By Callum Turner

Copyright ibtimes

Katie Langdale’s story is as layered as the land she stewards at Rosewood Farm. It is a story of horses, resilience, and an unshakable belief that hard work and vision can transform both lives and landscapes.”I grew up on this farm,” Langdale said. “It’s always been home, even when life pulled me away.” Her early years were shaped by horses, but her first career wasn’t with the Lipizzans she now breeds. Instead, she spent 15 years in the high-stakes world of racehorses, traveling the country to ride, train, and own them. “I learned to fly airplanes at 16, thanks to my dad,” she recalled. “One of the pilots at our airport rode racehorses. When I realized you could get paid to ride, I was all in.”Racehorses became her life, first in flat racing, then in steeplechase. Just as she was pursuing a jockey’s license, life shifted: she was pregnant with her second daughter. Around the same time, she was going through a divorce. “That’s when I came back home,” Langdale said. “I needed to reset.”Back at Rosewood Farm, her path took an unexpected turn when a touring Lipizzan show went bankrupt, leaving behind horses destined for auction. Langdale purchased a yearling foal and an older Andalusian stallion trained in the legendary “airs above the ground.” That horse, she said, was her butterfly effect.”He had this massive resume; he had performed for prominent audiences,” Langdale explained. “But he was essentially abandoned. Even though he was so highly trained, he was feral on the ground. I had to start over with him. He taught me everything.”With him, Langdale entered a new world. Theater performances, magazine covers, film work, doors opened, but more importantly, her passion for Lipizzans deepened. “People love a story, and they love a rescue,” she reflected. “That horse connected me to people in a way I never expected.”Langdale went on to build one of the largest Lipizzan breeding herds on the East Coast. But for her, the horses are part of a larger philosophy: stewardship of both land and legacy. Before her father passed away, she and he shared a vision of making the farm self-sustaining. “We wanted the land to pay for itself,” she said. “That meant creating opportunities for people to connect with it.”That vision gave rise to Rosewood’s agri-park concept: festivals, educational events, and family activities built around agriculture. Today, visitors can stay in a rustic cabin or a soon-to-be-constructed yurt, unplug from technology, and reconnect with simpler joys. “There’s no Wi-Fi, no TV,” Langdale explained. “But there are books, board games, kayaks, creeks, and animals to meet. I love watching people transform from ‘I’m so bored’ to chasing crawdads in the creek.”For Langdale, these simple experiences are profound. She recalled one festival where a family drifted away from the attractions to toss a Frisbee together. “It was so basic, but so important,” she said. “That’s what I want this place to be, somewhere families can connect without distractions.”Life on the farm, however, is not without challenges. Horses are expensive to care for, and even with a thriving breeding program, the margins are thin. Langdale and her husband also run a tree business to support the farm. “It’s hard work,” she admitted. “But my goal is for the Rosewood Farm to eventually sustain us on its own. That means a few more years of running two jobs.”Through it all, she remains committed to the horses. “I see myself as a steward of the Lipizzan breed,” Langdale said. “They’re rare and misunderstood, but they’re extraordinary. My job is to leave things better than I found them.”Her passion for storytelling has also found another outlet, writing. Langdale has already completed several children’s books and is working toward having them published and a larger biography. “Most people don’t believe me when I tell them the things I’ve done,” she said. “From flying planes to racehorses to Lipizzans, it’s been all over the map. A book feels like the best way to capture it.”If there is a common thread through Langdale’s story, it is transformation. From a young horse-crazed girl to a seasoned racehorse rider, from a single mother returning home to a breeder of rare horses, and now as a land steward creating spaces for families to reconnect, her life has been defined by change, resilience, and possibility.”It’s a labor of love,” Langdale said. “I want the land to thrive, the horses to thrive, and for people to experience something real here. That’s what keeps me going.”