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27 November 2020 , Obituary
Well known and highly successful breeder Heather Williams’ life will be celebrated at a special service next week, following her death after a short illness.

Heather and Lex Williams, who married in 1970, bred nearly 80 horses and will forever be associated with their millionaire trotting mare One Over Kenny.

Heather was once quoted: "We love racing and follow our horses whenever they are racing but equally we love breeding. Horses here become like part of the family, well loved and cared for."

In another interview Lex talked about her gift with animals. “She’s a good stock lady. She was a good trainer of dogs and became very very good at handling the foals. In the last few years we never had to break them because they were so quiet. She said there’s got to be an easier way than tying them up and having flank ropes on them so she read the Horse Whispers books. You have to start on them (the foals) when they’re very young. It became a trust thing between her and the foals. We got a lot of accolades from the trainers who said our horses were so easy to break in.”

Lex and Heather initially farmed at Lawrence in Otago before moving north to Waimate where they spent nearly 40 years running an award-winning sheep and beef farm. They also ran a movie theatre in Waimate and leased the opera house in Oamaru for 10 years before building a three-cinema complex there.

It was Heather’s urgings that ultimately helped snare One Over Kenny at auction.

Lex takes up the story : “(Trainer)Phil Williamson sorted One Over Kenny out – $20,000 was our budget. We got to twenty and the auctioneer said he’d take a half ($500) but he took a $1,000 from the next bidder. When the sales staff went to get the buyer’s signature he said oh no it was only twenty and a half.”

The auctioneer then decided to bring the yearling back into the ring three lots later.

"Heather said ‘why you don’t put in another bid.’ The other guy went to twenty and half and I went to twenty one. He said bugger you and pulled out and they knocked her down to me.”

One Over Kenny went to win 32 races and over a million dollars, including seventeen Group or listed races!

One Over Kenny and In the Pocket pacing mare Fleet’s Pocket have been the mainstays of their breeding operation, with most of their horses having “One” or “Flying” in their names.

One Over Da Moon (Majestic Son - One Over Kenny) was another stand-out with 22 wins.

Finalists for Breeder of the Year at this year’s Harness Racing New Zealand awards, they bred both Cracker Hill (7 wins – 16 starts - $133,230) and Ultimate Stride (9 wins – 16 starts, $180,268) who were the joint winners of last season’s 3-year-old trotting colt or gelding of the year.

They also bred and have a share in Group and listed 8-win trotter One Apollo. Both the sire One Over Da Moon and dam Anna Castleton were also bred by the Williams. They were also the breeders of the first stakes winner of Muscle Hill in New Zealand, One Muscle Hill.

Among their horses have been Flying Heathers One, Heather Castleton and Flying Mrs Williams.

Brad Reid, New Zealand Standardbred Breeders’ Association Executive Manager : “I was lucky enough to visit their farm a few years ago and their attention to detail was evident, and no doubt Heather was instrumental in a lot of that. I’m sure Lex won’t mind me saying that Heather was a hard task master, but she had a heart of gold and loved her horses.

“Lex and Heather have an unbelievable knack for whatever they touch turning to gold and have achieved remarkable success as owners and breeders of horses in both gaits.

Heather Williams was 69.

A service to celebrate Heather's life will be held in Campbell and Sons Chapel, 95 Gordon Road, Mosgiel, at 2.00pm, on Monday, November 30, followed by private cremation. Messages to 807 Brighton Road, Ocean View, Dunedin 9035.

Credit: Obituary

After nearly 50 years’ involvement in the harness racing industry in this country Sam Ballantyne has died in Christchurch, aged 74.

A studmaster, trainer and driver Ballantyne was born in Scotland where he bred horses, just as his father had done.

He also raced horses regularly throughout the UK at venues such as Prestatyn in Wales and it was during this time he crossed paths with now prominent Auckland trainer Ray Green (of Copy That fame).

They would become mates.

“The UK scene then was like a league of nations. I’d bump into Sam twice a week and I’d drive horses he bred and then sold on, he was right up there with the best.”

“He was associated with a lot of Derby winners – he was a top breeder and he sold a lot.”

In the 1970s he made the decision to go to New Zealand. According to Green he was “looking for some adventure in his life.”

After settling in Christchurch he married into one of the country’s most prominent harness racing families. His wife Judy was the daughter of Freeman and Peggy Holmes, of Noodlum fame. He also set up his stud operation, Eastwood Lodge.

