Photo: Peter Rubery, Racing images

One area where NZTR has been active lately, which has possibly flown under the radar, is around education.

We have a number of people currently engaged in a variety of thoroughbred courses which are either run, or supported, by NZTR.

There are currently 43 students enrolled in the two breeding qualifications delivered by NZTR and last week 31 of these attended a three-day block course in the Waikato.  As well as hearing from leading vets, studmasters and other industry experts the students enjoyed an exclusive tour of the facilities at the revamped Cambridge Stud. 

The two courses offered are the Level 3 NZ Certificate of Equine Breeding (Stud Groom) and the Level 4 – NZ Certificate of Equine Breeding (Senior Stud Groom).

Meanwhile, in the Manawatu RACE and Tanenuiarangi Manawatu Incorporated have come together to present an eight-week cadetship for secondary school students in the region.  This has been a great initiative from Al Robertson and his team and, mid-way through the course these young people have already experienced many aspects of the industry.

On Thursday they were on track at Awapuni where they witnessed the many moving parts which go into making a race meeting happen, everything from catering through the Trackside production and presentation.

Our Track Advisor Todd Treweek also has a number of people from around the country going through racecourse managers’ courses as we continue to upskill our people.

At the other end of the spectrum the Wanganui Jockey Club will tomorrow play host to potential jockeys of the future.

The annual pony race for young riders will see the winner secure a place in the national final at Hastings on 31 August.  The Hastings race is an official heat of The Sheikha Lateefa bin Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nayhan International Pony Race series and the New Zealand winner will be flown to Abu Dhabi to compete in the World Final.

The winner of last year’s Wanganui race was Caitlyn Rennie, who went on to win at Hastings and represented New Zealand in the Abu Dhabi race.