Wayne Bedggood – the Australian breeding industry’s quiet achiever
Cressfield Stud’s long-time general manager, Wayne Bedggood, is your classic, good old fashioned horseman. He shuns the limelight, preferring to go about his business quietly and let his horses do the talking.
Earlier this month he had no choice but to take centre stage, even if it was only for a few minutes, and accept the trophy for the 2021 Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement.
“It was a bit of a surprise, it’s one of the better recognitions of the industry. There is no finer accolade than receiving that from your peers,” said Bedggood.
After winning the award, Bedggood, who usually avoids media interviews, kindly agreed to share his story with ANZ Bloodstock News.
Of Portuguese descent, Bedggood has spent a lifetime with horses. He grew up in Queensland shadowing his late father Keith who was a horse trainer.
“Dad was my earliest mentor and so was my mum who worked on the farm. He was an extremely good horseman and I learned a lot of horsemanship and life lessons from him having come through that old school period and a lot of that rubbed off,” recalled Bedggood.
He has fond memories of those childhood days growing up on Wattle Brae Stud at Pilton.
“I am fortunate in a lot of ways. I was born and bred on a horse stud so had a footing in the industry right from the get-go.
“I was riding racehorses from a young age and remember getting up early in the morning and being led around on a horse at the age of about seven, because dad was too heavy to ride.”
During his teens, Bedggood’s family moved south to Victoria and that’s where he eventually got a start working in the racing and breeding game.
Upon leaving school he broke in horses and specialised in pre-training.
“I rode trackwork for six years and schooled jumpers. That was an interesting period of my life falling off ten times a day and riding 17HH pullers. It was all a good experience,” he laughed.
The hard work paid off and, by the age of 23, he was managing one of the state’s most famous properties of the era, Sir Donald Trescowthick’s Cornwall Park.
After two seasons at Cornwall Park the prime opportunity came up to work in the breeding heartlands of the Hunter Valley.
“It was always in the back of my mind that if I was going to move interstate, the Scone district was the place to be as far as thoroughbreds go.”
And so the journey began, where he would help shape the future success of some of Australia’s most iconic thoroughbred nurseries.
In March 1986 he began his first role at Middlebrook Park Stud, which was then owned by John Messara, and he was very quickly recognised as a talented horseman.
Following the purchase of the breeding interests of Robert Sangster and Jim Fleming, Messara purchased the Strowan property and neighbouring Arrowfield Wines vineyard at Jerrys Plains, and, aided by a small team, Bedggood was assigned to develop what was to become Arrowfield Stud and is, today, Coolmore Stud.
“I often say they were the halcyon days to start working with a horse like Rancher and it all escalated. John (Messara) did the deal with the Sangster stock and the relationship with New Zealand and the Hayes horses and from there, there were all these farms we were helping.
“John is such a visionary and was lucky to have a fabulous team around him like Peter Orton, who is a fine mentor.
“John is an extraordinary man. The things I have learned from him are too long to list and probably more life lessons than horses. I have never seen someone with so much vision to look into the future and have a grasp of what could happen and make it happen.
“Sure, he’s had a few failures, but the successes have been phenomenal. There’s nobody more influential nationally, or even internationally, he’s been a game-changer.”
As stud manager at Arrowfield he was instrumental in the farm’s development as a world class thoroughbred breeding facility and oversaw the first and subsequent seasons of champion sire Danehill (Danzig).
Bedggood vividly recalls when the Danehill deal famously soured during the mid-90s and Coolmore bought back the rights to him for $24 million.
“It was awful to watch what he went through in the dust up with Coolmore over Danehill. It was almost a bare knuckles dust up as to who got that horse. It was heartbreaking for both sides. We all loved that horse,” Bedggood recollected.
“For John to go through that and have to rebrand and build and move on, and he did, there were some really hard-fought struggles. But he never gave up or looked back. He kept looking forward and developing.”
When Arrowfield relocated to its current location in the Segenhoe Valley, Bedggood once again played a big part in not only developing that property’s state of the art facilities but also managing one of the largest and best-credentialed broodmare bands in the country, as well as overseeing the launch of the phenomenal stud career of Redoute’s Choice (Danehill).
“To get that experience from just being there is a real gift,” he said.
With a fierce reputation for setting up successful farms, it’s no surprise that when Bruce Neill was on the hunt for someone to turn a sheep property he purchased on the outskirts of Scone into a boutique broodmare farm, he called on Bedggood, who had been recommended to him by Evergreen Stud principal Tony Bott.
