Petanio Arr Pride & Marilyn Vander Wekken

Bernard Vander Wekken

DM Aimee Farrah

The “love of the horse” is really an obsession. Whether innate, a childhood dream or something one slips into by accident it often rages deep within one's soul. For some it takes on its own life sparking a passion. ~ Marilyn Vander Wekken

The above is exactly how I describe my love affair with Morgan horses.

I am the youngest child and daughter of the late John and Anna Leskosky Sr. My parents farmed and ranched their entire lives outside of Pincher Creek, Alberta. To this day we still own some of that property which boasts being in the family for four generations now!

My father was an avid horseman. His own love affair with horses included raising and training them right up until his passing. He worked the land with teams, chased cattle herds, used horses for transportation and drove his pony team during his retirement years in parades claiming a number of ribbons and trophies. It was his appreciation of the equine that influenced me.

Mom was an integral part of our family farm's success. She did her fair share of harnessing, driving and working the land in her time. We named our daughter in honor of her.

No one person's success stands alone and besides the almighty God, I attribute my life's accomplishments to the wonderful parents I had. They were the epitome of what parents should be - number one cheerleaders and supporters, a shoulder to cry on, disciplinarians and wisdom sharers. To say I miss them is a grave understatement.

In 1984 Dad purchased the bay Morgan stallion - JMF Northern Star from a neighboring rancher. Northern Star sired a number of part-breds for us. It wasn't until 1994 that I made the move to purebred Morgans and DM Morgans was born. To my credit, I have bred 75+ Morgans.

Petanio Arr Pride, a strongly line-bred Brunk and Old Government stallion purchased by myself in 1997 put DM Morgans on the international map. Besides Petanio's sporty size of 16.2hh, this gentle giant's pedigree is one rarely seen in today's Morgans. It reads like the who's who of Morgans with Stellar, Linsley, Romanesque, Jubilee King and Go Hawk (to name just a few) that appear on his registration papers.

Petanio's get can be found across North America and into Italy. We doubt there will ever be another stallion like Petanio. Owning him was a true blessing. Petanio was a sire for all reasons and will forever remain our cornerstone. A number of his daughters and granddaughters have been retained by DM.

Our first export was in 1997 with DM Hawks Flying High who was shipped to New York. We imported The American Patriot from Arkansas in 2000. Since then we have exported and imported countless numbers of Morgans.

In 2004 DM Morgans moved to its current home, the Picture Butte, Alberta dairy farm known as Woolywind - owned and operated by my husband Bernard. I can't begin to thank Bernie enough for his sincere interest, care and handling of the horses. No decision is made without Bernie's input.

2007 marked a new era for DM with the additional prefix purchase of Marana, a mother - daughter name combination. Starting in 2008, horses born will be registered with this prefix along with DM. Among the 2007 highlights was the birth of Canada's first verified dunskin filly born here - DM Aimee Farrah. We also imported the exotic and rare colors of grey and dun.

We are embarking on a new dawn and look forward to the exciting future at DM Morgans.