Generation Next: 'If you learn how to handle a horse, you can take those skills anywhere in the world'

12 min read
Hard work reaps the rewards, and that certainly describes the journey of Cambridge Stud's bloodstock manager Cameron Ring. We spoke to him about his hands-on education at some of New Zealand's premier studs, his lifelong relationship with one Cambridge stallion, and his passion for mentoring the next crop.

Cover image supplied

Kiwi native Cameron Ring started going to the Matamata races with his grandfather Bill Ring, president of the Matamata Racing Club, as soon as he could walk. His interest sparked as a child, he secured his first job at the age of 14 with Vanessa and Wayne Hillis, mucking out boxes before school and on the weekends. But there had been no horses at home for Ring to practice any skills on, so everything about track life was new to him.

“I didn't even know how to put a halter on,” Ring said. “They taught me everything, from the basics up, and I really fell in love with it.”

Under the Hillis’ guidance, he flourished and was given a filly named Perfect Start (NZ) (Perfectly Ready) to take care of. Perfect Start was aptly named, breaking her maiden on debut and placing in the Listed Soliloquy Stakes at her second start. Over a 66-start career, the mare won eight races, including the G3 Manawatu Cup and the G3 Trentham Stakes, and ran placings in the G2 Wellington Cup and G3 New Zealand Cup.

“She was my favourite from day dot,” Ring remembered. “It’s great when those ones turn out to be good.”

An education at Waikato

Ring stayed with the Hillises for four years, until he completed his high school education at Matamata College. Before he finished up with the stable, Vanessa Hillis had one last thing to teach him.

“One thing that Vanessa always instilled in me was, ‘You're not going to be a stablehand for the rest of your life, so make sure you go get a degree and further yourself, and you can always come back to it’,” Ring recalled.

“One thing that Vanessa (Hillis) always instilled in me was, ‘You're not going to be a stablehand for the rest of your life, so make sure you go get a degree and further yourself, and you can always come back to it.” - Cameron Ring

Ring took those words to heart and headed to Lincoln University to study for a Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture). During the university holidays, he started working for Waikato Stud, participating in his first yearling preparation in 2013.

“I made the most common mistake that everyone makes,” Ring said. “That is, that race horses are pretty easy and relaxed, so the young horses must be even easier as babies, right? But they are unbroken, flighty animals that are full of feed and full of energy.” Nevertheless, Ring learned quickly - and he loved the experience. “I was very fortunate that I worked at Waikato at a time where they've been leading vendors for many years and I got to work with some amazing stock.”

After university, Waikato Stud offered Ring a full-time position and he jumped at the opportunity to rotate through the different areas of the farm.

Cameron Ring as a teen with a runner for Hillis Racing | Image supplied

“I branched out to different divisions, and I helped with the breaking in at the start with David McKinnon, who did all the breaking and was also the wet mare manager. I did a bit with the stallions, a bit with the dry mares and worked the season with the wet mares. I had exposure to every single department at Waikato Stud.

“(Waikato Stud's) Mark Chittick provided me with a great opportunity. I said, ‘I want to try and learn as much as I can in every different aspect.’ He was very supportive of that, and basically put a plan in place with the managers that I'd bounce around and learn as much as I could. I wasn't just sitting back and watching and writing on a piece of paper - I was heavily involved.”

Someone else that took Ring under their wing was Gareth Downey, who opened Ring’s eyes to the intricacies of pedigree and developing that perfect match.

“He's got an incredible brain for pedigrees,” Ring said. “He was an amazing mentor for me. I always asked him about pedigrees and aspects of business, and he really gave me time to pick his brain. After hours, I'd be emailing him about this and that, and he'd reply back with all the answers. So I was very thankful to learn off one of the best in the game.

“He (Gareth Downey) was an amazing mentor for me. I always asked him about pedigrees and aspects of business, and he really gave me time to pick his brain.” - Cameron Ring

“That's where I really fell in love with the game. Racing was awesome and exciting, but I'm not much of a morning person, so I couldn't get up at 4am every day, so I decided that the farming style of still waking up early and working all day would suit me better.”

