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Equine Excellence

Segenhoe, NSW
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We’re Passionate about Performance.

At Ridgmont Farm, the breeding, agistment and care for high quality thoroughbreds is our passion. We breed horses so we can share with our owners the thrill of success in the sales ring and on the racetrack. We own broodmares and racehorses ourselves and connect deeply with the passion all owners have for the thoroughbred. We are committed to world leading care for horses on our farm and to this end we invest in the latest world class veterinary, agronomic and technical innovation. Our people commit to ongoing training and education to ensure our horses are cared for to the highest standards. At Ridgmont Farm we believe that there are no less important jobs, people or horses. We are united in our purpose to constantly achieve outstanding sales and racing success.

Our Services

Facilities

We are committed to providing world class facilities for our thoroughbreds at Ridgmont Farm. With investments in industry-leading technology and infrastructure, we are ensuring that all horses are nurtured in a safe and comfortable environment. Our 530-acre farm is comprised of flatter, pasture improved paddocks as well as hillier, natural pasture paddocks. These are surrounded by premium Horserail fencing with strong and durable polyethylene material. We are also blessed with over 700 megalitres of water from the Hunter River. Current developments on-farm include the construction of a new yearling barn, office and entertaining area for visitors.

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Our Services

Sales preparation & success

Positive results at the yearling sales around the country is the first determinant of our success. Racetrack success is of course the ultimate goal. We want to breed well and prepare them for what the owner wants: success on the track. With this goal, we have secured Jakub Vitek from Arrowfield as our yearling manager and we are certain he will be an outstanding asset to our farm and our clients.  

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Our Services

Feed

A quality feeding program is crucial. Ridgmont's is developed by a leading equine nutritionist, and this goes hand and hand with regular agronomic and pasture testing to create the optimum balanced diet for the horses.

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Our Services

Farriers

We work with highly skilful farriers to ensure the health of our horses’ feet. From corrective trimmings to shoeing, farriers play a vital role in the lives of mares, foals and yearlings, and ultimately their sale ring and racetrack success. 

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Our Services

Veterinary care

Our farm has the very best veterinary care at its disposal with Hunter Equine being our primary veterinary provider. They are world leaders and have an outstanding facility minutes away from our farm. They provide daily care during the breeding season. We have 3 vet crushes on farm as well as a vet hospital facility. We are self-sufficient in this area, and with Hunter Equine minutes away, the horses could not be in better hands. 

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Our Services

Agistment

There are many advantages accruing to horses residing full-time at our farm. The majority of our staff live on-farm and are therefore available 24/7 for the horse. Our experienced staff have worked at major thoroughbred farms around the world. Logistically advantageous, we are only minutes from world class studs including Darley, Arrowfield, Newgate and Vinery. Your mare can be on the float and back in her paddock within 15 minutes. These paddocks are a great mix of flat surfaces and steady rises which cater for every phase of their life. 

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Our Services

Foaling

There is no such thing as a good night’s sleep during the foaling season. We provide best practice in this most crucial phase of a mare’s life. Foaling down is not for the faint hearted and we are determined to make the process for the mare as smooth and easy as possible. We employ night watch staff throughout the entire season. We have a team that is on standby throughout the night and with the collective help we work together to provide the mare and her foal with the best care from day 1.

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Our Services

Sustainability

As we continue to develop our farm, clean energy sources such as solar power will be utilised. Envirocycles are present across the property and act as a great solution for wastage.  