“He was a top stockman," says retired bloodstock agent Bruce Barlass, who worked at the Lodge for five years (1978-83).

“His care for the horses, especially broodmares and foals was paramount”

Among the other people he employed were now top American-based trainer Mark Harder, Grant Payne and the late Dennis Smolenski.

“In the biggest years 250 mares would be served there, to the two stallions Plat Du Jour and Nardins Byrd,” said Barlass. Other stallions there over the years included Australian champion pacer Preux Chevalier.

Gee du Jour (Plat du Jour – Geena) won the 1991 Rowe Cup while Folie Bergere,a Plat du Jour – Del Parole filly, trained by Ballantyne, finished third to the colts in the first ever Sires Stakes final in 1984.

After starting out in the mid 1970s, Ballanytne trained the last of his 73 winners (Amenophis) at Addington on January 2011.

As a driver he had 35 wins with Graikos arguably his best horse (8 wins – 17 starts).

Among his stand out performances was a second to Lord Module in the Group 1 Pan Am Mile in 1979.

“He was very professional,” says Green , “and his horses were always immaculate.”

“He would fit in with anyone, he was likeable and agreeable.”

Sam Ballantyne’s funeral will be held at Westpark Chapel, Burnside on Saturday, Dec 5 at 2pm.

Credit: Obituary

It is testament to the sort of man Father Dan Cummings was that after decades of enormous success in harness racing that is rarely the first thing which comes to mind when you think of him.

Father Dan went to see his big boss upstairs on Saturday afternoon, taking his last breath after a battle with cancer that eventually moved to his lungs.

There was little shock in his death, it had been coming for 15 months, since he was diagnosed with the illness and decided to not go down the treatment path.

“He wanted to enjoy what time he had left and he did,” said his brother Peter after “Danny” passed away aged 75.

“He made the most of his last year but when he got back from the sales he started to get worse and struggled with his breathing at the end.” That Father Dan made the most of his final year is hardly surprising because that was how he lived his life.

He entered the priesthood straight out of school and upon being ordained spent much of his working life in the Dunedin diocese (the church’s region).

A priest can affect a lot of lives in that time, especially one as popular as Father Dan and he was also at the centre of one of New Zealand’s great tragedies, being the parish priest at Port Chalmers when David Gray shot and killed 13 people in the Aramoana massacre in 1990.

“That was a pretty intense time for Danny, being the parish priest during something that bad,” says Peter.

But away from a life of service, Father Dan was Danny to his family.

Danny loved animals, a love he got from his mother Joan who set up Tuapeka Lodge in 1965.

While that extended to harness racing it was originally focussed on rodeo, where Danny held the New Zealand record for bulldogging, which is when a rodeo rider jumps from a horse on to a steer or calf and wrestles it to the ground.

This would suggest Danny was a bit of a hard bugger.

“He loved the rodeo and was very good at it,” says Peter.

But after Mum passed in 1977 Danny (the third of eight children), Peter and sister Julie (Davie) took over the stud with enormous success.

“Danny was the breeding and horse expert, I was the farmer and Julie managed it and sometimes prepared the yearlings,” explains Peter.

Tuapeka Lodge generally kept their yearlings to 10, selling almost all the colts and keeping the fillies.

Dan would train some, including one of their flagship horses in Maureen’s Dream, but it was mainly the colts who made Tuapeka Lodge the respected nursery that went on to prepare 10 yearling sales toppers.

Many of them traced back to unraced mare turned superstar broodmare Sakuntala.

The family bought her in 1974 and she left 13 winners from 18 foals, including Tuapeka Star who numbered the 1979 Tatlow Stakes at Moonee Valley among her 22 Australian victories and she went on to leave the great Iraklis.

“He was one of our favourites,” remembers Peter of the stallion who won the NZ Cup and Miracle Mile and over $1million.

He was one of two NZ Cup winners from the Tuapeka breed, the other being Monkey King, even though he wasn’t bred on the farm he was from a mare who was.

Sakuntala’s progeny or their progeny have resulted in over 30 horses to win more than $100,000.

But good horses alone do not legends make and Father Dan was a harness racing legend.

He was ahead of his time with his website and yearling pics and as a man who commanded respect without trying.

