Equestrian Legend - Maureen Walker am

As seen in the April 2019 issue of Horse Deals magazine.

It is not possible in the few pages allotted here to come close to describing Maureen Walker’s contribution to Australian equestrianism. Horsewoman, breeder, trainer, entrepreneur and marketing marvel, Maureen has done it all. She received an early horse education no longer possible in this era of occupational, health and safety and helicopter parents. But that early life, with horses and ponies her teachers, created a horsewoman with an open mind, a thirst for more knowledge and always looking for a better way. The Walker family’s Marena Stud has produced in excess of one thousand horses over more than 60 years, and they have claimed more than their fair share of Royal Champions in that time, demonstrating the benefit of Maureen’s desire to produce, “beauty, talent, movement and temperament.”

“No one in my family rode,” says Maureen, who was born Maureen Simpson. “I was born in Wyong and have really been around the area all my life. My step-grandfather lived next door and he had racehorses, and apparently I would get very excited as a baby when I heard them clip-clopping back from the track. After the racehorses, my grandfather had a riding school and I was around the horses as soon as I was able. I would help my grandfather, and there were lots and lots of horses to ride, and in its heyday we saddled up about one hundred horses. I started riding at three and got to ride a wide variety of horses, and I won my first riding class at four at Wyong Show. I rode at Sydney Royal when I was five and was fifth in my riding class. The horses were my teachers and really everything I have learnt is from the horses. I read a bit, but I watch an awful lot. I watch and I listen and I’ve learnt things that you don’t even know are happening. You just have to learn to switch in.

“My grandfather used to take me around the shows, Newcastle, Gosford, Cessnock and Maitland etc, and we would take them there on the train, as there were very few horse trucks in those days. Wyong Racecourse was a busy track then and we used the special racehorse carriages. Each carriage would have three horses across facing three horses, with a corridor between them for gear and a groom to sit. We would often find ourselves shunting around Newcastle rail yards at midnight! Going into Sydney we would travel to Central on the train, and the old racehorse boxes would pick us up and take us to the show.

“We went to Sydney every year from when I was five years old until I was 17, but we didn’t have much money and I couldn’t continue with the horses without money. I sold my horse and went to teachers college, and after that taught around the Wyong area. I met Bruce (Walker) when we were at high school. Bruce is a good, rough rider, more like the Man From Snowy River than a show rider. His father bought a property at Mt Yango in the Lower Hunter region (now a national park). They had horses and cattle out there, and I used to go out there in the holidays sometimes and have a couple of days riding. I suffered a lot of pain. I used to laugh at people when they got sore riding, but now look at me!

“Bruce and I married in 1955 and moved out to Mt Yango, and we did a lot of work out in that rough country chasing cattle. The kids came along, Peter, Brad and Lindy, and I raised them all at Mt Yango. We had no phone, no deliveries of any kind and no neighbours. It was a good one and a half hours drive to the nearest telephone. We lived just like the pioneers. All the kids rode, they had to. We did schoolwork one day and spent the next chasing cattle. The boys rode, but they were never the rider Lindy was, and they weren’t keen. Lindy had an affinity and feeling for the animals. If we were riding for the day, Lindy would come and at 22 months old would perch on a cushion in front of Bruce’s saddle. There was no one at home to mind her and she had balance right from the word go.

“I had a cancer removed from my leg and it was quite a big operation and Bruce bought me a horse, just to get me interested in life again, and that started me off show riding once more. I took that mare to Wyong Show, and she played up something dreadful. For the first time in my life I realised that everyone didn’t love me. It is a horrible shock in your mid 20s when you have hitherto been loved by everyone in the ring, and now they were all so happy that I couldn’t keep the horse on the ground. I came home broken-hearted, but went back the next year and was Champion Led, Ridden and Rider. (Warning, don’t throw Maureen an idle challenge). That mare just looked half-pretty if you didn’t know much. She had a lovely head, but she was just not good enough and had a bad temperament. She was the first one I bred from and I have spent the past 60 years telling people, don’t breed from a bad mare. But you learn from everything, and it’s your eyes that teach you the most. And also, no matter who you are listening to, there will be some little gem in there worth knowing.

“I really love the Thoroughbreds and I believe a Thoroughbred sire over a pony mare produces a better outcome than the other way around. I wanted to buy a Thoroughbred stallion, and I opened up the book for the Scone sale and saw that the stallion Kalimah was for sale. He had won ten races in three states and had also won Led and Ridden classes. He was old when I bought him, and it was a bit of a risk as there was no guarantee he was fertile. I brought him home and that was 60 years ago, and there are still things I see in the horses today that come from him. He was a middle distance horse and a good sire of show horses because he wasn’t over-muscled like the sprinters, or long and lean like the stayers. He had wonderful bone and I suppose I worried more about their legs than anything to ensure they stayed sound, because a lot of training goes in to a good horse. I had a lovely little mare at the time, Marena Cha Cha that I had to have. But as lovely as she was, she needed something else. She had 13 foals to Kalimah, and those offspring won 33 Royal Show Championships. I am not sure why I was so determined to have Cha Cha, but I was always directed in that way with the Marena Stud breeding. I have the ability to see what quality one will bring to the other, whilst leaving what I did not like behind. If you look at the Marena horse, from ponies up to hacks, they are all the same type of horse. Some judges say they can recognise a Marena horse in the ring by the type they are. They have elastic movement, are supple and they have brains. You’ve got to have brains.

