Willow Lake Farm a True Piece of Equine Heaven
-By Nikki Sherman for the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association
The Philadelphia metropolitan area is one of the most populous in the nation, with more than five million people currently living in the region. To the north of the city is a cluster of suburbs that are continuously growing, often taking over valuable former green space. For example, millions of people rely on the sprawling King of Prussia Mall to complete their holiday shopping before enjoying dinner at five-star restaurants on the wealthy Main Line along the Blue Route. Yet despite the massive overall growth in the region, there is still one place to find young foals frolicking in gorgeous rolling hills.
Nestled just a few miles from King of Prussia in the heart of Montgomery County lays Willow Lake Farm, where the owners have been wholly committed to preserving the land. The family purchased the property in the 1930s and has lived in the three-hundred-year-old home ever since. Jane O’Neil retained ownership of Willow Lake Farm before selling the property to her daughter Ellen Lea twenty-five years ago. At the same time, the family chose to donate much of the property to the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association. Today, local residents can leave the hustle and bustle of modern day life behind and enjoy the more than fifty acres of untouched forest and wetlands that border the farm.
Living in the main residence are Ellen and her husband Dr. Dale Schilling, who breed and race thoroughbreds under the name Ellendale Racing LLC. Since 2003, the couple has owned the winners of more than $2 million despite only keeping a handful of broodmares, which tend to have fewer foals than at the larger breeding farms.
“We try to only breed our mares every other year,” says Schilling, who is a well-respected equine veterinarian in the area. “It’s better for them overall.”
Their broodmares have rewarded their patience heartily, including a Cryptoclearance mare named Clearthedancefloor. Schilling purchased the mare at the 1999 Keeneland Horses of All Age Sale for $20,000, noting her dam Music Queen was a multiple stakes winner. Clearthedancefloor was in foal to El Prado (IRE) at the time and while the couple sold the resulting filly named Garden Dance as a yearling, they did receive breeder bonuses when the PA-Bred finished on the board in multiple stakes events at Philadelphia Park. Garden Dance would go on to produce 2015 graded stakes winner White Rose.
After a year off, Clearthedancefloor foaled a Carnivalay filly named All Dolled Up, who won seven of twenty-two starts including the 2006 Mrs. Penny Stakes at Philadelphia Park. Also in 2006 at Philadelphia Park, a Malibu Moon gelding homebred named Pocomoonshine captured the Lyman Sprint Championship Handicap for Ellendale Racing.
All Dolled Up retired to Willow Lake Farm in 2007 and immediately produced a flashy bay filly by the young stallion Arch. Named Sixth and Arch, she won four races and finished on the board in the Northern Fling Stakes at Presque Isle Downs and the Mrs. Penny Stakes at Parx Racing. All Dolled Up also produced a Mizzen Mast filly named Forbidden Drive who now resides at the farm as a broodmare alongside her sister. Sixth and Arch produced a Majestic Warrior filly in 2015 named Where You Was.
Ellendale Racing’s best homebred by far is Roadhog, who has earned well over $650,000. The son of Bowman’s Band was impressive right from the start of his career at age three. He broke his maiden at Monmouth Park before taking back-to-back PA-Bred scores at Philadelphia Park, including an easy two-length victory in the $75,000 Alphabet Soup Handicap. The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association promoptly crowned him the 2010 Pennsylvania-Bred Champion Three-Year-Old Male. In 2012, Roadhog also took the $75,000 Robellino Stakes at Penn National and the $100,000 Maryland Million Turf Stakes at Laurel Park.
But it was 2013 that would really put Roadhog in the history books. The chestnut gelding gets the winter off each year where he spends a few months back home at Willow Lake Farm, and it took him a few starts to get back into top form. Finally in July, Roadhog hit his best stride with an emphatic four-length victory in the $75,000 Leemat Stakes at Presque Isle Downs, then was given a huge opportunity in a stakes-level allowance event at Saratoga Race Course where he finished a solid fourth behind eventual millionaire Slumber (GB). It turned out to be the perfect prep for his fall campaign. Roadhog was reunited with one of his favorite riders Kendrick Carmouche for a repeat attempt in the Alphabet Soup Handicap and the duo found the winner’s circle again by a half-length.
One month later would be the most difficult race of his life as Roadhog returned to Laurel Park to defend his title in the Maryland Million Turf Stakes. The overwhelming favorite was the popular gelding Ben’s Cat, who had captured the last three Maryland Million Turf Sprint Handicaps for Hall of Fame trainer King Leatherbury. The sprint division had been discontinued for 2013, so Ben’s Cat was entered in the longer turf race. However, Roadhog refused to relinquish his title as the two geldings gave fans one of the most exciting finishes in Maryland Million history, with Roadhog digging in valiantly during the final strides to catch Ben’s Cat by a neck.
“That was the most excited I’ve ever been,” remembers Ellen Lea.
Schilling teases her about the tears of happiness streaming down her face after the victory. “But if you call me and it goes to voicemail, you’ll hear the call of the race,” he notes with a laugh. “That was an amazing day.”
Roadhog is still in training for Ellendale and his dam Little Wing is still at Willow Lake Farm. She has a yearling by Shackleford who Schilling claims is the biggest yearling he has ever seen. He prefers to geld all of their colts at an early age so the youngster is already castrated, though you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at him by his size. He is now named Big Shack.
To see Willow Lake Farm is like stepping into a twisted time portal. There are the gorgeous paddocks and elegant old homestead, but if you step around the back of the house, you’ll see the family’s newest way of preserving the environment. Five years ago, they installed solar panels on the property to handle the electricity both in the house and the barns. The sun now provides over 90% of power to the property and in the summer the panels even produce excess energy.
It may be hard to believe that such a place exists when driving down Butler Pike, especially for newcomers looking to hike or ride the trails of the Willow Lake Preserve: parking is located in the lot of a brand new CVS Pharmacy. But once you enter the farm gates, you’ll realize that you have arrived in a true piece of equine heaven right in the middle of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