Come sales time he would be sitting on his lawn chair outside the stables of the Tuapeka Lodge draft, a parish priest to an entire industry.

“He could be hard when he needed to be. He was very demanding,” laughed Peter.

“He liked things done the right way but we never had a cross word and neither did Julie with him.

“But he loved the horses and really enjoyed his involvement with Southern Bred Southern Reared in recent years.”

Tuapeka Lodge will continue, with younger family members keen to help Peter and Julie.

“I think we have a lovely bunch of horses to take to the sales next year,” smiles Peter.

And they will have somebody looking over them from above. A legend.





Credit: NZ Harness News, 30 Mar 2020, Michael Guerin

The harness racing breeding industry has lost one of its giants with the shock passing of Bob McArdle.

The 76-year-old who imported so many top stallions to New Zealand through his days at Nevele R Stud died in his sleep on Wednesday night.

He is survived by his wife Denise and children Lisa and Baeden.

Few people have every contributed as much to, or for that matter accrued as much information about the Australasian breeding industry, as McArdle.

Not only was he a breeder, owner and agent but with the late Wayne Francis set up Nevele R, the stud whose footprint on the industry worldwide is enormous.

Not only did they breed hundreds of winners of thousands of races but Francis and McArdle brought the likes of Falcon Seelster, Holmes Hanover and earlier Timely Knight and El Patron to New Zealand to mention just a few. Later, through his breeding and selling business Bromac Lodge, McArdle had a huge presence at the yearling sales, with 12 from that property to be sold at the Christchurch sales in a few week and three at Karaka.

“Bob’s impact on the industry here is impossible to overstate,” says PGG Wrightson’s Peter Lagan. “What he and Wayne did at Nevele R will be felt across the industry for decades to come.

“And his knowledge of breeding in this part of the world might be the most detailed of anybody I have ever met.

“When you think of all the horses he bred, sold and was agent for he has put a lot of money in a lot of people’s hands over a very long period of time.

“He was a very smart businessman and knew what he wanted but no matter how frank a discussion or even disagreement you had with Bob, he would get over it and get down to business

“The New Zealand industry owes him a lot.”

Bob’s best horse he actually owned was probably Howard Bromac, who won an Auckland Cup and was placed in a New Zealand and Hunter Cup when trained by Kirk Larsen.

“He was maybe the best we had but Bob owned a hell of a lot of good horses,” says Larsen. “We probably trained for him for over 30 years. He would breed horses and then we would train them, sell plenty but keep some.

“Bob had great knowledge and was a businessman first when it came to the horses but he loved the good families and was very loyal to them.”

Credit: Michael Guerin writing on NZ Harness News/Harnesslink Media - January 2018

Neil, who has been in indifferent health for some time, suffered severe back pain late in the week and was removed to hospital on Thursday. The family, including his wife, Rose were summoned on Friday evening and he passed some hours later. His last harness racing runner, Mach Up, had been a winner for Mark at Addington a few hours before. He was 80.



Neil has been closely associated with Mark's training career from the start of it.

"We had been family friends for years. Neil was in Kumeu earlier and transported the horses down south for Roy and Barry and was then in Christchurch so the association continued when I moved south" Mark said.

Neil played a key role in that stage of Mark's career as a backer, advisor and "volunteer" stable hand. In more recent times he was the man finessing the track before fast work at Rolleston and master of the kitchen for staff breaks. But he did a lot more than that. Much more.

He raced any number of successful horses, most notably the $2.5m winner Smolda and his contemporary Fly Like an Eagle as well as outstanding horses like Waikiki Beach (19 wins), Major Mark (12 NZ wins) Follow the Stars (16 wins), Classic Cullen (16 wins) Border Control (18 wins) Ohoka Dallas and Russley Rascal ) to name a few.

But he remembered with affection lesser winners of earlier days in the north of which he told many stories. And his winning tally could have been much higher but for the fact that Neil just loved "the deal" and was always prepared to sell horses for export before they reached their potential. He preferred to race with one or more partners than solo ownership though he did both,

"You always leave something in the horse for the next owner. I have always followed that and if you do it they will come back for more" he used to say and a lifetime of experience in doing deals meant he was a man to listen to.

