Home - February - April 2010

February - April 2010

The Move to East Greenmount ...

Huge Easter Birthday Party ...

Toowoomba Royal Show ...

Morgan Breed Display ...

Life is so busy ... but oh, so good!!

We made the huge move from our wonderful property on the north side of Toowoomba to a beautiful 150 acre horse property south of Toowoomba, in the last week of March 2010. It has taken us a long time to find the right place that was close enough for us to work in Toowoomba city, but roomy enough to raise our wonderful horses. We have struck Gold at East Greenmount.

The horses all settled in within a milli-second of their hooves hitting the ground. Contentment is written all over them.

RachBoss Cortez in his new paddock

My good friend Jane Warren of Manyana Morgans spent the day helping me bring the horses from one side of Toowoomba to the other. The first two mares and foals to hit the ground were Eagleview Skybeau with Jacobinia and Mt Tawonga Natasha with Chancellor. They put their heads into the grass and I'm sure they didn't raise them until brekkie time the next morning.

Mt Tawonga Natasha (aka Elle), Jane and Eagleview Skybeau (aka Calypso)

Mares and foals coming in for breakfast

Wilga Park Lisianthus, 4 months old, always independent, checking that Greg has enough for her as well

Easter Birthday Party - We held a huge birthday party for Greg one week after we moved to the new property. It was a wonderful Easter and the party seemed to go on for the full four days. Friends and relatives started rolling in from Good Friday and set up the most brilliant tents and camper trailers and settled in for a great time.

We were surrounded by wonderful friends who came from all over the country! The makings of a great 'new home' warming. The Party Shed (aka the Machinery Shed) was a fantastic venue for the 60 plus people who were here for dinner and the 48 who stayed for breakfast and the Easter Egg Hunt.

Parents and kids all had huge fun ... and that is what Wilga Park is all about ... great times, great friends, great family, great horses ... and we are so very grateful to have it all!

Greg surrounded by his grandkids, nieces, nephews and greatnieces and nephews.

The Party Shed at East Greenmount ... don't you love the poles that hold it up! Tree trunks!

Pony Rides ... Oscar and Nepean spent hours taking all the kids around the house yard.

The Toowoomba Royal Show was scheduled for two weeks after our move. We had fat, unfit horses who hadn't seen a rug for months, let alone had any ridden training. Shows are just not Top Priority when one is moving. However, as we had committed to doing a Morgan Breed Display at the Show, we just had to turn our minds to what we could do. Our wonderful Morgans stepped up to the plate and excelled!

Wilga Park Golden Glory ventured out for her very first time to a show. She is just 16 months old and she stepped onto that float like a Veteran. Her only outing prior to that day was the day she walked on to the float to be taken from Gowrie Heights to East Greenmount. The experience of taking Glory out just re-inforced for us exactly why we breed these beautiful animals. She stepped off the float into a frenzy of horse people preparing their horses for their classes ... took a lazy look around and decided to ignore them all. We tied her to the float ... she got slightly bored with not being able to explore and decided to test the strength of the tie ... just a tug on the rope, not a pull back ... made up her mind that it would be a waste of energy to attempt to loosen the rope, so decided she'd best put her patient hat on. She was a GEM!

We were lucky enough to have Linda Shore, our horse starter and riding instructor, handle both Cortez and Glory at the Show.

RanchBoss Cortez and his gorgeous daughter Golden Glory represented Wilga Park in the Buckskin Classes on the Thursday of the Toowoomba Royal. Cortez was Champion Buckskin Stallion as well as Reserve Champion ridden Dilute and Glory brought home her third ribbon in the yearling class with pride.

The Gorgeous Golden Glory sporting her ribbon with handler Linda Shore, of River Range Warmblood stud

Morgan Classes were held on the Saturday of the Show ... the same day as out Breed Display. Wilga Park did extrememly well in these classes. Our fantastic friends helped preen, lead, hold and ride our horses in the various classes. Linda Shore was responsible for Cortez and Glory, Kirra Parks had Mt Tawonga Oscar in tow and Gail Smith partnered Mt Tawonga Nepean for the day. Linda also took Indigo Roc the Boat, our third gelding, into the gelding classes. We were lucky enough to have Gail's family and our young friends, Rachel and Tammie, to help hold horses as well.

RanchBoss Cortez was Champion Morgan Stallion and Supreme Champion Pure Morgan Exhibit, Indigo Roc the Boat was Champion Morgan Gelding ... taking it out over 5 other magnificent geldings (Go Rocky!!) and young Glory was third in her pure filly class.

Indigo Roc the Boat - Champion Morgan Gelding - Toowomba Royal Show 2010

In the ridden Morgan class, there were six beautiful horses. Wilga Park's talented riders and horses took out the first three places. Kirra Parks on Mt Tawonga Oscar were in first place, whilst Linda Shore and Cortez were second and Gail Smith on Mt Tawonga Nepean were third. Oscar excelled himself. It was his first time in a double bridle and he was superb.

Left to Right - Gail on Nepean (3rd), Linda on Cortez (2nd) and Kirra on Oscar (1st).

The Morgan Breed Display was organised for an hour or so after the Breed Classes. Our team did a fantastic job of displaying the versatility of the Morgan horse. Linda Shore once again co-ordinated our section of the display and put together the music. She choreographed the Pas de Trois performed in a tremendously polished fashion, by our three Morgan boys and their riders. She also decided (at the last minute) to try some whip-cracking on Oscar and some very different riding on Cortez. She rode him with the reins tied and just a stockwhip around his neck - all to great music!

Linda rode Cortez with a normal snaffle bridle, showing off his Dressage paces, and then swapped the reins for a whip around his neck and displayed just how willing and attentive to the rider our Morgan stallion is. She then took Oscar out and rode him in formal Dressage moves. Linda swapped her tophat and tails for a stetson and whip, and the double bridle for a lead rope, and proceeded to show just how versatile the Morgan horse is, by racing Oscar around like a cow pony, cracking her whip all the while. Both horses where awesome under Linda's hand.

The following photos tell their own tale ...

Linda practicing to ride bridle-less on Cortez

Pas de Trois - Kirra on Oscar, Gail on Nepean and Linda on Cortez

Linda showing the two faces of Oscar

Linda and Cortez - Linda was riding Cortez with just the whip around his neck

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