A scholarship abroad

“I actually had my heart on the Sunline Scholarship,” said Ring. “But I was pipped by one of my best mates, Lance Forbes.” In 2017, while Forbes was jetting off for the Sunline Scholarship’s first stop at Cheveley Park in England, Ring received the “consolation prize” of a scholarship to the Irish National Stud, sponsored by Keith and Faith Taylor of Trelawney Stud. Ring was quick to point out that the six month breeding management course was so much more than he could have hoped for.

“That opened my eyes to the global scale of the game,” he said. “Sally Caroll (then-Student Liaison Officer) was incredibly well connected, and we were exposed to the bloodstock world and the racing world in Ireland.” Weekly lectures and tours to the stables of Jessica Harrington, Joseph O’Brien, and Ballydoyle were highlights of the course.

“It was just incredible,” Ring said. “Before going to the Irish National Stud, I was all zoned in on New Zealand and Australian racing, and it really opened my eyes to European racing.”

“Before going to the Irish National Stud, I was all zoned in on New Zealand and Australian racing, and it really opened my eyes to European racing.” - Cameron Ring

As a complement to the course, on Ring’s return to New Zealand, he spent six months working at the Taylors' Trelawney Stud. The opportunity to experience the inner workings of one of Australasia’s greatest boutique studs was just what Ring needed to expand his skillset.

“They're incredible breeders in their own right,” he said. “They've got smaller numbers, but their quality is very high. They have got some incredible broodmares and they go to the best stallions in Australia and New Zealand.

The beautiful pastures of Trelawney Stud | Image courtesy of Trelawney Stud

“They’re great stockmen too, it’s a beautiful farm with sheep and cattle too. It's just beautiful pasture and beautiful soil that can really grow out a horse properly.”

Ring admired the precision and logic that he saw go into Trelawney’s matings - something that has stuck with him throughout his career in assisting with matings himself.

Beginnings at Cambridge

“I've always been building a CV to work towards applying for the Godolphin Flying Start,” Ring recalled. The two-year course has provided a launchpad for many of the industry’s leading figures, such as Henry Field and Adrian Bott, as well as young trailblazers like Neitkeiba.com’s Toshi Onikubo and Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott’s Emma Coleman. Ring had forged a relationship with Henry Plumptre, who had set him a plan to help him achieve his goal, which Ring followed “to the letter”.

When Plumptre was drafted in to run Cambridge Stud for Brendan and Jo Lindsay, he came to Ring with an opportunity.

Henry Plumptre | Image courtesy of The Image is Everything

“He tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘would you consider coming to work for me instead of applying (for the Flying Start)?’ The opportunity that I was being given by Henry - It was a no brainer.”

Ring took the job, which would begin with 12 months on the farm before progressing to an office role. Just six months in, another opportunity presented itself; bloodstock consultant Michael Wallace approached Ring to run Waterford Bloodstock for him. With the good will of Cambridge to fall back on - “you don’t burn bridges in this game”, is Ring’s belief - he started working for Wallace.

“That was where I found my biggest passion was sales,” Ring said. “I love researching pedigrees, and I still love it to this day. I love inspecting yearlings and trying to find the next champion.”

“That was where I found my biggest passion was sales, I love researching pedigrees, and I still love it to this day. I love inspecting yearlings and trying to find the next champion.”- Cameron Ring

The role would only last six months, but it would broaden Ring’s horizons again.

“I had an incredible six months learning from him (Wallace), he's one of the best judges in the game. And to this day. I still look at yearlings and probably judge them in a similar way that Michael does. I try and look at as many yearlings as I can, and funnily enough, horses that I love or rate highly are often his picks too. Obviously I listened to what he said properly!

“And not just him, but (ex-wife) Nicky Wallace - I learned a lot from her in the business side of things, and how a bloodstock agency runs. It was an incredible opportunity, working for them.”

