Glencoe Lodge is home to the Glasser family

Since then, the three-bedroom farm house, which was built in the late 1980’s and consists of a kitchen, dining room, formal lounge, and library/office and three-sided veranda, has undergone change.

“In summer, the veranda captures the summer breezes for us to enjoy, while in winter it captures the morning sun on the eastern side for morning tea, and the western sun for afternoon tea,” Lynne said. 

The entire interior has been renovated to Lynne’s comfortable country taste, and includes many favourite family antique pieces.

The kitchen is the focus of Lynne’s country cooking with the smell of many batches of home-made biscuits wafting through.

An avid jam maker, Lynne also is famous for her home made marmalade made from fruit grown in their orchard.

The formal sitting room is home to the cherished Warwick Gold Cup that Max won at just 22 years-old-age, while his 1967 Chinchilla grand father clock takes pride of place in the corner of the room.

It really is a family home and Max and Lynne welcome and enjoy many visits from their granddaughters. 

Granddaughter Cody, aged 16, travels from Cairns each year to help Max handle the newborn foals.

Another granddaughter, Isabel, regularly visits and shares Max’s interest in breeding Red Angus cattle. 

“We really keep our Red Angus herd for Isabel to enjoy,” Lynne said.  

A favourite room is Lynne’s library which is stacked wall-to-wall with more than 3000 books which are all non-fiction and autobiographies. As well, she has a full collection of Hoofs and Horns magazines, dating back to 1946.

“I started reading when I was 10, and have been reading ever since,” Lynne said.

When Max and Lynne arrived at Glencoe Lodge the garden consisted of a white ant infested orange tree, bush lemon tree, a severely pruned Loquat tree and badly eaten Wilga trees.

However the couple sunk a new bore and began planting to see what would and wouldn’t survive.

With a lot of hard word, and trial and error, and beautiful garden has been established.

Max and Lynne used the existing Wilga trees to form the bones of the garden, and to provide shade and refuge for birds.

“After planting of many trees, we have been rewarded with new visitors, including Blue Wrens, Double Bar and Zebra Finches, to name a few,” Lynne said.

Originally a walkway of Jacarandas was established on the western side of the house to give privacy and protection from the westerly winds.

A double row of leaved Murrayas were then planted underneath to give the garden some lovely smelling flowers.

The couple then planted Bougainvilleas and Plumbago on the southern boundary, to reduce the dust in the dry times.

Lynn is the first to admit that their beautiful garden has not been planned but rather evolved over time. 

“I call it my recycled garden as most of it has been recycled,” she said.

Prior to moving to Glencoe Lodge, the Glassers leased a farm on the edge of Acland while searching for their new home.

“As the houses were removed and gardens were trashed by heavy machinery I furtively collected cuttings and plants left uninjured,” she said.

“I collected Crinum Lillies, Arum Lillies, Cliveas, Iris, Geraniums, Frangipani, and ferns. I expected to be ticked off by someone in authority, but after consulting with the local gardening guru, Penny McKinlay, I became even more dedicated to stealing plants. Penny told me ‘I was obliged to save these plants, and it was in fact, my duty’.”  

From 2012 onwards, the Glassers started planting their orchard of 24 stone fruit trees comprising apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines, and plumcots. Since then, they had added mulberry, figs, pomegranate, followed by mango, passionfruit, bananas, custard apple, plus 15 black and white grape varieties.

Lynne is the first to admit that working in their garden gives her solitude. 

“It releases a lot of stress and tension, and helps to keep me sane,” she said. 

“But much of the credit must go to Max for all the heavy lifting, carting loads of mulch, and not complaining to much about the cost of pumping water when its often dry in the summer.”

Max and Lynne Glasser moved to the Stoneleigh district north of Pittsworth, to consolidate their Glencoe Stock Horse breeding program.

The Glencoe bloodlines trace back seven generations, to the foundation mare Judy, who was gifted to Max’s mother, Jean in 1938.

Jean was bred to a Thoroughbred colt, Double Buzz, who carried the bloodlines of Heroic and The Buzzard.

It was in the 1960s and 1970s that Max and his late father, Frank travelled with many as eight open draft winners all sired by Buzz, to competitions as far apart as Mt Isa, to Bourke, NSW.

Included was a mare called Maroo, who gave Max his Warwick Gold Cup win in 1964, making him the youngest rider at the time to win the coveted cup, then aged 22.  

Success continued again in 1967, when Max combined with Maroo, to win the Chinchilla Clock Open, and again he was placed second in the Warwick Gold Cup.