The Full Story
About
Despite coming from a non-horsey family, Sam always had the horse bug and began her career riding and breaking in ponies at her home in Glorit and competing in Eventing scene from age of 15. From there, her passion for educating young horses grew as she relocated to the Waikato to work for dressage rider Tracy Smith. A part of the NZ Eventing Squads, Sam advanced through the eventing ranks gaining success along the way through to 4* level and 1.40m Showjumping both in NZ and the UK. Upon returning home to New Zealand after a stint in England, Sam worked for Jeff McVean before establishing her own business.
Eventing Career
In 2014 Sam was selected for the New Zealand Talent ID Eventing Squad. Some of her achievements include winning the One Day Junior Rider Championships in 2013 and the National Three Day 2* Championship in 2018.
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Keen to learn and experience more, Sam travelled to England on two occasions. On the second trip she accepted a job with NZ rider Jesse Campbell where she based for the next 10 months. During her time overseas, she travelled with 5* horses around Europe also won a Burghley Young Event Horse qualifier at Gatcombe 2015. As well as gaining a wealth of knowledge and training with some of the leading riders in the industry, Sam also brought home her beloved and talented Cornucopia (Shiny, pictured left).
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Racing
In the beginning, riding trackwork was simply a way to fund her eventing team, but it wasn’t long before Sam found herself drawn to the world of racing. What started as a side hustle quickly evolved into a full-time passion.
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Her reputation for patience, skill and producing well-educated young horses grew, and she was soon in demand to break in and pre-train thoroughbreds from her base in Te Awamutu. When the opportunity arose to move to a larger property just minutes from the Cambridge Jockey Club, Sam took the leap -relocating to Hunter Lane, where the team now thrives.
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The relaxed atmosphere, daily turnout, and access to top-class training tools like the arena, hacking tracks, swimming pool, and the Cambridge track itself have all contributed to an environment where horses flourish. Sam continues to ride much of the trackwork herself and manages the breaking-in process from start to finish - giving her a unique, hands-on perspective and the ability to closely monitor each horse's progress.
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Since basing herself in Cambridge, Sam has achieved her Class A trainer’s license, as well as both amateur and jumps jockey licenses. She continues to break in and pre-train for some of New Zealand’s leading trainers while building her own racing team.
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In her first official season of training, Sam celebrated three wins from a small team of runners. Her results have continued to climb:
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2022/23 season: 3 wins
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2023/24 season: 10 wins
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2024/25 season (to July): 16 wins
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That’s 29 career wins to date, with 16 wins and an impressive win rate of 17.4% to date this season (July 2025). A true testament to the hard work, care and commitment happening behind the scenes.
