House crowned amateur champ but wait, there’s more!!

When you talk to recently crowned New Zealand Amateur Driving Champion Michael House you get to understand that his passion goes well beyond yesterday’s success at Addington.

The win on the Bruce Negus trained Gliding High (Highview Tommy) in the first heat put House in the frame. This was followed by a third placing, driving Pure Courage in the last heat. A countback was required and House was pronounced the winner.

GLIDING HIGH REPLAY

Michael’s journey with the Amateur Drivers started early when good friend Sheldon Murtha became interested in participating in these special races.

“He came out to the barn and drove and he was the spearhead in the original organisation. We went on to support the Wiggs (Cheree and Sheryl) and Allan Edge and I enjoyed putting the horses in (amateur races). The reason I got into driving (in amateur races) was because the Wiggs went away and Edgy was wanting to train horses,” House said.

Michael has always been a forward thinker and he says Amateur drivers’ races could be expanded to include a wider group of participants.

“I think if HRNZ sat down and looked at how licencing has evolved, you could actually enhance the amateurs to a point where amateur races were a pathway for young people through the concession driver. This would motivate young people to be in the sport and a pathway is created. At the Meadowlands they have three amateur races on a Friday night and they’re some of the most profitable races of the night.”

House who joined the amateur drivers ranks in 2023 freely admits the decision has had its challenges.

“Lowering my expectations to drive in amateur races was embarrassing. You’re dealing with the internal belief that you’re not as good as you think you are and this is your level. But it’s not a bad level and that’s the point I’m trying to make. They’re very sportsmanlike and their enthusiasm and integrity are high.”

Michael is also a strong advocate in pushing the cause of young drivers.

“There are a lot of people who are driving in races who shouldn’t be. We’ve got an immense number of young people that should be driving more. They’ve got their own brands and are developing a following and when they lose their junior licence they’re in nowhere land because there’s no succession. It’s sad when I think of the people that have got into the game, loved the sport and they’ve had to exit because they’ve couldn’t achieve a lifestyle or a living.”

House has been instrumental in fostering young talent like Dexter Dunn, Blair Orange, Sarah O’Reilly and latterly his son Wilson and Harrison Orange.

“When I made the decision that Harry Orange was going to be my concession driver for the year, in his first couple of drives he didn’t know where the winning post was. By the time he’d had thirty drives in a very short period of time with that calibre of horse he’d got very very good. That’s not ability, it’s opportunity.”

House as a junior, then an open driver, has driven 47 winners, the first being Hurricane Jo for Fred Fletcher at Timaru in 1986. He finished second to Mark Purdon in the 1986 Junior Drivers Series.

“After that I didn’t have another drive for two years. There was no succession plan for young drivers. I could sit down with a piece of paper and a box of beer with old fellas like Davey Butt and name a lot of people that have been chewed up and spat out.”

When you talk to Michael it does take a bit of time. But you get an understanding of how passionate and caring he is for our sport and when you get a text at 1.00am as a follow-up you don’t mind.

“In a nutshell the sport is recoverable. I believe if HRNZ focuses on fixing the bottom of the performance triangle, the levels above will naturally become inspired, unlike the rest of the world who insist on aiming resources at the top level and have all failed.”

For complete race results, click here.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink