O’Reilly Passes Away Peacefully

31 December 2014

Waikato Stud is very saddened to report that our legendary sire O’Reilly passed away peacefully in his paddock this morning.

“I have to say, I’ve had better years,” said Waikato Stud’s Mark Chittick.

“All good things must come to an end. O’Reilly has been wholly and solely responsible for the go forward and momentum of Waikato Stud as we know it today.

“We could not be more proud of his achievements or more thankful for his legacy.

“He has certainly been a breed shaper and we are indeed fortunate to be able to continue his amazing influence at the stud through his daughters and with his exciting sire son Sa-cred Falls in 2015.

“He has provided us and many people with some terrific highlights and will continue to do so in the future.”

O’Reilly was 21 years old.

The Corner with Garry Chittick

I was going to have a spell this week, after all, if I’m going to comment on our favourite sport weekly, I really want to reflect my belief on how much joy I get from being involved. Sure, not everything is peaches and cream with the occasional need to prod those with the responsibility of managing our future.

10 October 2025

The Corner with Garry Chittick

The woeful participation in this year’s local bodies election is a reflection of our changing attitude to service. It used to be a badge of honour to garner the voters’ support, more importantly, such a cross-section of society, balancing the professional leadership, generally prevented radical changes.