Te Akau Monday Update

 

David writes:

 

Well it is about as wet as you can ever get it, here at Te Akau Stud.  We have had terrific rain and the grass is absolutely bolting away.

On Saturday we had a number of owners visiting and I took them around the farm and it was 19 degrees.  I don't think I have ever seen so much grass at the end of June for a long time. Looking at the horses spelling I honestly cannot remember a year when they have done so well at this time of the year.

Last week I attended a lunch for the new Vodafone Warriors Foundation that is being established as a charitable organisation.  It was a fundraising lunch to raise money for young children that normally would not have the opportunity to get into sport.  This is something that I am very passionate about and I think that there is nothing better for young people than to play a team sport with other young people.  It creates camaraderie, respect, motivation and fitness, as well as healthy bodies which is so important for our youth of today.

 

 

Sir John Key was the guest speaker and my goodness if you ever get the chance to hear him speak, do not miss that opportunity.  It was the best speech I have ever heard. It was so interesting. He was funny. He was serious.  He spoke  about his current position as Chairman of ANZ Bank.  He spoke about the experiences that he had as Prime Minister. It wasn't political - he spoke about his experiences in life as general and it was just so well delivered and captivated the whole audience.

On the table where I sat was also the CEO of Vodafone Warriors, Cameron George; Jason Paris, CEO Vodafone NZ; Sophie Malone, Sky CEO; Jamie Meikleham, CEO Canterbury New Zealand; Mark Spring, CEO DTR; Bruce Sharrock, NZTR Deputy Chairman and Butch Castles who was superb in his role as auctioneer. It was such a fun lunch.

 

Photo credit - Newstalk ZB

 

At the lunch there were a number of items put up for auction and as I mentioned, Butch Castles would easily get a job auctioneering anywhere.  He put on a world class performance. I went halves with Brendan Lindsay of Cambridge Stud and we purchased an area at Mount Smart Stadium for Sunday 15 August when the Vodafone Warriors play the Canterbury Bulldogs. It is the only home game this season.  It is hosted by Rueben Wiki and the guest speaker in the box will be Sir John Key so that is something I really look forward to in these winter months.

 

Photo credit - RNZ

 

Saturday night was very much a TV night - with watching both the Singapore races and the rugby final!  Well done to Te Akau Singapore trainer Mark Walker for another training another winning double - Mark and the team and really having a great season at Kranji.  Mark is currently second on the Trainers' Premiership with 35 wins for the season - 18 wins ahead of the third placed trainer.

Karyn and I watched the final of the rugby and we thought it was great for Auckland to see the Blues win for the first time in a long time.  But how gutsy were the Highlanders? They left nothing out there. This result is good for the game of rugby as a whole and for the City of Sails although my friend Jamie Richards (one of the keenest Highlander supporters you will ever get) would probably not agree with me!

Anyway have a great week and keep warm as winter kicks in.

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