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Stallion manager Grace McMillan grew up around horses and riding from a young age it was natural for Grace to follow a path into working with horses. At age seventeen, Grace was ready to leave school but it was under the condition of her mother that she either had full-time work or was going to continue with further education. She then joined Te Akau, moving to the stud side she spent a season at Cambridge Stud, and four years at Wentwood Grange including two years as a yearling manager before moving to Australia where she first started working with Stallions. A trip to Ireland was incredibly eye-opening and a return to the northern hemisphere is something on Grace’s bucket list, she returned home to New Zealand following the Irish breeding season.
In 2019 she joined Windsor Park Stud and was then promoted to stallion manager in 2020. In the last few seasons, Grace has grown and developed her comprehension of stallions and credits studmaster Rodney Schick for the wealth of knowledge that he has generously passed on to Grace giving her the chance to flourish in the role.
The breeding season begins September 1st when the stallions begin serving
mares, which concurs with the beginning of the busiest time of the year for Grace and her five stallions. Although a lot of preparations go before the 1st including scanning mares who aren’t in-foal, foaling down mares and importantly for Grace getting the stallions ready to start breeding.
A typical day for grace during the season is as follows.
5:30 am start. If the weather allows the stallions will stay out at night in their paddocks. She then feeds the boys and checks over them to make sure they are sound and healthy.
6 am is the first service. Depending on what stallions are serving she will get them ready. Then follows general stable duties including cleaning the boxes. Grace helps with scanning mares to see how they’re progressing and if they’re ready to be served by a stallion. Another fundamental part of checking mares is teasing. Teasing is where they bring a teaser horse (a stallion that doesn’t breed the mares) to tease up the mare by approaching the mare and courting her by rubbing, sniffing and licking at her hind end. They record the mare’s reaction which helps indicate where the mare is in her cycle and how close she will be to being ready. For example, a mare being close to ready to breed will break down and let the teaser continue. An out-of-heat mare will have an aggressive reaction to the teaser. She credits this as an important part of her day so she knows how the mare has been cycling, they try to breed the mare as close to ovulation as possible to offer the best chance of getting in foal.
11 am services. Following this Grace exercises the stallions and takes them for a walk around the farm. Before the season begins Grace starts exercising them daily from 1st July.
4 pm services and feed the horses their dinner.
9 pm services. Grace is on call once a week for foaling. During the night studs employ a person/people to watch the mares and look for signs of them beginning foaling including their water breaking. Some places – including Windsor Park have a senior staff member on call who will go assist with foaling.
A new experience for Grace is letting down a horse and getting him ready for his first season as a breeding stallion. Profondo is a recent addition to the stallion ranks in Windsor Park and after recently retiring he’s learning how to be a horse again. Horses are constantly learning and something only a few horses learn is how to be a stallion, a project Grace is excited for. Grace quite excitedly explained that she has a blank canvas that she can carve as he starts picking up things in his new role in life. Profondo has a further two months on holiday before he learns about his stallion life and begins to get fit for the season ahead. Grace emphasized in her teaching and working with stallions that kindness and respect go a long way.
Grace’s proudest moments in her career so far have circulated two stallions at Windsor Park. Vanbrugh had his first group one winner in Mustang Valley after she won the Livamol Classic last October. Bred and raised at Windsor Park, Grace had a long-standing connection to her and fondly remembers her being on the farm and one of her favourite horses. Following the win Vanbrugh went from serving 40 mares to 100 mares showing the importance of results. Another one is Grace’s favourite stallion Turn Me Loose’s first group one winner Lickety Split bred by Wentwood Grange where her fiancée Richelle Rashford is the broodmare manager.
Grace is incredibly valuable to the industry. She is someone who is dedicated to their craft, willing to learn and is a well-rounded horsewoman through all aspects of stud and stable life makes her a huge asset to any place. Grace’s knowledge and attention to detail help things run smoothly as possible and not only is she wanting to learn and grow she is also more than obliging to pass on her knowledge to those willing to learn. The industry is forever in debt Grace.
Interesting article. So proud of your accomplishments Grace!