About Us

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LJS Horses in North East, MD is ideally located midway between Baltimore and Philadelphia and an easy distance from Fair Hill, Devon Show Grounds, and the NJ Horse Park.

With over 20 acres of gently rolling hills, spring fed streams, 2 barns, and 5 paddocks, LJS is the ideal environment for breeding and raising quality sport horses. 

Our owner and managers Marie Emrey and Pam Butkiewcz have built off the centuries of breeding warmbloods; prized for their intelligence, strength, endurance, and durability.  With foundations in cavalry and war training, as well as hunting, the Dutch, Holstein, Hanoverian, and Westphalian breeds evolved slowly into the international Dressage, Hunters, Jumpers, and Eventers we see dominating their disciplines today. Though each breed has distinct strengths and predilections, breeders found that the mixing of the blood of each of these foundation warmbloods has continually produced more athletic and diverse offspring than the predecessors. They have moved past the tradition of breeding Dressage sires to Dressage mares, Jumpers to Jumpers, and so on in hopes of producing a more outstanding version of the bloodline. Creating athletic horses with a focus on soundness and longevity by infusing jump blood into dressage prospects and dressage worthy gaits into jumper. The theory is simple in that a good engine is important for all disciplines as well as an elastic, free shoulder and powerful “connected” push from behind. Jump talent is highly heritable whereas producing upper-level dressage gaits can be more of a challenge. 

After over 20 years of breeding for the "Holy Trinity" and that perfect blend of athleticism and longevity, we've succeeded in producing top foals in all disciplines, including but certainly not limited to:    ​

2024 KWPN Reserve Champion North America Hunter Bred Foal

2021 Maryland Horse Trials FEH 2 year old class - 2nd place

2019 Gold Medal Winner

2013 KWPN's 3 highest scoring Jumper Bred Foal of North America

2012 KWPN's 3 highest scoring Jumper Bred Foal of North America

Marie Taylor Emrey has owned, worked, and shown horses/ponies since the age of 5. She originally went to college to become a veterinarian but ended up a biologist doing research instead. Her two biggest areas of interest were equine lameness/biomechanics and genetics.  She has been breeding horses for over 25 years; she has experience with Thoroughbreds, Warmbloods, Warmblood crosses, and even sport ponies. 

After college she became a certified farrier and started Reliable Farrier Services; she specialized in corrective shoeing. After taking early retirement from duPont she began to focus on what she loved; her expanding breeding program. Lazy J Sporthorses (now known as LJS Sporthorses) soon found it's home on a piece of underdeveloped acreage in North East Maryland.  In 2022, Marie partnered with longtime friend and talented horse person, Pam Butkiewicz to further our goals for LJS Horses.

While she first started breeding warmbloods and crosses for the amateur rider wanting a partner with an excellent temperament, versatility and soundness/longevity LJS Sporthorses has expanded their focus to include horses that are able to take their rider to the upper levels. However, she has not lost sight of the “holy trinity”, while producing prospects for dressage, eventing, and hunter/jumpers.

With her background in the jumper ring, Marie knows that the qualities that make a good jumper also makes for a good dressage partner; infusing jump blood into dressage prospects and dressage worthy gaits into jumpers. The theory is simple in that horses in all disciplines need a good engine as well as an elastic, free shoulder and powerful “connected” push from behind. 

Marie's breeding goal is to produce a horse that possesses the correct conformation to perform the discipline in which it was bred for as well as have the temperament/rideability and long-term soundness needed for the upper levels of sport.