,” said Hillenmeyer, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Manager Club’s Manager of the Year for 2016. “It’s business as usual.”

In addition to visiting her new foals of 2016, Klosterman made a point to have someone take her to see some of her other horses, a source of inspiration during her illness.

“I think they recognized her; I think they recognized her heart,” Scott said.

The Klosterman family, which also operates one of the Midwest’s largest bakeries, plans to continue the Thoroughbred breeding operation, Hillenmeyer said.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in memory of Judy Klosterman to Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farms.