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Passion

The Ridgmont Team

Get to know a little more about us

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Andrew Dunemann

General Manager 

Andrew Dunemann

General Manager 

Andrew has been in sport full-time his entire adult life. He made his NRL debut as a 17-year-old and would go on to forge a 15 year playing career before turning his hand to coaching and administration roles with the National Rugby League. Successes during his playing career include World Club Challenge and Super League Titles with the Leeds Rhinos. Upon retirement he become a key figure In the establishment of the Northern Pride. The club set the benchmark for the competition from inception and within 3 years were crowned champions. He then held assistant coach roles at the Newcastle Knights and Canberra Raiders. During his time at the Raiders he was also the Welfare and Education Manager and become Interim Head Coach in 2013. He then took on a consultant role with the NRL where duties were diverse including developing blueprints for the future of the game and working with the High Performance Unit.It was then the sport of kings which would take over and after 20 years of racehorse ownership he developed Syndication Company Boom Racing Thoroughbreds In 2014. Major Ownership successes include Group 1 winners Temple and Spirit of Boom and multiple Group 1 Placed Angelic Light.

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Mitchell Cunningham

Director

Mitchell Cunningham

Director

Mitchell is the founding director of Cunningham Thoroughbreds, a family-run breeding and racing operation which stables approximately 70 Broodmares and Racehorses across the country.Mitchell comes from a multi-disciplined background in business, investment and aviation. He spent over a decade in Hong Kong flying the Boeing 747 and 777 as an Airline Pilot for Cathay Pacific. Upon his return to Australia, he jointly-founded Atora Training, a Health and Fitness business with multiple studios across Queensland.

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Neil Douglas

Director

Neil Douglas

Director

Neil has a passion for and been heavily involved in the Thoroughbred Racing Industry for over 50 years. He has owned, raced and bred numerous horses over that time including many Group runners including Ted (Ping Hi Star), Fulazaboot and Eric the Eel.Through his involvement in the industry he has developed a serious network of contacts right across Australia and overseas in the breeding, ownership and training segments of the industry. After a very successful career as the founder and operator of one of Australia’s largest and most successful learn to swim businesses, he is now proud to be associated with the development of Ridgmont Farm. His business acumen, his love of the industry and his extensive racing network  provide him with the perfect combination to contribute to a winning formula for Ridgmont Farm

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Jakub Vitek

Yearling Manager

Jakub Vitek

Yearling Manager

We are extremely lucky to have been able to secure Jakub as our yearling manager for the farm from Arrowfield. He was our first appointment for Ridgmont Farm, and we have not been disappointed. Jakub grew up in the Czech Republic and has been around horses all of his life. His distinguished grandfather, Frantisek Vitek rode 2 winners in the Velka Pardubicka (Czech Grand National) and then went on to become champion flat trainer on 17 occasions. He also trained 6 Derby winners.The blood in the veins has been passed down through generation and Jakub’s father, Roman Vitek has a veterinarian background and now specializes in equine physiotherapy and dentistry. He too was a successful flat trainer. These 2 people provided an excellent grounding as to which Jakub could develop from.This course opened a pathway which would lead him to Australia where for the past 5 years he has plied his trade at Arrowfield Stud. In his time at Arrowfield, he worked with the very best yearlings, of which, some have gone on to become elite racehorses. He also attributes Arrowfield of providing him with an amazing learning curve as he was surrounded by very knowledgeable people who are at the top of the industry.His redeeming features are his attention to detail, work ethic and all-round thoroughbred knowledge. We are extremely confident that our horses will be exceptionally well prepared in the years to come and as our farm grows so too will the role Jakub plays.He worked part-time as a groom with mainly dressage and show jumping horses during his university studies in Scotland. After finishing his studies, he headed back to thoroughbreds where he worked 6 months at Newtown Stud, Ireland to get his foot in the door in the breeding industry. He caught the eye during this stint and in 2016 was fortunate enough to join the class of 2016 at the Irish National Stud. In doing so he broke new ground being the first student from the Czech Republic.

