Kilgravin Lodge A Haven For High-Class Racehorses In New Zealand

The exhilarating Group 1 Easter Handicap win by Albany Reunion at Ellerslie on April 12 is further evidence that Kilgravin Lodge in Matamata has become a haven for producing high-class racehorses.

This season Kilgravin Lodge has also been represented on the Group 1 winners’ podium by Viadana who won the Group 1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Te Aroha at her most recent outing.

And last month Kilgravin Lodge had a golden weekend of success where it produced no fewer than 14 individual winners in four different countries.

These performances in the current season have followed on from previous outstanding graduates of Kilgravin Lodge such as multiple Group 1 winning Sangster and other Group 1 winners Artistic and Jessicabeel.

Such results are testimony to the amount of hard work that Matamata couple Eion and Megan Kemp put into their quest for major race success on the international racing stage.

These days a successful hands-on horseman, Eion spent three years at Massey University where he gained a Bachelor Of Science Degree before changing tact. That meant winning a scholarship to the world-renowned Marcus Oldham Equine College in Victoria, Australia, a one-year all-encompassing course aligned to the thoroughbred industry.

Megan also trained at Massey as an early childhood teacher and the disciplines of higher education the couple have carried through to the thoroughbred workforce sees them as business and rural land owners.

The Kemps founded Kilgravin Lodge in 2002  and they have added several significant improvements to the property over the years.

Eion, a former amateur jockey who won the Duke Of Gloucester Cup, is the farm manager while Megan juggles working in the office with her other role as a teacher. They have two children, Reuben (11) and Elijah (9).

“It’s a very busy lifestyle for both of us but we love it and wouldn’t swap it for anything,” says Eion.

Not long after its establishment Kilgravin Lodge found its niche in the following areas of the thoroughbred industry: breaking-in, pre-training, agistment for thoroughbred racehorses and it prepares horses for the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run and Yearling Sales at Karaka.

In fact it is the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sales where Kilgravin Lodge has got its sights set on becoming even more prominent in the top echelon in the near future.

“We hope to enhance the quality of our draft at the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sales so that we move towards the top bracket of vendors,” says Eion Kemp.

“We now have had a Select Sale draft at the Karaka Yearling Sales and also aim to improve the quality of that,” he says.

Kilgravin Lodge prides itself on its professionalism and a high standard of horse education.

Megan Kemp is also an important part the Kilgravin Lodge operation with her management role in the office. “Eion and I are great mates and our decisions are made as a team.”

Their efforts are complimented by a dedicated group of eight staff who also share their passion to elevate Kilgravin Lodge to the top level.

In the seasons to come many more highlights look in store for the operation.

Contact Eion Kemp at Kilgravin Lodge: +64 7 888 2773 or +64 27 455 7776
Email: eion@horsebreaker.co.nz