Michael Wallace | Image courtesy of Magic Millions

Plumptre welcomed Ring back to Cambridge in time for the 2019 breeding season, and promptly handed him a phone and a pedigree book. It was time to sell.

Reuniting with an old friend

Ring rejoined Cambridge Stud in what was, for many, a “turbulent” time. The Lindsays lost three stallions in the space of a few months, first losing shuttler Roaring Lion (USA) and burgeoning stallion Burgundy, then the stud’s beloved Tavistock (NZ). They were fortunate to have “shining light” Almanzor (Fr) and the recently retired Embellish (NZ) to carry the flag. The latter, in particular, was one near and dear to Ring.

Embellish (NZ) | Standing at Cambridge Stud

“I was there at Waikato Stud the season he was foaled, and I prepped him as a yearling,” said Ring. The son of Savabeel was a graduate of Waikato Stud’s 2016 draft at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale, where Te Akau principal David Ellis CNZM secured him for $775,000. The dark colt got his foot firmly in the door of the serving barn at his fourth start with victory in the G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas.

“And then, in my role on the sales and nominations team, I helped Embellish find as many girlfriends as possible every year,” Ring said. Embellish launched his career at Cambridge Stud in the same year as Ring's return.

“It's pretty cool to do the whole circle of life with a yearling that I prepared, then going on to watch him win a Group 1 with Te Akau, then ending with him coming back at Cambridge Stud.”

“It's pretty cool to do the whole circle of life with a yearling that I prepared” - Cameron Ring

Reflecting on the journey

Ring spent four years in the sales and nominations role, before transitioning into the role of bloodstock manager - a role that came with new challenges, including managing approximately 40 staff across Cambridge’s two farms. Ring moved onto the farm to further his role, with Cambridge stalwart Bevan McCallum providing guidance as needed.

“People always say that horses are easy to manage, it’s the staff that are difficult!,” Ring joked. “I’ve had my ups and downs, but the new role has been an easy transition, as I've got such good managers. I can rely on them to do their job, and I don't have to be hovering over them. So I just get on with my day to day, and bounce around the departments and see if I can tweak a few things and show support to my managers.

“I'm still heavily involved in the nominations side of things. I still have my clients I look after, and I still get plenty of enquiries. I haven't dropped the ball completely on that. I'm just wearing more hats, so to speak.”

Cameron with a yearling for Waikato Stud | Image supplied

Last year, Ring was the recipient of the Mary-Lynne Ryan Young Achiever Award at the National Breeding Awards, as well as the inaugural winner of the Industry Excellence Award at the Entain Awards, as recognition for his hard work. He was nominated by Plumptre, who remains a constant mentor in his life. It was, for him, a time to reflect on his journey and the mentors that have helped him achieve so much so far.

“It was just a moment of reflection, really,” he said. “You kind of go through this business at 100 miles an hour. We don't really have an off season. There's always something to do.

“It's always nice to be recognised. On those awards nights, you step back and reflect on the opportunities you've been provided - and I’m very thankful that I've had the opportunity to surround myself with some of the best people in the industry.”

Cameron Ring (left) with Dan Smith | Image courtesy of New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders

Plumptre and the Lindsays have been pivotal in Ring’s progression to this point, and he hopes to be that kind of mentor to younger people looking to advance through the industry.

“I've always had a passion for giving young people a go, just as my employers have,” he said. “There are a lot of opportunities in this industry, and there's so many different avenues that you can go in this industry and globally.

“If you learn how to handle a horse, if you learn how to ride, you can take those skills anywhere in the world. Not many businesses and industries are like that. It opens plenty of doors.

“If you learn how to handle a horse, if you learn how to ride, you can take those skills anywhere in the world. Not many businesses and industries are like that.” - Cameron Ring

“I've always been very passionate about trying to captivate a younger audience, to educate them that this industry is an amazing industry. It's just a great career opportunity for people because it's very fun - it's also hard work, but put in the hard work and you will get rewarded.”

Generation Next
Cameron Ring
Embellish (NZ)
Waikato Stud
Cambridge Stud
Irish National Stud course