Proprietors
David and Rita Smith
David and Rita Smith commenced their association with Thoroughbreds initially with the purchase of a few yearlings which were raced in the late 80's. Following the purchase of a small property at Pickering Brook, a small number of broodmares became the foundation of the current Durham Lodge.
What had been a hobby took a major step towards becoming the major business it is today with the purchase of Yaminga stud in 1996.
The naming of the property has links to England as David and Rita Smith migrated from County Durham in 1970. After farming in England for fifteen years the first fourteen years in Australia were spent in Esperance where they commenced the farm merchandise business SBS Rural later to become know as IAMA.
David retired as Managing Director of IAMA Ltd in 1997 and commenced setting about improving the bloodlines at the stud and providing Western Australian Breeders access to some of Australia's top performing sires. The acquisition of the proven sire SCENIC in 1999 from Colin Hayes and Robert Sangster turned out to been inspired purchase as his progeny earnings rose by over $30 million from 1999 onwards.
The sad loss of SCENIC in March 2005 has been softened somewhat by the tremendous early success of BLACKFRIARS also purchased from Robert Sangster's Lyndsey Park Stud and the purchase of proven sires HURRICANE SKY and BROCCO.
Personnel
Jeremy Smith
General Manager
Jeremy has been involved with the thoroughbred industry in many capacities since 1990 when he initially was employed by Goodwood Bloodstock as a Pedigree Researcher. Later after many changes to the business he worked with Murray Tillett and Mark Pilkington as one of the team running the business on a day to day basis. When Goodwood was sold to Magic Millions, Jeremy was persuaded to take over the running of Durham Lodge on a full time basis which he has done very successfully since.
email: jeremy.smith@durhamlodge.net.au
Mark Wilkins
Stud Manager
After gaining experience over many years at a number of studs, Mark was appointed Stud Manager at Durham Lodge in 2004. Mark is an extremely conscientious manager who has been responsible for some of the best prepared yearlings to go through the Perth Yearling Sales.
email: info@durhamlodge.net.au
Tony Moore
Stallion Handler
Tony was persuaded to fill the very busy roll of Stallion Handler at Durham Lodge for this season (2008).
Durham Lodge is delighted to have someone of Tony's ability and experience looking after Group 1 winning sires Universal Prince, Blackfriars, Brocco and Hurricane Sky. Tony is also helping with the daily running of Durhams operation this season.
Born in New Zealand Tony has a wealth of experience with Thoroughbred Horses from Kentucky in the USA to Windsor Park Stud handling well known stallions Star Way and
Kaapstad. Tony also spend time in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales and also in Victoria where he handled many well known Stallions including Full On By and
Twig Moss.
In the United Kingdom he spent a season at Sheikh Maktoum's Carrington Stud before spending a season in Western Australia where he Managed Tudor Park Stud then standing Tenby and
Statoblest
Dr Wendy Perriam
BSc,B.V.M.S(Hons),M.A.C.V.S(Eq.Med).M.R.C.V.S.
Thoroughbred Stud Veterinarian
Dr Wendy Perriam joined the team at Durham Lodge as their Permanent Veterinarian which commenced at the start of this stud season.(2008) Wendy has been Durham Lodge's Stud Vet for seven years as an employee of Belvoir Vet Clinic.
Wendy graduated from Veterinary School in 1992, and after 3 years in a Mixed Animal Practice she focused solely on the Equine industry specializing in reproduction. After spending two years at Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital under the guidance of reproduction specialist Dr Angus McKinnon a great opportunity emerged in Colorado for the 1997 Northern Hemisphere breeding season at a large equine clinic which provided Wendy with some great experiences in her chosen field.
Wendy returned to the West to join Dr Kim Rose at Belmont Horse Hospital, before moving to the Swan Valley to help establish Belvoir Equine Clinic. During that time Wendy's work predominantly focused on the breeding industry and she has been instrumental in Durham Lodge's success with its breeding operation.
Durham Lodge is delighted to have Wendy as part of it's team. Her knowledge of Durham's mares and clients mares is invaluable. Her ability to help achieve high pregnancy rates during extremely busy stud season is crucial to their organisation. As a result of having Wendy on their team it has enabled Durham Lodge to offer its clients competitive prices for mares Vet fees plus the great advantage of having a private vet on call.
ADMINISTRATION
Communicating regularly with clients to keep them up to date with news on coverings, pregnancy tests etc. is the responsibility of our dedicated administration staff.
email: info@durhamlodge.net.au
Stud Staff
Under Mark's direction our experienced stud staff are committed to providing your valuable investments with the best possible care and attention.
Marketing Manager
Caroline Gammage of (TargetMarket Solutions)is responsible for all areas of Advertising and Promotional activities of the stud including web site maintainance.
email: caroline.gammage@durhamlodge.net.au
Property Manager
Durham Lodge employs a full time Property Manager who is responsible for all aspects of upgrading and maintaining the stud to the highest level.