Sophie and Harry King
Trish Dunell
It's a case of all hands on deck when it comes to the operation of Nick and Anne-Marie King's Brighthill Farm, with their four children a big part of the success.
The Irishman and Englishwoman met while travelling on a horse plane to New Zealand, with Nick accompanying shuttle stallions for Coolmore and Anne-Marie a groom for equestrian rider Jeff McVean.
"We were working at Glenoaks, and got the offer to go to Japan, and thought we would probably go back to England or Ireland after that," Nick King said.
"But once we were in a completely neutral land, we knew that we wanted to go back to New Zealand, in fact I would suggest that the day we landed in Japan I knew I wanted to settle back here in New Zealand," recalled King.
"When we got back we bought the farm in 1996, and we grabbed the opportunity with both hands, raised our family and established the Brighthill brand."
The Kings' four children were all actively involved at the recent NZB Weanling, Broodmare and Mixed Bloodstock Sale, in which Brighthill Farm enjoyed a bumper three-days' trade, clearing 100%, including a Tavistock weanling that fetched $180,000.
"It was a great sale and it galvanised everything that we had expected following on from the yearling sales and the great autumn racing results," enthused King.
"In New Zealand right now we are fortunate to have some really good young sires, helped by the likes of Tavistock, and in his case, breeders are poised to make a lot of profit off a really successful stallion at a low service fee".
"It's not often these days that we get the whole family working together in one place, so it was a bit special having them there when we had such a successful sale. They are now all heading off in different directions," he mused.
"Sophie (20) is off on her OE in England. She has been a great asset to the farm and has become very adept at leading weanlings and yearlings, and she would be one of the best in the business at the moment. Sophie has lots of friends and extended family in the UK and will work for the Duchess of Bedford over summer.
"Harry (22) was toying with a business course but has accepted a position with Roundhill Stud in Ireland and will work there for a season. They are a nice farm and good vendors. He will learn a lot there. He is planning to study business by correspondence.
"Benji (24) is working with Emma Lee and David Browne and their racing team. He is now learning the ropes around breaking in and training, and preparing horses for Ready to Run sales. It's an area that he became interested in when he was fortunate enough to spend time at Ballydoyle while on the Sunline Scholarship last year. It is important also to know from a breeder's point of view what trainers look for in the horses they buy."
Benji has worked extensively in the industry since he was 17 and as well as the Sunline Scholarship, he has completed the Thoroughbred Course at the Irish National Stud.
The youngest King, Charlie is still at St Peter's in Cambridge, very much involved in the first fifteen and described as the 'brains of the family' he is destined for university next year.
"For Anne-Marie and I, New Zealand has been wonderful for us, it's an amazing country. The people are straight up and easy to do business with. It's been a wonderful place for our kids to grow up. We miss our families but we never doubted being here.
"Obviously I am still Irish and Anne Marie is still English, but our children are Kiwis and I have to put up with 80 minutes of hell whenever the Irish play the All Blacks.
"But, they do sometimes support Ireland if they are playing anyone other than the All Blacks, after all they know when to support a winning team!"
The Irishman and Englishwoman met while travelling on a horse plane to New Zealand, with Nick accompanying shuttle stallions for Coolmore and Anne-Marie a groom for equestrian rider Jeff McVean.
"We were working at Glenoaks, and got the offer to go to Japan, and thought we would probably go back to England or Ireland after that," Nick King said.
"But once we were in a completely neutral land, we knew that we wanted to go back to New Zealand, in fact I would suggest that the day we landed in Japan I knew I wanted to settle back here in New Zealand," recalled King.
"When we got back we bought the farm in 1996, and we grabbed the opportunity with both hands, raised our family and established the Brighthill brand."
The Kings' four children were all actively involved at the recent NZB Weanling, Broodmare and Mixed Bloodstock Sale, in which Brighthill Farm enjoyed a bumper three-days' trade, clearing 100%, including a Tavistock weanling that fetched $180,000.
"It was a great sale and it galvanised everything that we had expected following on from the yearling sales and the great autumn racing results," enthused King.
"In New Zealand right now we are fortunate to have some really good young sires, helped by the likes of Tavistock, and in his case, breeders are poised to make a lot of profit off a really successful stallion at a low service fee".
"It's not often these days that we get the whole family working together in one place, so it was a bit special having them there when we had such a successful sale. They are now all heading off in different directions," he mused.
"Sophie (20) is off on her OE in England. She has been a great asset to the farm and has become very adept at leading weanlings and yearlings, and she would be one of the best in the business at the moment. Sophie has lots of friends and extended family in the UK and will work for the Duchess of Bedford over summer.
"Harry (22) was toying with a business course but has accepted a position with Roundhill Stud in Ireland and will work there for a season. They are a nice farm and good vendors. He will learn a lot there. He is planning to study business by correspondence.
"Benji (24) is working with Emma Lee and David Browne and their racing team. He is now learning the ropes around breaking in and training, and preparing horses for Ready to Run sales. It's an area that he became interested in when he was fortunate enough to spend time at Ballydoyle while on the Sunline Scholarship last year. It is important also to know from a breeder's point of view what trainers look for in the horses they buy."
Benji has worked extensively in the industry since he was 17 and as well as the Sunline Scholarship, he has completed the Thoroughbred Course at the Irish National Stud.
The youngest King, Charlie is still at St Peter's in Cambridge, very much involved in the first fifteen and described as the 'brains of the family' he is destined for university next year.
"For Anne-Marie and I, New Zealand has been wonderful for us, it's an amazing country. The people are straight up and easy to do business with. It's been a wonderful place for our kids to grow up. We miss our families but we never doubted being here.
"Obviously I am still Irish and Anne Marie is still English, but our children are Kiwis and I have to put up with 80 minutes of hell whenever the Irish play the All Blacks.
"But, they do sometimes support Ireland if they are playing anyone other than the All Blacks, after all they know when to support a winning team!"