Richard Freeman, Owner of Oak Hill Ranch and U.S. Breeding Innovator, Passed Away

Breeding

U.S.A.

Richard Freeman, owner of Oak Hill Ranch, founder of the U.S. Danish warmblood breeding programme and an equine reproduction innovator, has passed away on 17 June 2026. He was 88 years old.

Richard West Freeman, Jr. was a civic leader and business executive who ran Louisiana Coca-Cola Bottling Co. He established Oak Hill Ranch in 1987 and its breeding programme in 1992. Oak Hill Ranch emerged as a pioneer of importing frozen semen to the U.S. for the purposes of strategic sport horse breeding.

Richard discovered the Danish warmblood stallion Rambo (by Racot x Ibikus) and used him for stallion roster. In 2000 he imported Rambo and later one sires Solos Landtinus and Blue Horse Don Caruso followed. He co-founded the North American Danish Warmblood Association (NADWA) in 2001.

Oak Hill Ranch produced some of America’s top-ranking national horses for dressage and dressage sport horse breeding, including the 2012 U.S. Olympic team reserve horse Paragon (Heather Blitz), Montana (Jessica Jo Tate), Regiment (Alyssa Pitts), Arabella (Heather Blitz), Galveston (Laura Noyes), and Duke of Tryon (Jessica Davis).

Oak Hill Ranch bred their own licensed stallion, Ripline (by Hotline x Cavan x Rambo), which Blitz rode to the title of 2015 USEF Developing Prix St Georges Horse Champion and 2014 U.S. Young Horse Champion (6-year olds).

A full overview of his career and impact on the US dressage and breeding market was posted on Eurodressage when he retired and sold Oak Hill Ranch in 2021.

Fremand died yesterday at Lambeth House.

Trainer Regina Milliken, who worked for Freeman from 2008 till 2023, wrote, "Richard was raised to be a gentleman with decorum and tact, always fastidious of what he said, how he said it, and who it was directed at. He was not, in general, given to expressing powerful emotion."