Te Akau Tuesday Update

David writes:

Wasn't it great news yesterday from the Prime Minister that we are heading into COVID-19 Alert Level 2 come Thursday?

Certainly something to really look forward to, and we are now only six weeks away from thoroughbred race meetings commencing again in New Zealand.

Like many, I listened keenly to the Minister for Racing, Rt Hon Winston Peters' announcement today of government support for the racing industry. This will make a significant difference to the current financial status of the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) so let's hope now we see industry leadership make the tough decisions that are imperative for the future I know we can have.

Our stable is starting to fill up with our Spring horses. This week we also have another five yearlings that have completed their early education at the farm heading into the stable for the first time to undertake the next stage of their learning.

This second stage includes our "babies" having a turn on the treadmill, learning about swimming in the pool, teaching them barrier skills etc., before we give them a further break.

Last week you will have read our story about our three Matamata team members who have been working at Te Akau Stud for the lockdown period - Mette Mosebo, Sam Bergerson and Reece Trumper. On Sunday, their day off, they went for a stroll on our two lead ponies Scrutinize and Gingernuts (below and main picture).

You can see Sam on Gingernuts ("Jerry") and Reece on Scrutinize ("Scroot") with Mette in control!! Each one of these three has a massive future in the racing industry and we are proud to have them in the team.

This week on the farm we are shearing all our sheep and drenching and weighing all the cattle before set stocking for winter. I can't remember ever having so much grass and that certainly puts a big smile on the Te Akau farmer's face!

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