As one door closes, another opens.

Chris and Shelly Barnett purchased Serenity from Kate and Jock Gordon in August 2024.  This is their story.

We have loved Serenity for a while now. Not only has he bred us some of the beautiful horses we use today, but Kate, Jock and our kids have all become close, lifelong friends.

Our daughter purchased Derowie Serene Magic through Nutrien sale in 2021 and has gone on to do well with him. He has become her heart horse.

We have also bred to Serenity over the last few years.  A highlight for us was topping the Gelding category at the ASH Fountain of Youth Sale with Beausaada Serenade, particularly as 2024 was our first year selling through the sale. This proved to us that the magic cross is with the older lines of ASH mares.

I had been looking for a horse for myself to draft for months. I’ve shared with the kids as much as I can, but the reality is, sharing horses is becoming harder as they get older, as they are also starting to ride in the open events.

Every horse I would send Kate, she would say, ‘That’s not it, you need something like Serenity. Something cool that you can enjoy, that doesn’t need riding 7 days a week’.

When Kate eventually approached me about purchasing Serenity, it was a no brainer. Neither of us wanted to see him go back with a trainer. We felt he had done his time, proven himself, had done the hard yards and he now has progeny out flying the flag. We needed him as much as he needed us.

We offer a home where he gets fed and fussed over daily by 3 teenage girls who love him, treated like a prized gelding. That’s what we are good at.

We aren’t going to win the world. We don’t want to. We just love our horses, and we love our sport, and we think Serenity will fit right in with us. Good family horses that anyone can ride.

Horses that cross from the show ring to the cowhorse sports. Beautiful horses that are competitive across the board, that the everyday person can ride, not just the professional trainers.

His progeny have proven themselves across the board in multiple disciplines for a decade now. We hope that he can enter the ‘old man’ phase of his life and enjoy the fruits of his labour. We will keep his mind and body busy, whilst respecting his age.  We know he will enjoy the next few years, just being one of the family, joining us on the truck.

The end of an era

Kate and Jock Gordon made the difficult decision to sell Serenity in August 2024.  This is Kate’s facebook post which announced the handover.

How do you say goodbye to a horse that has given you so much and changed your life forever?

We have made the extremely challenging decision to sell Serenity. For the last few years, we have just been too busy in other areas of our life (farm, kids sport etc) to really enjoy him. He is just too good to sit in our paddock. At 16yrs he still has a lot left to give and we feel we owe it to him to pass him onto someone that has the time to make the most of him and look after him like the king that he is. He is a supreme athlete that wasn’t born to sit idle in a paddock, and he loves to do what he does best…. chase cows!

6yrs ago a person came into our lives. Shelly Barnett bought a broodmare from us that had a Serenity foal at foot and was back in foal to him. From then on, we have forged a great friendship, and she has grown to love Serenity as much as we do. Every time she drives into our place she asks when we are going to sell her Serenity. She has bought his progeny and bred to him every season. So, when we realised, we could no longer offer Serenity what he deserves, there really was only one person we could imagine trusting handing him over to. So, we would like to introduce you to his new owners, The Barnett family from Beausaada Stockhorses.

We want to say a huge thankyou to all our past and present clients who have been on this incredible journey with us. Your support and love of the little flashy red horse with a heart the size of Pharlaps, has been overwhelming.

A massive thank you to all the trainers that have been a part of making him what he is today. From the very beginning with Michael Wilson, Maryanne Gough, Kimberley Sammon, Pete Boulton and of course Jock Gordon for all the background work and training in between and then stepping back to let professionals take him. Right from the very beginning you formed a relationship with him and found a way to ride the quirky little red Ferrari. Nothing gave me more pleasure than watching you two compete together, it was like watching poetry in motion. Thank you to Richard Bull for breeding and selling us the little 2yr old that we all believed had a big future.

So, it’s over and out from us and the end of an epic chapter in our lives. His legacy will live on in our family with some of his beautiful daughters in our paddocks. We feel so blessed to have had this opportunity to have such a remarkable little horse as part of our family for the past 15yrs. But every ride comes to an end. And it’s the start of a new journey for him and Shelly. We wish you all the best with him and we will be cheering the loudest from the crowd.

