Welcome to Gareth

“I believe the feet are the most important part of a horse,” said Te Akau principal David Ellis, who recently appointed Gareth Allis as a full-time farrier in the Te Akau team.

“If an athlete's feet and running shoes are not perfect then they're not going win big races and it's the same with a horse,” said Ellis.

“Since around 1987 we were blessed at Te Akau Racing with having one of the best farriers in the world. Alan (Bert) Lambert has given us fantastic service for nearly thirty years but in the last year or so he has cut back the shoeing work that he does and his other business interests are taking more of his time.

“When Bert retired I decided to employ our own full-time farrier, to look after Te Akau Racing Stables and Te Akau Stud, and given our knowledge of Gareth (Allis) and his talent with him working for us at the stud, it has been a great decision.  The key thing is that having Gareth employed permanently ensures that we have everything one-hundred percent,” said Ellis.

Originally from Australia, Allis always had an interest in horses and moved into the shoeing role when working at Seaton Park (agistment and broodmare farm) in Morrinsville.

“I came over in 2000 for a look around New Zealand, enjoyed it and stayed,” said Allis. “I did my apprentice with Marshall Stead (Qualified Master Farrier) in Cambridge and started my own run after spending four years with him.

“I'd done the shoeing for David (Ellis) at Te Akau Stud for about seven years and the opportunity presented for me to take over all the shoeing for Te Akau.  I'm really enjoying it and doing all the work for Te Akau is something I was hoping to achieve."

We are thrilled to welcome Gareth and his professional expertise to our team!