"He was just a really good bloke and of great support to me in so many ways" Mark said

"Roy and Barry had a horse for him, I think Speedy Demo who started his racing association with our stable. He was a good friend of Peter Wolfenden in those days and Peter Young trained for him as well. He was a regular at the Kumeu track which is where we got to know him well"

"Like everyone else you always expected him to bounce back from a bout of bad health. He had done it so many times"

"It is a sad day for those of us who knew him but you are reassured by the knowledge that Pilch had done so many things in his life that he would have gone having no regrets"

Although Neil realised he was nearing the end of his life it never affected his spirit. He went to the Yearling Sales and spent $120,000 on one lot {"He was one of our owners we couldn't put a limit on !" Mark says) and more recently has invested in several new ventures including the trotter Musculus just two weeks ago in anticipation of another Harness Jewels runner. He had hoped to be at Addington Friday where he had three runners engaged and then head north for Cambridge.

It is a great sadness for Neil Pilcher's family and many friends as well as a host of associates that this time he will not be there.

Credit: NZ Harness News, 19 May 2018, courtesy of The All Stars site

Colin Steele sadly passed away on Saturday 19 May.

Steele was a dedicated member of the Addington Racing Department team for 23 years.

His work family, who affectionately referred to him as “Colli”, said “He was such a caring person who gave so much of his time to support others.”

“Over the 23 years he worked with us, he found a place in all of our hearts. Colli's smile, facial expressions and sense of humour were infectious. We are going to miss you Colli (and your chocolate fish bucket). You were such a dear treasured friend who will live on in our memories forever.”

Steele’s funeral will be held at the Christian Cullen Lounge, Addington Raceway on Tuesday 22 May at 2pm.

The Harness Racing New Zealand team that worked with Steele during his time in the industry would also like to pass on our sincere condolences.

Credit: NZ Harness News, 19 May 2018

The harness racing industry was saddened to hear about the passing of the likeable and well respected Dennis Smolenski this week.

The 63-year-old died on Sunday night and knowing what was coming, as a tribute, his brother Bob raced Rosinupthebow at Methven earlier that day in Dennis’ training colours with his good friend Tony Herlihy driving.

“Dennis was diagnosed with a tumour last year and had an operation, but the cancer returned and claimed him rather quickly in the end,” said Bob.

“He was at his happiest doing gardening work and in recent years he’d really been enjoying life as the caretaker at the West Melton Domain while fixing up his own place at Weedons.”

Dennis was a son of Brian Smolenski, a cousin of Jack, and together the family had great success from the late 70s with the top filly Gina Marie.

She won 10 races under trainer-driver Jack, including the 1978 Great Northern Oaks.

Gina Marie’s first two foals were the top colt and Great Northern Derby winner Nardinski and the brilliant filly Gina Rosa, who won 17 races and $415,000, although she was sold as an older mare to Wellington’s Garth Williams.

Dennis started out as a stock agent for PGG and had stints in the stables of Sam Ballantyne and Jack Smolenski along with the Andertons in Mosgiel.

He made his own way in life doing a wide variety of jobs, but he was best known for his stud work and preparing yearlings with his wife and partner in life, Jill.

Dennis was 43 when he married Jill (nee Fraser) and after a period where the latter worked at Wai Eyre and Studholme Park and Dennis did a bit of training and driving and breaking in, they moved to Auckland to become the studmasters at Woodlands.

During this time they bred and raced the outstanding Dream Away filly One Dream, who won 18 of 23 races and $900,000 under trainers Dave and Clare McGowan.

In 2005, Dennis and Jill took on the job of building up the Stonewall Stud farm and operation and they prepared those yearlings before returning to Canterbury in 2009, when Jill began working at Nevele R Stud before taking over as studmaster in 2013.

“Dennis was helping out Jim Dalgety in the mornings while doing a few of his own horses in the afternoon after they returned home to Weedons,” said Bob.

“He also had jobs delivering sawdust and chickens, but he really enjoyed tidying up and maintaining gardens and he did a lot of that sort of work for various people.

“Jill finished up at Nevele R a year ago and has been running her own dog grooming business since.”

Credit: NZ Harness News, 18 October 2018, Frank Marrion, the Informant

We are yet again reminded of our own mortality, as another of the light harness craft, have left us, bound for "that big race track in the sky"!

The hobbyist, a boy refugee from war torn Europe to New Zealand where he became a farm hand in the dairy industry, later taking on the breaking and education of harness horses and progressing to training and driving. He was in his early 80's at the time of passing.