When going through the 100s of amazing photos of him to use for this post I decided on this one. It’s the last photo I will ever take of him at Derowie. I took it not knowing it would be the last. I was doing my daily rounds of checking horses and wanted to capture the sun set, and of course, like where’s Wally, he was always there, somewhere. Now his paddock stands empty, and it feels so strange. Nevertheless, just like the sunset, the sun goes down, but the colours will never fade.

ORIGINAL STORY

Jock and Kate Gordon are first and foremost, farmers from the Central West of NSW. However, horses, and in particular good horses, are their passion and their recreation source.

Jock came from a campfrafting background and Kate had been involved with show horses, so when they saw a 2.y.o colt advertised by Tamarang who was by Acres Destiny and from Bruce McNaughton’s mare “Serene”, they knew he ticked both their boxes.  With this breeding he had all the genetics to be a quality Campdraft horse. Added to that, he was an amazing animal for conformation, temperament and his standout markings definitely meant he had outstanding eye appeal.

The colt was at Jamie Vickory’s after having been broken in by Michael Wilson and after inspecting him Jock and Kate were amazed at how clever he was under saddle.

They hadn’t been looking for a colt, but their initial interest in Tamarang Destinys Serenity meant they needed to do some serious soul searching and decide whether or not they wanted to go down the path of promoting a seriously good competition horse. After consultation with Michael, they purchased their horse and agreed to send him back to him for preparation for the NCHA Snafflebit Futurity, where he immediately impressed with his athletism and ability.

The intention was always to use him primarily as a home-based competition horse so after the Snafflebit Futurity he returned home and was set for the ASH Futurity and Maturity. This was Jock’s first experience in the showring, and some very credible results followed. He also competed on the local Campdraft circuit with regular placings.

The decision was then made that Destinys Serenity really needed to gain more exposure on the National level, which Jock and Kate weren’t in a position to provide. So, he was then sent to Maryanne Gough for a brief 8-week preparation for the ASH Nationals and the Open Challenge. He again impressed and his career moved onto the Campdraft arena where he was campaigned by Kimberley Sammon.

This was an immediately successful decision when Tamarang Destinys Serenity and Kimberley won Cutouts on their first outing and then the Novice at Kyogle at their next appearance.

Landmark 2017 saw a change of jockey when Vicki Hiscock stepped up at the last minute and the successful team placed a very close 3rd in the Stallion Shootout.

Tamarang Destinys Serenity them spent the next 8 months standing under a tree before being collected by Pete Boulton enroute to competition in the Triple where did extremely well at each venue.

Another sojourn after Warwick and then back to Pete in January with instant success running 90’s and 24 cut outs with zero preparation.

Kate and Jock are very excited to own Serenity and are really looking forward to seeing what he will do in the future and more importantly what he will produce. There are many stallions out there, but not all are sires. In his first crop of foals, he has put a stamp on them all and they all seem to carry his great temperament. They are looking forward to the next couple of years when they start competing.

A word from the owners…

‘Acres is definitely a big reason why we purchased Serenity as we have several mares by him and feel that he produces exactly what we are after – natural cow, looks and temperament. Time and time again he produced horses that are winning in all circles and that are the complete package. But, probably the main reason is his dam Serene.

We are big believers in a very strong mare line and with Serene, not only does she bring in much sought after genetics, but she also has the performance to back it up. We have had a number of top competitors in the industry come up and tell us that Serene was one of the best mares that they have seen.

‘To match his great depth of breeding is a great conformation. He is built a bit like a sports car; he is very compact with an incredible turn of pace. He is like a kelpie dog when on cattle – it’s just so natural for him, he just seems to know what to do without having to be trained. You can’t teach a horse that. He is also very eye catching. As much as looks don’t make a horse go any better in drafting, most people would prefer to ride something that looks good and it also means that they can be used as show horses, making them multipurpose.

He has great markings which we hope crossed over plainer mares will produce progeny that will have a bit of style. But most of all it is his temperament that we like. We have small children and have always said if we were to own a stallion he would have to be really quiet.

Serenity is just so easy to get on with, even as a young colt he hardly makes a noise when away competing and is really good with our kids. Nothing seems to worry him, and we are hoping he will pass this no-fuss attitude on.

Life is so busy now that we and a large majority of competitors don’t have the time to ride everyday so we need to breed horses that don’t require a huge amount of work. As we have a farm to run there are weeks when we don’t get time to work the horses and even at this young age Serenity turns up on the weekends and performs.’

