Mac Henry, who died recently, was a quiet achiever in several facets of horse racing. 

Born at Wyndham (Southland) in 1949 Roderick Mackenzie Henry rode a pony to primary school and excelled as a youth riding a pony at gymkhanas on the Central Otago holiday circuit. 

He was just 15 years old when given an emergency licence on the day to ride Kurdle in a steeplechase for amateur riders at an Otago Hunt Club race meeting at Wingatui in 1965.

He won the Duke of Gloucester Cup, the holy grail for amateurs, in 1986 on Nassah’s Mate. The Cup was a steeplechase that year and Nassah’s Mate was trained by Kelly Thompson for whom Mac rode work. 

Mac’s career as a rider over jumps was halted in 1993 after a bad fall from Come True at Washdyke. Come True had won a steeple at Washdyke at his previous start when owned, trained, and ridden by Mac, who was ably assisted by his wife Jill. The stable won 71 races, including eight with Hot Koko, a Kriesler mare who won open sprints at Riccarton, Riverton, Ascot Park and Wingatui in succession in 2003.

Mac was a life member of the New Zealand Trainers’ Association after serving many decades as branch secretary.

Mac initially worked for several years as a bank officer until he was made redundant. He later wrote for several racing publications and websites, including The Informant, Harnessed and Southland Times, where he was also a sub-editor.

More recently Mac drove for The Horse Ambulance Trust, attending race meetings in Southland and Otago.

Mac is remembered by many people as a fearless rider, a man of few spoken words with a dry wit and concern for the welfare of horses. He was instrumental in the introduction of rugby league to Southland and had a long association with highland pipe bands as a drummer and administrator.