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Petrus Burger

Farm Manager

Petrus Burger

Farm Manager

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In Our Care

Shoko

Shoko

This magnificent Sebring mare is from one of the most progressive families in the stud book. We went to $1,000,000 to secure her at the 2021 Chairman’s sale in foal to I Am Invincible. We are delighted with her colt at foot. Her race record is impressive, having won the Group 3 Tesio Stakes in Melbourne. She is a half-sister to 4-time stakes winner and multiple Group 1 placed Mimi Lebrock, who has thrown Group 3 winner Barbaric and also Group 3 placed Diddles. Diddles fetched $1,000,000 in foal to Deep Field at the Magic Millions National Sale in 2021. Shoko is also the half-sister to Group 3 winner and Group 1 placed Heavenly Thought. She is currently again in foal to I Am Invincible.

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Quintessa

Quintessa

Quintessa was purchased privately for $500,000 off the track. She is an outstanding physical, standing 16.1 hands high with plenty of scope and quality. She has good bone, a nice hind leg and an athletic action.  As a yearling, she brought the third highest price for a Pierro filly ever ($480,000). She spent the majority of her career contesting metropolitan and stakes class races. Her career highlights are a third in the Group 1 ATC Oaks behind Colette and Toffee Tounge, and a third in the Group 3 Adrian Knox behind the same two fillies. She was also narrowly beaten by Group 1 placed filly She's Ideal, and was beaten 3 lengths to Group 1 winner Think It Over in the Group 3 Craven Plate.

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Chachapoyas

Chachapoyas

Our daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, Chachapoyas, hails from an outstanding family, herself the half-sister to Group 1 performers Aramayo and Tupac Amaru. Aramayo showed incredible ability in winning Singapore’s Group 1 Kranji Mile as well as the Group 1 Raffles Cup in 2020. He has since to returned to Australia, where he is currently trained by Chris Waller. Tupac Amaru finished 2nd in the ATC Derby, within half a length of the 4-time Group 1 winner Criterion. Her dam, Peruvian, is the half-sister to 4 Stakes winners, including 3-time Group 1 winner In The Wings.

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Urban Rocket

Urban Rocket

Urban Rocket, by the star European sire Siyouni, is an unraced 4-year-old mare from a very fast international family. She is a three-quarter sister to the 8-times Group 1 winning Maarek.

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Unassailed

Unassailed

This stunning Fastnet Rock mare made $1,000,000 as a yearling and throws very strong foals. She was purchased from the 2020 Chairman’s sale for $275,000 in foal to I Am Invincible.

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We pride ourselves in offering the highest level of care and communication 

At Ridgmont farm, we are committed to keeping our clients informed every step of the way. 

Best practice is our aim. The horses are given individual attention, being checked morning and afternoon. They are rugged in the colder months and, with the further development of the farm, more shade shelters will become available for the warmer times of year. We have also introduced Horserail on the new yearling farm, which will act as an impeccable safety mechanism. We will not take short cuts and we aim to provide the best care for our horses at Ridgmont across all the elements of their development. 
We provide a regular, up-to-date communication platform for our owners. Communication levels are guided by the phase the horses are in, with updates provided more frequently around the foaling down and sales periods. Our preferred method of communication is by visual updates, accompanied by brief narrative on progress. Keeping our owners informed and up to date is a priority.
With a farm of over 500 acres and 700 megalitres along with up to 150 horses on farm at any one-time having specialist roles is crucial. We employ 3 managers who oversee their individual areas and report to the General Manager. Breaking down the roles on farm means we have specialists in place across the 3 main areas of Broodmares, Yearling and Farm Maintenance.

Testimonials

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Ridgmont Client

We have 3 full time mares at Ridgmont, and have been thoroughly impressed by Andrew and his team. We are kept abreast of everything we need to know about our mares and foals, and enjoy watching the regular videos of each. The communication has been like nothing we've experienced in the past.

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Ridgmont Client

Our mares spent the season at Ridgmont before returning home. The have come back home looking better than ever!

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Ridgmont Client

Andrew invited us to the farm recently to visit our yearlings which we hadn't seen yet due to border closures etc. I was blown away. Jakub Vitek has done and remarkable job. The farm is looking phenomenal. Well done all!