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Former
teacher, textbook author, and entrepreneur, Linda Lee (Konichek) has
loved poetry, horses, and Wisconsin’s lifestyle, from childhood.
Twenty-five years ago, her family moved to a lovely 114 acre farm in
Eagle, where she and her daughter breed Morab horses (a cross between
the Morgan and Arabian horse); they established Jericho Creek Farm I in
1986.
Over the
past twenty-four years they have produced more than eighty beautiful
Morab foals and now stand several Morab and Morgan stallions, and one
Egyptian-Arabian stallion. Today, the family farm is run by Linda, who
works with mares and foals and promotion, and daughter, Wendy, who
trains and shows horses, and gives lessons to people of all ages and
abilities. In 2009, Wendy plans to establish The Horse-Power Healing
Center, for children and adults with special needs, as part of her
riding academy, Jericho Creek Farm II. Special friend, Carolyn Harris,
operates a sister farm, Jericho Creek West, in Lincoln, California, near
Sacramento.
The men
of the family, Norm and Jamie, work the fifty-acre hay field and try to
keep up with the never-ending maintenance of the farm, along with their
regular jobs. Son, Matthew, and his wife, Galina Shelepov, “Master of
Sport” in Dressage, operate Legacy Dressage Center, in Burlington,
Wisconsin.
In 2000,
Linda attended the School of the Arts in Rhinelander, for the first
time, where several gifted teachers helped her to begin writing poetry
and her first novel. Her poems are inspired by the beauty of
Wisconsin’s changing seasons and the every day miracles of life on the
farm, as well as the many special people who comprise a large circle of
friends and family. Her first gift-edition chapbook of horse poetry, for
women who love horses, WHERE WOMAN ENDS-HORSE BEGINS, was published in
2003. It was well-received by the “horse community,” and is in its
fourth printing.
In
addition, Linda contributes farm articles regularly to several equine
publications, including WISCONSIN HORSEMEN’S NEWS and the MORAB
PERSPECTIVE.
CELEBRATING THE HEART-LAND, Linda’s first full length book of poetry, is
Linda’s tribute to life and values in the Midwest. It also gives her a
chance to showcase some of her friends and family and the kindred
spirits who enrich every moment of her day.
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