The Waikato Branch of the NZTBA held their annual JLT Bloodstock Stallion parade last weekend, and were blessed with magnificent weather and a good crowd of enthusiastic breeders.
According to Waikato Branch committeeman Keith Lunn who was the MC on both days, the stallions all looked fantastic and so did the farms, and the breeders that attended all enjoyed the beautiful weather and the camaraderie.
The parade commenced on Saturday at Hallmark Stud in Te Kauwhata where Super Easy was paraded while bacon and eggs were served.
The next stop was Cambridge Stud where all five stallions Burgundy, Cape Blanco (IRE), Keeper(AUS), Power (IRE) and Tavistock were paraded, and much to the delight of the 150 or so guests retired champion Zabeel made a special appearance as well.
"It was a great turn out and one of the better attended parades we have had for a while," according to Marcus Corban the General Manager of Cambridge Stud.
"There was a good buzz about the place and lots of people enjoyed seeing Zabeel and having their photos taken with him. That aside, the breeders that were on the tour were mainly small breeders with one or two mares and they were looking for sires with value. If we could get an increase in stake money I am sure we could get a lot more of those smaller breeders back.
"There was a lot of interest in both Tavistock and Burgundy and we have received a number of bookings for both of them," he said.
From Cambridge the tour then went to Brighthill Farm where they paraded Dalghar(FR) and Perfectly Ready (AUS), before heading to Matamata to visit Rich Hill Stud. There they paraded Any Suggestion (AUS), Jimmy Choux, Pentire (GB) and Shocking (AUS) before visiting Mapperley Stud to see He's Remarkable.
The final stop of the first day was at Waikato Stud, where champion sire O'Reilly was paraded along with Pins (AUS), Ocean Park, Rock'N' Pop, Savabeel (AUS) and Rios.
Sunday dawned another beautiful day and around 170 breeders started the day off at Chequers stud viewing Battle Paint (USA), before heading to Linwood Park to see Ekraar(USA) and Echoes of Heaven (AUS).
Lunch was served at The Oaks, where Bachelor Duke (USA), Darci Brahma and Roc de Cambes were paraded, and then the tour moved on to Windsor Park, where new season sire Shamexpress attracted a lot of interest along with Thewayyouare(IRE), Rip Van Winkle(IRE), Guillotine and Falkirk.
Next stop was Paxton Park where Gorky Park stands alongside the first season sire and Melbourne Cup placed Jakkalberry (IRE), followed by a visit to Blue Gables to see Shamoline Warrior (AUS).
The final stop was at Highview Stud, where another new stallion, Sweet Orange (USA), strutted his stuff alongside Align (AUS), Bullbars (AUS) and Sufficient.
"It was a magnificent day," enthused Highview Stud's Brent Gillovic,"we had the biggest crowd ever here, which is encouraging when you are the last stop. There were people here talking, drinking and enjoying the sunshine until around five o'clock.
"The feedback on Sweet Orange has been enormous and we took a dozen bookings to him after the parade. Bullbars is going to serve his biggest book ever this year and there is still a lot of interest in Sufficient.
"It was a very positive day with a lot of interest from small breeders. All we need now is a rise in stake money and that should stop the foal crop going down," he concluded.
- Michelle Saba
According to Waikato Branch committeeman Keith Lunn who was the MC on both days, the stallions all looked fantastic and so did the farms, and the breeders that attended all enjoyed the beautiful weather and the camaraderie.
The parade commenced on Saturday at Hallmark Stud in Te Kauwhata where Super Easy was paraded while bacon and eggs were served.
The next stop was Cambridge Stud where all five stallions Burgundy, Cape Blanco (IRE), Keeper(AUS), Power (IRE) and Tavistock were paraded, and much to the delight of the 150 or so guests retired champion Zabeel made a special appearance as well.
"It was a great turn out and one of the better attended parades we have had for a while," according to Marcus Corban the General Manager of Cambridge Stud.
"There was a good buzz about the place and lots of people enjoyed seeing Zabeel and having their photos taken with him. That aside, the breeders that were on the tour were mainly small breeders with one or two mares and they were looking for sires with value. If we could get an increase in stake money I am sure we could get a lot more of those smaller breeders back.
"There was a lot of interest in both Tavistock and Burgundy and we have received a number of bookings for both of them," he said.
From Cambridge the tour then went to Brighthill Farm where they paraded Dalghar(FR) and Perfectly Ready (AUS), before heading to Matamata to visit Rich Hill Stud. There they paraded Any Suggestion (AUS), Jimmy Choux, Pentire (GB) and Shocking (AUS) before visiting Mapperley Stud to see He's Remarkable.
The final stop of the first day was at Waikato Stud, where champion sire O'Reilly was paraded along with Pins (AUS), Ocean Park, Rock'N' Pop, Savabeel (AUS) and Rios.
Sunday dawned another beautiful day and around 170 breeders started the day off at Chequers stud viewing Battle Paint (USA), before heading to Linwood Park to see Ekraar(USA) and Echoes of Heaven (AUS).
Lunch was served at The Oaks, where Bachelor Duke (USA), Darci Brahma and Roc de Cambes were paraded, and then the tour moved on to Windsor Park, where new season sire Shamexpress attracted a lot of interest along with Thewayyouare(IRE), Rip Van Winkle(IRE), Guillotine and Falkirk.
Next stop was Paxton Park where Gorky Park stands alongside the first season sire and Melbourne Cup placed Jakkalberry (IRE), followed by a visit to Blue Gables to see Shamoline Warrior (AUS).
The final stop was at Highview Stud, where another new stallion, Sweet Orange (USA), strutted his stuff alongside Align (AUS), Bullbars (AUS) and Sufficient.
"It was a magnificent day," enthused Highview Stud's Brent Gillovic,"we had the biggest crowd ever here, which is encouraging when you are the last stop. There were people here talking, drinking and enjoying the sunshine until around five o'clock.
"The feedback on Sweet Orange has been enormous and we took a dozen bookings to him after the parade. Bullbars is going to serve his biggest book ever this year and there is still a lot of interest in Sufficient.
"It was a very positive day with a lot of interest from small breeders. All we need now is a rise in stake money and that should stop the foal crop going down," he concluded.
- Michelle Saba
