We started breeding horses in 1978 in Wonga Park, Victoria under the name "Kiah Park". My love affair with horses began long before then on January 28th 1967, when my father purchased a two year old grey gelding, after much nagging.
Named "My Baron", he became a highly successful pony club mount before being registered as an Australian Stock Horse in 1972. "Bazza" as he was known, did it all. As a combination my 14.2h grey and i played polocrosse for Koonung, hunted at all the Victorian Hunt Clubs, although we favoured the Whittlesea based Findon Harriers, competed successfully in show jumping, hacking and O.D.E's, even dabbled in harness.
My Baron was a top tent pegging horse in the Army team, mainly being ridden by Neville Crow, who used to sing "I was born under a wandering star", a Lee Marvin classic to him as they 'pegged'.
In the early 70's i was bitten by the Pinto bug, after working with a friend's rodeo mount Suzie, a chestnut and white mare. However i did not breed my first Pinto until i found a stallion that i liked.
In 1977 i met the Legendary "Allambi Phantom" and fell in love. Phantom was a 14.1h gray tobiano Australian Pony stallion who was bred by Mr Vic Chandler and owned by Cynthia Martin. The lovely bay partbred mare "Aloha Tamri" had been rescued from the knackers yard and after being fattened up, she was sent to Phantom.
On the 18th of January 1979, exactly a year later, "Kiah Park Bandolero" was born. A grey tobiano standing 14.3 7/8h, 'Rat' as he is affectionately known, was a character from birth. As a baby he was led in the famous Moomba Parade in the Pinto Society Exhibit, only losing the plot when coming face to face with a psychedelic green and orange tram. Shown from the age of nine months, he was always in the top 3 of every class he entered and he became one of the highest awarded Pintos in Victoria. He is still with us.
'Rat' was followed by "Kiah Park Prairie Moon", a stunning 13.2h chestnut tobiano mare of Arabian breeding who produced 100% colour. Purchased as a seventeen year old, we only got one foal out of her "Kiah Par War Cloud" before she shut down, but we were lucky enough to be given her orphan granddaughter "Kiah Park Tamara" who we still have today.
The rest is history. In 1985 we bred the stunning Derivative Pinto stallion "The Harlequin". Out of a solid coloured 'Allambi Phantom' mare "Kiah Park Island Star" by our Partbred Arabian Pinto "Kiah Park Ulysses (Sunnybank Ulysses with A.H.S.A.). 'Quin' has won it all and his progeny continue to do the same.
In 1991 the stud moved to Toowoomba in the Queensland Darling Downs and changed its name to "El Shafak" - egyptian for rainbow, as there was already a Kiah Park recorded in that state.
In late 1994, after my mother passed away, i made the decision to 'get away from it all' and moved to Western Australia, finally buying a one hundred acre block in Quellington, half way between historical York and Northam, in the Wheatbelt.
As El Shafak had been disastrously mispronounced on several occasions, a name change was again needed. An exceedingly bad partnership saw "Hafil" become the name for a short period before we settled on "Midas".
Midas horses are now a force to be reckoned with in W.A. "Midas Simply Irresistable" has swept all before her both led and ridden and become the first Pinto Official Hack in W.A. "Midas Immortality" (dec) was Champion at nearly every show he attended and "The Harlequin" was Supreme Pinto at Perth Royal as a seventeen year old in 2002.
Sharla has developed into a highly successful handler and rider and now shows all the Midas horses as well as several very successful show horses for our friends, including the wonderful hack Awakenings (aka Duketon Belt) for his owner Karen Bowman in led classes.
All our broodmares are Supreme winners or Champions in their own right or dams of highly successful horses. We only breed two or three foals a year as we do not wish to flood the market with our stock.
I hope you enjoy our site and look forward to your comments.