The biggest Morgan Horse Stud in the Southern Hemisphere
Mt. Tawonga Morgan Horse Stud was founded in 1988 on a 300 acre beef cattle property at Mullagong - a picturesque district between Dederang and Mt Beauty in the North East of Victoria.
The original aim was to breed a high quality, low maintenance stock horse - a horse that could live on grass, didn't need shoes, rugs or veterinarians - an intelligent horse that was easy to break in and biddable even if there were long spells between stints of hard work.
Aura Dell Charlie Brown (Saddleback Sultan x Saddleback Sundance), a three year old Morgan colt was purchased to cover the stock horse mares already on hand.
When purchasing Charlie Brown, the enthusiasm of the late George Reed and his wife Mary changed the direction of Mt. Tawonga's plans - from breeding stock horses to breeding Morgans.
Two other mares, Aura Dell Misty and Aura Dell Peekie, bred by the Reeds, and the imported stallion Wawayanda Watch Out and his daughter Lizotte Lil Bridget, were initially leased to Mt. Tawonga and later purchased. These formed the stud's foundation herd at Mt. Tawonga.
By American standards, the bloodlines of the foundation stock were impeccable - Charlie Brown, Misty and Peekie were good examples of the Old Government lines of the American Morgan horse. Watch Out and Bridget lean more towards the Modern Morgan Line, popular on the American show circuit. Watch Out was shown successfully in America and has won championships in Open classes at Royal Shows in Australia.
As the stud expanded, new genetics were needed that would complement the lines already on hand. There is a consistent breeding theme in America that crossing Lippitts with Modern Morgans or Government lines produces superior horses so the decision was made to introduce the Lippitt line of Morgans into the breeding program.
In 1994, Mt. Tawonga imported two pure bred Lippitt Morgans - a black/brown stallion Marvelous Encore, and the black/bay filly Wood Run Trillium - from America at a cost of $67,000 (all up). Included in the purchase was the colt Eiben's Ashline (who travelled to Australia in utero). Ashline was the first foal bred by frozen semen from the deceased horse, Royalton Ashline, the first Morgan winner of the American Morgan Sport Horse Award.
Also in 1994, with a view to the future, Mt. Tawonga took the opportunity to import frozen semen from two other stallions to add to Watch Out (who was already collected) to create a bank of frozen semen to utilise within its program.
Apart from pure breds, Mt. Tawonga crosses Morgans with stock horses, thoroughbreds and endurance-proven lines that include progeny of Telltale, the legendary mare that the late Wally Webb rode to fame as the Australian Middleweight Endurance Horse of the Year in 1992.
Establishing the Morgan Horse in Australia is a priority for Mt. Tawonga. So far Morgans have been sold to Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.
In the following 12 years, Mt. Tawonga sold 26 pure Morgans at an average price of $8346.00 and 35 part Morgans (14 of which were foals or yearlings) at an average price of $1884.00 and established that breeding Morgans is a sound business proposition.
The establishment of Morgans in Australia is well underway and four Morgans have been exported to two studs in New Zealand.
Despite the breed's progress in Australia, very few people know much about Morgans. Fewer still realise their true value as it is only by being with them that their real value can be appreciated. Their laidback shoulder gives them a power advantage over other breeds and this can't be seen any more than you can tell from the outside that a vehicle has four wheel drive. Their intelligence and inquisitive, friendly nature can be readily seen but what is not so easily apparent is that the intelligence leads to a ready acceptance of humans and the work that humans require of a horse.
Morgans are different. They are intelligent, active, willing, "people-friendly" horses. Why not try one?
Co-Founder of Mt Tawonga Morgan Stud. Bill Powell with (left) part bred mare Mt Tawonga Wishing (Wawayanda Watch Out (imp) x Wally's Girl), and (right) pure bred mare Mt Tawonga Miss Terry (Mt Tawonga Bogan x Mt Tawonga Kate)
Weanlings at Mt Tawonga
(Bay) Purebred Colt - Eibens
Adventurous
(Eibens
Ashline (iiu)) x (Mt Tawonga Tanjil)
(Chestnut) Partbred - Mt
Tawonga Solo 3/4 Morgan Filly
(Marvelous Encore x Mt Tawonga Tally
Ho)