Theme series: People at Loibl
Category: Career, Company | | Created by Lea PfingstenHorst (62), Head of Construction at Loibl Förderanlagen GmbH:
„At Loibl, I particularly like the operative, individual aspect of my work. We rarely act according to patterns here. Every project holds new challenges for which we have to find creative solutions.“
Kassel - the place Horst calls home? "Fortunately not," he laughs. "My home is Turkey." Horst's wife is Turkish. The two met at a Turkish wedding Horst was invited to by a colleague more than 16 years ago. So was that the dream of a harmonious culture clash? Well, not quite that simple. Horst's wife grew up in a small village and had a very traditional upbringing. "We hadn't known each other long, but my wife made it clear from the start that she would only give me six months to learn her mother tongue."
Otherwise he would never be allowed to propose to her. For Horst, who didn't speak a word of Turkish at the time, that was a shock. "I had very little sleep during that time." Working during the day, studying at night and fulfilling the expectations of a foreign culture in between. "That was tough," he admits. It was far less hard for Horst to join Islam. "I was very lucky that my parents had brought me up non-denominational." Faith is something that comes from the heart, was his mother's favourite saying. "Love comes from the heart. For me, joining a religion in the name of love was the most natural thing in the world."
Love and passion, two major motives that Horst lives by. The connection to the sea is part of his DNA. The same applies to riding. He sat on the back of a horse for the first time at the age of 6. Back then he already knew: a life at sea and on land don't have to be mutually exclusive. After a few years, he got bored with the classical style of riding. He wanted to try something new, something that promised adventure and closeness to the mount.
His wish was to come true in the 1970s. At that time, Horst switched to western riding and has since been one of the pioneers who brought this equestrian sport from the USA to Europe. Among his friends was Alan Jacobs, who popularised the breed of Quarter Horses, which is widely used in Western riding, in Germany. Horst owned a number of famous thoroughbreds himself, including Appaloosa, Paint and the famous American Quarter. His passion even took Horst as far as Gainesville, Texas, the Mecca of Western riding, where he participated professionally in rodeos.
However, his hobby was not the sole motivation for Horst's stay in the US. Horst is a trained blacksmith and agricultural machinery technician. At the College of Gainesville he did further education, trained in Agriculture Technology. Afterwards, he worked for many years in the field as a time-area and department manager.
His work took him to Indonesia and Hungary, among other places. Horst has been back in Germany for just under two years. In Straubing, Bavaria, to be precise. As Head of Construction at Loibl, he is responsible for service and assembly. "At Loibl, I particularly like the operative, individual aspect of my work. We rarely act according to patterns. Every project holds new challenges for which we have to find creative solutions."
Horst's wife and 14-year-old son moved from Hungary to Straubing a few months ago. "My family always travels with me. For him, this is the only way to combine work and family. So far they like it here very much. Horst's son thinks it's great that there are so many riding stables in the region.
Meanwhile, his wife has found a Turkish community in which she is involved. And Horst? Does he feel comfortable here? "Absolutely. The only drawback is that I'll have to move my MS Weser, for better or worse." In a few years, he says with a wink, he wants to set off on the journey from the Danube to the Black Sea with his family on the MS Weser. Back home. To the place where his heart beats.
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