| Windsor Park was founded by Ian and Jesse Duncan at Ngaruawahia in the early 1960s.
Nelson and Sue Schick took over the stud in 1971 and re-located to Fencourt, near Cambridge, in 1973 before moving to the present home property in 1979.
The purchase of neighbouring farms expanded the Stud's main Kaipaki Road farm to more than 450 acres.
With the 1993 purchase of the 300-acre Halidon Hill property just north of Cambridge, and the inclusion of Mapperley Stud, Matamata in 1998, the current Windsor Park operation totals more than 1200 acres of prime farm land on three separate properties.
Champion New Zealand sire Volksraad heads the Stud's current roster. Previous successful Windsor Park sires include Star Way (Dewar Stallion Trophy, 1991), who died in April 2008 at the age of 31, Crest of the Wave, Silver Dream and the single-season shuttler Tale of the Cat.
Among the many significant performers bred by the Stud are MIGHT AND POWER (Australian Horse of the Year, 1998 & 1999), GOLDEN SWORD, SKY CHASE, CATALAN OPENING, DANTELAH, SMILING LIKE, JUST A DANCER and NIMUE.
Windsor Park was named New Zealand Breeder of the Year in 1998 and 2001, and the stud's mare Benediction (IRE), dam of Might and Power, was named New Zealand Broodmare of the Year in 1998 & 1999.
Nelson Schick served two terms as a councillor of the NZTBA, 1992-95, and 1998-2005. He was the Association's Vice President in 2001-02, and represented breeders on the board of NZ Thoroughbred Racing, 2002-05. General Manager Steve Till is a long-serving member of the New Zealand Graded Stakes Committee, and a member of the Pattern Review Committee which published its recommendations in 2005.
Nelson & Sue's son Rodney has now joined his parents in the ownership and management of Windsor Park.
- May 2006.
|