My name is Erica Lock-van Gelder and I live with my husband John and our 3 children at Coonatto Station.
Coonatto Station is an 11000 acre property based in the Southern Flinders Ranges, approximately 300 km north of Adelaide and 70 km east of Port Augusta.

Our stud is centrally located within Australia.

I was born and bred in Holland and it was there were I first fell in love with the Friesian horse.
I came to Australia in 1994 on a holiday when I met John, we got married in 1995 and the rest is as they say history.
Lucky me, John shares my love for horses.

Noortje and her mum, sketch by Ann Jefree.

"Follow your dreams"
We consider ourselves very lucky that we were able to "follow our dreams" in setting up our stud "Van Gelder Friesians".
Thank you dad for sponsoring us in regards to purchasing some of our Friesian horses.
Thank you John for building horse paddocks with shelters, a riding arena a round yard and a stable complex.
Two of our paddocks are approved by AQIS for use as quarantine paddocks.

"Our horses are our hobby"
We love our horses, they are part of our lives.
Our horses are well cared for and no compromise is made to ensure their wellbeing.

"Our stud is our business"
Our goal is to breed top quality purebred Friesian foals.
Our stud is our livelyhood and we strive for perfection.

I would be very happy to assist you with:
-More information about our stud and our horses.
-General information about Friesian Horses.
-Information on importing Friesian Horses.
-The Dutch language in regards to Friesian Horses.
-All other issues in regards to Friesian Horses.
-If I can’t help you, I might be able to put you in contact with someone else who can.

Visitors welcome, please ring first.

Our horses are our hobby.
Our stud is our business.

Regards Erica