Home - Latest News
September 2010
Visitors! Visitors! Visitors! ... and we love every minute of it ...
RanchBoss Cortez - Supreme Champion Morgan and Supreme Champion Dilute at Gold Coast Show .....
Wilga Park Mares due to foal soon ....
Last year's crop of foals ...
Buckskin Fillies are the trend in Queensland!
A Man, His Horse and His Dog ....
Visitors!!! We have had the pleasure of lots of wonderful visitors over the last month or so. All of them besotted with Morgan horses, so, of course, welcomed with open arms at Wilga Park!
Lea-anne and Craig dropped in one Sunday from the Gold Coast, just to meet our Morgans. What an enjoyable couple of hours that was. The foals were very obliging and ready to give Lea-anne the Morgan Snuggle! In fact, they were lining up to get their chance to do it.
Jacobinia enjoying a snuggle with Lea-anne, and then GoldenSolidago asking if he can have one too.
Wilga Park GoldenSolidago has decided he likes women a lot. They give him lots of attention and he is revelling in it. I always felt he would be a great horse for a man, as he didn't necessarily demand rubs and cuddles. He has a certain inner serenity and quiet confidence and doesn't need lots of attention to know he is loved. However, he is changing his mind about Snuggles. I will often be giving Jaco a huge cuddle whilst Jaco rests his head on my chest and closes his eyes ... both of us enjoying the moment ... and I will feel a little muzzle nudge on my shoulder ... yes, Soldiago has wandered over and would like to be given a cuddle too, please.
We met Amanda a number of weeks ago and she, too, has fallen for Morgans. She pops back to visit whenever she can and it is always a pleasure to see her. The foals always enjoy it when we have visitors as they get that little extra attention that they just soak up.
Amanda and GoldenSolidago enjoying a quiet moment together.
Christine Maroni and Suzanne Bendotti from Western Australia also dropped in to see us at different times during September. How lucky were we that they were travelling to the East Coast of Australia and decided to incorporate a visit with us!! We had a whirlwind one day visit with Christine, and seemed to fit a week's agenda into that one day, but we were able to enjoy Sue's company over a fantastic three day visit. Both these ladies are Equine Specialists and Cortez enjoyed massages every time they were near him. He also enjoyed giving them a taste of what it is like to ride a gentle, obliging, responsive and supremely well-mannered stallion.
Cortez and Christine - love that smile on her face!!!
Sue, the proudest smile on her face, riding Cortez, sire of her very own Wilga Park Golden Ash (Flynn)
Sue also found time to spend with the youngsters and both Desert Rose and Chancellor enjoyed a big groom (they were covered in mud!) and a little training. Sue owns Wilga Park Golden Ash, so Tammie Pike, owner of Golden Glory, Ash's younger sister, popped over to share stories of the two siblings with Sue. The animated conversation was a joy to listen to. Both these ladies love their Morgans and it warms our hearts knowing our babies are in such fine hands.
Chancellor and Sue ... I promise ... he really had been groomed!!
Tammie Pike and Sue comparing notes about their Cortez babies, Golden Glory and Golden Ash
Cortez was Supreme Champion twice over at the Gold Coast Show. As well as bringing back the prize money, we also scored 4 Jacaru Hats and a wonderfully warm Jacaru jacket. Cortez certainly earned his extra hay that day!! Supreme Champion Morgan, Cortez, and I managed to take first place in the ridden Morgan class (Jane and Mt Tawonga Oscar were second).
Cortez also won Champion Ridden Buckskin, Champion Buckskin and Supreme Champion Dilute. It was a most enjoyable day and our Morgans again attracted a lot of attention. Mt Tawonga Oscar was Champion Morgan Gelding and Wilga Park Malaynee (owned by Jane & Kim Warren) was Champion Morgan Mare.
Greg giving Cortez a Man Hug for winning Supreme Champion!
Cortez attracted a small fan club in a young family and they decided to sit on the grass and watch his final classes. We can see this little girl's Mum and Dad are going to be forking out for a pony before too long! And maybe one day she will want a Morgan of her very own.
Cortez Admirers, Jane on Mt Tawonga Oscar and Kathy on RanchBoss Cortez
New Crop of Foals - The time is drawing closer for our next crop of foals to be hitting the ground. Mt Tawonga Marrella should be the first to foal down, followed closely by Red Bluff Paprika and then Haymeron Park Ruby Jane (RJ) and Mt Tawonga Natasha (Elle). We have to wait until mid January for Eagleview Skybeau (Calypso) to have her foal.
I thought I would share some recent photos of our 5 mares who are due to foal in a matter of weeks and also some recent photos of woolly, yearling foals ... along with a lovely photo of Golden Glory, who just doesn't seem to grow as much wool as the others during winter.
We are extremely grateful to Jane and Kim Warren of Manyana Morgans for leasing Wilga Park Malaynee to us to have a Cortez baby. Malaynee was our very first born Morgan by Karenza Malanion. She is as beautiful as her mother, Calypso, and though Jane has owned her since before she was born, she holds a very special place in our hearts. That foal will be one special baby when it arrives.
Photos of our Mares ....
This beautiful photo above is of Malaynee (on left) meeting RJ who is 9 months pregnant
Mt Tawonga Natasha (Elle) blooming at 9 months pregnant
The lovely Marrella - she can still trot out with style even though that belly is huge
And so can Paprika ... though her tummy doesn't look quite so big!
Calypso, Head Mare, keeping an eye on her herd
Photos of the growing babies - now around 10 months old and still woolly with their winter coats... we only have Jaco and Solidago left on our For Sale page.
Wilga Park Jacobinia (owned by Lea-anne Willett) - with his winter wool, curly mane and very round tummy.
Lisianthus (owned by Lisa and Tim Wong) on the left and Desert Rose (our little Keeper) on the right. The Girls often hang together.
Desert Rose has inherited Tippuhana's and Marrella's lovely paces, along with Cortez's lift.
Wilga Park GoldenSolidago playing with Jaco and Chancellor
Wilga Park Chancellor - owned by Nila Latimer
Wilga Park Golden Glory 22 months old - owned by Tammie Pike.
The first Cortez Foals of the season have all been fillies and have all been born with a cream gene!! The first, Lindhaven Gypsy Dancer is a light creamy buckskin, and the second Manyana Dusky Rose is a smokey black.
Lindhaven Gypsy Dancer (she looks just like a Flamenco Dancer doesn't she!!), and Jane Warren with her 4 week old Manyana Dusky Rose, already doing her Parelli training ... and Dusky loves it.
The next two babies were also buckskin fillies. Both born in Mundubberra. Sandie owns QH mare, Wrangler's Hollywood, and Jill owns stockhorse mare, Coco. Photos below were taken when the fillies were hours old.
Wrangler's Hollywood's filly on the left and little Coco Pop on the right.
We are tremendously proud of the babies Cortez is putting on the ground. Whether it be Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse or Stock Horse Mum, the babies come out with a very strong Morgan stamp on them. There are another four more outside mares to foal down and we look forward to each of those babies arriving. We hope the Mare owners get their dream foal. Cortez hasn't run out of 'buckskin' yet, it seems. <g>
The breeding season has begun once more for Cortez, so this time next year we should be sharing photos of new born foals again.
One last photo to share with you ... one of those moments when Greg can be found out in the paddock with Cortez.
A Man ... His Horse ... and his Dog!!