Family in Krāslava Municipality runs “Klajumi” horse farm and does not sell its horses
Entrepreneur Ilze Stabulniece and her husband Viktors run the “Klajumi” horse farm in Kaplava Parish, Krāslava Municipality, five kilometres from the Belarusian border. The family keeps 18 horses, does not sell them and breeds the Latvian horse breed.
In Kaplava Parish in Latvia's Krāslava Municipality, just five kilometres from the Belarusian border, stands the horse farm “Klajumi”. It is run by entrepreneur Ilze Stabulniece and her husband Viktors. In an interview with the news portal Jauns.lv, she spoke about the family's farm and why their lives revolve around horses.
Ilze explained that horse lovers know the idea of a “horse virus”. According to her, you can never tell who will catch it, but once it happens, it lasts for life and cannot be cured. She and her husband have both caught it.
From one horse to 18
Ilze bought her first horse in 1991, when Latvia regained its independence. She says she was born during the occupation and has loved these animals for as long as she can remember. The mare she bought was pregnant, so the family soon had two horses. She says horse owners joke that a horse needs a friend, so the herd gradually grew, and the family now has 18 horses.
“We don't eat or sell our friends”
This saying is the farm's motto. Ilze does not know whether any other large horse-breeding farm in Latvia refuses to sell its horses; with 18 animals, she regards theirs as fairly large. The family breeds Latvian-breed horses and carries out pedigree breeding work, and the horses also work on the farm. Their children help with everything.
Turning a hobby into a business
While studying at her first university, an economics professor told her that the best business is built on a hobby. Ilze loved horses and riding, so she decided to start a horse-related business: leading tours from horseback without having to sell the animals. That became the family's first business.