Looking for a change at the time, he gladly accepted the challenge.
“There were only a few roads and half a kilometre of fencing so I had a blank canvas to work with. I had some trepidation but knowledge that I had been through the process with Arrowfield so many times.”
Last week, Bedggood celebrated 20 years at the helm of Cressfield Stud, a farm he’s deeply proud of.
“It’s a beautiful place and what we did differently here is we didn’t build it overnight. Others set up in 18 months to two years but we did things slowly. Horse infrastructure came first and other things later.
“Bruce and I don’t like the limelight and to show off or be flashy. It’s done well and not second rate but we haven’t splashed the money about either.”
Set on 3,500 acres, Cressfield Stud is one of the most revered properties of its kind in Australia.
“We have everything from rugged, hilly terrain to some of the best agricultural land in the Hunter Valley. We have worked away at it slowly and never had a large broodmare band, with limited numbers each year. We have just had our best two years and it’s taken a while to get it all right.”
Cressfield’s owner, Bruce Neill, who added another prized mare to his band yesterday by spending $1 million to secure Quilista (Scandal Keeper) at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, has always given Bedggood plenty of autonomy to manage the farm’s development.
“Bruce is just phenomenal. What an extraordinary fellow, he’s one in a million,” said Bedggood. “Anybody that meets him loves him to death and, as an employer, he basically leaves you alone and he loves the property. He’s given me a free hand and as long as I can justify the money he’s happy with that. He has very little influence on the workings of the property.
“It’s been a fabulous working relationship where you could not get a better employer. I’m lucky.”
Neill is equally thankful for their 20-year working partnership in thoroughbred breeding and what it has borne.
“He’s been good to work with and we have always got on well. Because I live in Hobart I need a hands-on manager to take my place at the barricades. I’m very fortunate to have got Wayne,” said Neill.
“Our sales averages have been very good and the performance of horses we have produced has been good. Our average is incredible and we have had twice the median average at the Inglis Easter sale for the last 13 years. In 2013 we averaged $1.36 million there. He makes sure we take the right product to the sales and present them well.”
Led by Bedggood, those remarkable results have also been influenced by the high quality team he has built around him, including its operations manager Liesl Baumann, who was also recognised at the recent HTBA Awards and named the Employee of the Year (Inaugural) Leadership Award winner.
Baumann started at entry level with the farm and has worked alongside Bedggood for the past 15 years.
“Being an intensely private man he has not been easy to get to know, but over the years we have formed a very solid, trusting relationship, peppered with honest banter and sometimes impassioned opinions,” Baumann said.
“He has been a great mentor throughout this period, providing guidance, in particular with the nuances of managing people, and championed my progression within the company. He has allowed me to try new approaches to husbandry, asking only that I be able to justify my actions.
“Wayne’s understanding of the science of equine reproduction has been of enormous value to me. Breeding mares is my favourite part of the production cycle and the ability to have scientific based discourse is something that I have benefited greatly from over the years.
“He has allowed me the space to make mistakes, consider better approaches and knock on his door when I needed back up. He is a tremendous advocate for women in the industry, in particular our value in upper management,” continued Baumann.
Bedggood is big on encouraging young people, particularly women, to progress and realise their full potential in what can often be a cut-throat and male-dominated industry.
“There’s certainly luck involved but you make your own luck as well. You have to be ready to capitalize when the opportunity presents itself and don’t be scared to have a go or do something that terrifies you, have a go you might be good at it. Don’t stop trying and work hard,” said Bedggood.
“With an attention to detail that will always get you points and be prepared to put the time in and this can take years and decades to happen. Be consistent and keep doing your best and learn from those around you,” he advised.
During his tenure at the helm of the highly-regarded Cressfield operation, Bedggood has not only positively guided the careers of those around him, both equine and human, he’s also contributed enormously to his local community.
He’s a passionate and long-serving director of the Muswellbrook Race Club and previously held the position of president of the HTBA and spent a number of years volunteering his time as a councillor and mayor of the Upper Hunter Shire Council.
He and his wife Michelle, a passionate horsewoman who he met 40 years ago when they rode trackwork together, are also proactive about helping to raise funds for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.
So, you won’t see him anytime soon basking in the glory of Cressfield’s success on the racetrack or in the sales ring.
Instead, you are more likely to find him turning a sausage on the BBQ at a fundraising event somewhere or selling a few raffle tickets on a street corner.