Te Akau Team Member of the Month

At our recent Te Akau Matamata team dinner, Te Akau Principal David Ellis was proud to announce a new initiative:

“Te Akau Racing is fortunate to have such good staff,” said David Ellis. “I keep telling people that because our people love horses they're prepared to get up at 3.30 a.m. in winter and summer, rain, hail, and shine, six days a week. 

“We are proud to have world class team members and we also are committed to creating opportunities for young people with equine experience to get involved in a highly professional thoroughbred business that is serious about being the best in the industry.  So it's a terrific balance of people that have spent their careers working in the industry and bring enormous amounts of experience and those that have the talent to be those people in the future.

“Karyn and I wanted to put a long-term, serious recognition in place as a way of saying thank you from us to all the staff - and also express the fact that all of our owners appreciate their horses being given every opportunity to fulfil their potential.

“From this month forward, we are recognising the stand-our performer in the team each and every month.  We will present the TEAM MEMBER OF THE MONTH with a cash prize and the overall winner at the end of the year will receive an all-expenses paid trip for two to the Gold Coast.

”We are delighted to announce that Te Akau stable foreman Tracy Collis is the first recipient of the TEAM MEMBER OF THE MONTH award - well done to Tracy and our warmest congratulations.”

Tracy started her riding career in 1987 with a win aboard Wake Forest, who went on to win the New Zealand Cup, and she had 85 career wins.

She was apprenticed to Gus Glutterbuck, who trained Wake Forest at Awapuni. Clutterbuck became Te Akau South Island stable manager in 2002 at Rangiora.  In January 2011 he and wife Karen transferred to Te Akau Singapore where he is assistant trainer to Mark Walker. Collis went on to train 18 winners with a small team at Awapuni and she also travelled horses on successful missions to Brisbane and Melbourne.

“Tracy is one of these people who works to the old adage of being first there and last to leave,” said trainer Jamie Richards. “She puts her heart and soul into it and does everything she can to get the best out of the horses. Their care and well-being is her main priority. She's instrumental, takes a lot of pressure off me ,and the horses at the main stable where she is foreman are doing very well.”

Meet Tracy Collis:

My main rolesare day-to-day duties and care of the horses and overseeing staff. Ensuring the horses are worked and all are well looked after: fed, watered, bandaged, vet work etc.

Working with quality horses is what I like most about the job. It's such a pleasure working with horses that have good pedigrees - well put together and they're a vast improvement on what I was used to. 

It's not an easy job, especially the early starts and I admire the reliability and toughness of our staff to keep working no matter the conditions. And they're always willing to do extra if I ask them. 

I'm really enjoying the job - it took me a couple of months to settle in, but I feel appreciated as an employee. It's a nice bunch to work with and Jamie is good to work under. 

We're always to trying to improve our processesand work together as a team and I think everyone is happy in their work. 

I've had a few phone calls and meetingswith David (Ellis) and as a boss he's been marvellous. David and Karyn also offered help with my son and school, so that was really good. 

My highlight of the season so far - we have a lot of the younger horses at the main stable, but we've still had more winners from the stable this season. I also took Shezathinka to the Oaks, so that was also a highlight, leading a filly in the Oaks this year.

It's hard to have favourites- but Shezathinka is a bit of a favourite and I'm also fond of Savy Yong Blonk - I like her a lot too because she's really tough.

I've always thought thoroughbredswere an amazing animal and I've always enjoyed working with horses. I'm thankful of the opportunity to work with such lovely animals and being head of a barn, I feel pretty lucky and long may it continue. 

Back