Albert Willem "Slim" Dykmann was a well known identity in NZ prior to coming to Queensland, through the deeds of his star trotter, Scotch Tar. A gelded son of pacing sire, Tarport Coulter, Scotch Tar raced for 8 seasons , starting on 87 occasions for 29 wins and 10 placings, maintaining a high profile among the square gaiters, and banking $140,920 AUD in the process.Slim settled at Ebenezer south of Ipswich and commenced to weave his magic there, first rising to notice through the deeds of Natty Jack, a winner of 20 races on the "old" Southport track.

It was, however his skill with mares that bought him fortune here. Top of the tree was the 'iron legged" Happy Haldon starting on 196 occasions for 62 wins 52 placings, sitting death seat and grinding her opposition into the ground, while earning $290,000. Diamond Hunter, with 11 wins under two minute rate from her total of 17, and $71,000, an Australian high point at the time. Then came Hike Along. A massive 32 runs as a 2yo in a total of 60 starts which netted $68,000 from 15 wins and 19 placings. At stud, 11 foals, 7 winners, 4 of which earned in excess of $100,000. Slim Dykman.

No dynasty, just the sharp and lasting memory of a man who knew what he was doing, and did it incredibly well!!

Credit: NZ Harness News, Denis Smith (Queensland), 18 October 2018,

Longtime Ashburton horseman Alex Hastie died in his hometown on Monday, aged 71.

Hastie was perhaps best known for naming his horses with the surnames of famous New Zealand sports people.

The supremely-talented Loader was one of the best of them, winning four of his seven career starts in 1999 before going amiss after injuring himself at Forbury Park in 2000.

He reared up at the start and injured an ankle, never to race again.

Timu (6 wins), Moller (4) and Anton Oliver (4) were all good winners while Davu, McCaw, Devoy, Amon, Van Dyk, Chisnall, Tuuta, Mains and Corlett were other examples of his penchant for Kiwi sporting surnames.

Loader’s older half-brother, Anton Oliver, was a horse Hastie regarded as the best he trained, but a number of leg injuries saw him only race for two seasons here – as a six-year-old and eight-year-old.

He won four races from 20 starts before Hastie, wife Pam and longtime friend and client Bill Eade sent the horse to Perth to race in 2015.

Eade was one a number of close associations Hastie forged with breeders, owners and fellow horsemen in a training career that started in 1980.

One of those was with Waikouaiti trainer Denis O’Connell, with whom he exchanged many horses over a long period.

“Alex was a very good man,” noted O’Connell.

“He passed me on some nice horses, including Terranium and Francis Dalrae.

“He had got Francis Dalrae from Don Cuttance as a pacer (in 1985) and then sent him to me, recommending I race him as a trotter.”

Hastie then drove horse to four of his nine career wins from O’Connell’s stable, offering advice along the way.

“Francis Dalrae’s win with Alex driving on Cup Day in 1988 was magnificent.

“Alex was a wonderful blacksmith and had a terrific knowledge about balancing up a horse.

“He used various weights to get them balanced.

“There’s a real art to it – it’s too technical for me – but he mastered it and was able to get the best possible results out of horses because of it.”

After initially spending six years as a jockey in the mid-1960s (five winners in the 1963/64 season his best), Hastie entered the harness game as a trainer in mid-1980.

His first was Taieri Lord at Ascot Park in December of that year and 57 more were to follow, the last of them being Tuuta at Oamaru in March 2015.

Alexander David Hastie was married to Pam for 51 years and together they had two sons, Rikke and Kelven, as well as eight grandchildren.

He was farewelled at the Ashburton Racecourse on Friday, May 4.

Credit: NZ Harness News, 4 May 2018

Former Christchurch trainer and studmaster Alan Harvey died on Monday, April 30, aged 76.

Harvey had modest success has a trainer after being first licensed in 1982, training six winners.

The first of those, Adadas, was at Greymouth in March 1984 and the last, Kamwood Raider, at Addington in June 2010.

Harvey stood the imported Albatross sire Sir Ten Ten at his Avon Lodge Stud in the late 80s and early 90s, the horse leaving 14 winners.

Alan Moore Harvey was married to Kathy and was father to Karen, Julie and Tony, grandfather to nine and great-grandfather to four.

He was interred at the Avonhead Park Cemetery on Thursday, May 3.

Credit: NZ Harness News, 4 May 2018