“With the stud, started in 1957, I did not start big of course, as I did it all myself and it had to pay for itself. Kalimah that was also a registered Australian Stock Horse, was a wonderful foundation stallion for us to buy, and then we were lucky enough to get the imported English Riding Pony stallion Sun Puff, a sire line grandson of the famous Bwlch Valentino, and he would have produced the most Royal Show Champions for me. He was also a registered Australian Stock Horse. I might not have been the first to breed Riding Ponies in Australia, but as I always loved the Thoroughbreds, my ponies looked like miniature Thoroughbreds. Also I like horses to look young when they are young, because then they maintain that youthful appearance as they get older.

“Temperament is so important for me, and that of course is helped or hindered by their early treatment. We leave the youngsters to be young and free. As soon as we find the new foals, I would pick them up in my arms so that they would feel that you were part of their lives, and also that you were in charge. We worm them regularly and trim their feet, but apart from that we just let them be young animals. That way when they come in to be weaned, they are a little bit wary of you, so they have respect for you, and your job then is to gain their trust. We handle them well when they are weaned, and I was getting to the stage where they were becoming a bit strong for me, so I asked the legendary horseman, Jim Wilton if he could come and show Lindy how to handle the foals. The main thing in training a horse, I think, is that they have to respect you and accept you as a leader, and not be frightened of you.

All our horses are in families organised along maternal lines, for example Marena Cha Cha is the mother of the dance family i.e Marena Bolero. Then we had Marena Mayflower and all the horses with a flower name go back to her, and that is the way I have organised the mares and lines. It is important to give a horse a nice name. They cannot win with an ugly name. I don’t like giving them stable names either. It is hard enough to remember their proper names, let alone stable names as well. Choose a nice name and use it. There is the promotion aspect to it too. If you use stable names no one knows who you are talking about. Lots of little things are important if you want to make money out of your operation. That included, putting Lindy in the show catalogues as Lindy Walker and not just L. Walker as is often seen. So if Lindy won, everyone knew who won. We used to sell a lot of ponies too. When I advertised them I would get a lot of calls and I would tell them, the first person that gets the money in the bank, gets the horse. It offended a few people, but what could I do?

“The kids were living away from home and going to high school when we were still at Mt Yango, and we eventually moved back to Wyong so they could be at home, when Kalimah died and I bought another Thoroughbred stallion Alcimaster (NZ). He was a stayer and a very elegant horse and he crossed very well with the Kalimah progeny. I used to breed to the Australian Pony Lowlynn Silver Chief until he died, and then I tried to buy another pony stallion. I couldn’t find one anywhere, and then I found Baringa Silver Chief. I couldn’t get anything out of him, so eventually I put the old boy out in the paddock with five mares. It was chaos for a while with him constantly rounding up the mares to protect them, and running himself ragged in the process. But in time he produced four fillies and one colt, Marena Sky Chief. I have used 19 stallions over the years, and when I have felt it necessary I have changed direction. Some influential Marena stallions include Kalimah, Sun Puff (imp), Marena Salute, Marena Sky Chief, Jedda Park Little Sunday, Kolbeach Sunday and Kolbeach Royal Print.

“Early on I was asked to fill in instructing at the Tall Timbers Pony Club. I was there for 20 years and became Chief Instructor, and in that time the Tall Timbers Team of Four won at Sydney Royal 16 times. I left the Pony Club to start the Marena Riding Academy with the emphasis on safety, enjoyment, sympathetic horsemanship and then success. Over the years Australian international riders Clayton Fredericks, Kristy Oatley, Shane Rose, Sammy Birch (McLeod) and Hanna Dodd have all been here as well as Kim Durante, Trina and Trinette Crawford, Gina Montgomery, Brett Davey and Sarah McMillan amongst many others.” Not only has Maureen Walker had a tremendous influence over the horses in the ring, but also over the influential people who rode them. That is an impressive list of past pupils. “Clayton would come over from WA and go to the shows with me. He was Reserve Champion Rider at Sydney one time when he was with me, and I have been over to stay with him in the UK. We sold Kristy Oatley a couple of horses and she came to our school. I taught Kim Durante (Lowe) from when she was six to 17, and Gina Montgomery was with me for a long time.

“Over the years we have done a few moves, selling parts of the property here at Wyong, and I have been cutting down the number of horses now for years. We just have 18 left, and many of our top school horses were top show horses. However, I will have to stop breeding altogether, as we have had two of the worst years we could possibly have. Along the way I received an AM for Services to the Horse Industry, which was a great thrill. I remember one year at Sydney a fellow said to me; I know what you are up to Maureen Walker - you want to make every horse in Australia the best in the world, and every rider the best in the world! I have spent my life trying to do that and I have loved every minute of it.”

From 1974 to 2017 Marena Stud had produced: 179 Royal Show Horse Champions, 78 Royal Show Riding Champions, 28 National Title Winners, 102 State Title Winners, and 34 HOTY winners.

Written by Anna Sharlpley

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