Jock & Kate Gordon

TAMARANG DESTINYS SERENITY is producing outstanding progeny –  His foals all have his trainable temperament, athletic ability and that X-Factor look – the complete package.

He is a sire of Champions at Royal and State level and his progeny sell well at auction, often topping categories & sales.

2025

2024

2024

2022

2021

2019

Beausada Performance Horses were blown away by the uptake of their Breeding Special.  It was filled very quickly!  Exciting times ahead for the next generation of young breeders!

🌟CALLING THE NEXT GENERATION OF BREEDERS🌟

Are you under 25 and dreaming of breeding your first foal? We want to help make that dream a reality. 💫
We’re offering a limited number of HALF-PRICE service fees to our stallion Serenity for approved breeders aged 25 and under. ($1,100 this year only).😲

Why? Because we know how tough it can be starting out — and how expensive it is to access top-quality bloodlines. But for us, it’s not about the price tag. It’s about the passion, the heart, and the future of this incredible industry.

Serenity isn’t just a stallion — he’s a true family horse. Quiet, trainable, and kind. His progeny are following in his footsteps, making lovely youth mounts with good minds and soft temperaments. They’re being used across a broad range of disciplines and excelling at the top levels, while still being the kind of horses that suit everyday riders — not just professionals.

If you’re a young breeder looking to kickstart your program, we’d be proud to back you.
👉🏼 Message Tamarang Destinys Serenity page to apply or learn more.
📣 TAG your mates who might be interested.

* Limited Available. Get you expressions of interest in asap.
Check out Serenity and his progeny out at 👇🏼

Let’s grow something special together. 🌱

It’s about the love of the horse and the passion for building something bigger for the future. 💛

Tamarang Destinys Serenity

2024 

• Gundy Campdraft [View Reel on Facebook]
• Tamarang Destinys Serenity – Holidays are over [View Reel on Facebook]

2022 Nutrien, with Warrick Pearsall

• Nutrien Stallion Shootout Rd3.  [Watch on Facebook]
• Charlie Maher Young Guns Rd1 90 (22 64 4). [Watch on Facebook]
• Open Rd1 (90).  [Watch on Facebook]

2020

• Nutrien Classic Stallion Shootout Rd2 (89) – [View Video]  |   Round 3 Cut Out (23.5) – [View Video]

2019

• Willinga Park – =Top score in semi final 90.33.  [View Video]
• Landmark Stallion Shootout Rd 3  (23), with Peter Boulton.  [View Video]
• Landmark Open Rd 2 (86), with Peter Boulton.  [View Video]

2018

• Landmark Classic Open – 2nd  (88 88 91) – [View  Rd 2 Video]   |   [View Finals Video]
• Sale Campdraft with Peter Boulton running a 90 – [View Video]
• Yarram (Vic) Campdraft Final with Peter Boulton- 24 cutout – [View Video]

2017 Warwick Gold Cup with Peter Boulton

• Stallion draft Rd 1 – [View Video]

2017 Chinchilla Grandfather Clock with Peter Boulton

• Novice Rd 1, 89 – [View Video]

2017 Landmark Classic with Vicki Hiscock

• Stallion Shootout – 3rd.  [View Rd 1 Video]  |  [View Final runoff Video]

2015 Warwick Gold Cup with Kimberley Sammon

• Warwick Gold Cup Cut Out – [View Video]
• Stallion Draft Rd 1 – [View Video]

2015 ASH Nationals with Maryanne Gough

• Working section of the Open Challenge – [View Video]

2014 ASH Nationals with Maryanne Gough

• Working section of the Open Challenge – [View Video]

2013 Paradise Lagoons with Maryanne Gough

• Stockmans Challenge Final – Dry Work – [View Video]

Progeny

Derowie Magic Moondust

• Lot 730. Sold Nutrien Classic 2022. $50,000.  [Watch in Facebook]

Derowie Eclipse

• Lot 298 – SOLD LANDMARK CLASSIC 2019 – Sold $20,000.  [View Video]

Derowie Serenitys Secret

• Lot 314 – SOLD LANDMARK CLASSIC 2016 – $17,000.  [View Video]

Aurora Park Evita

• SOLD LANDMARK CLASSIC 2016 – $15,000.  [View Video]