Smith’s remarkable rise to the top in the South

When North Canterbury horsewoman, Laura Smith, walks a yearling into the ring, there’s a high chance smart harness racing judges have it circled in their books.

Smith has been preparing yearlings for the Christchurch sales for around 15 years now, and her steady rise to being the four time leading consignor in the South Island leg of the NZB Standardbred sales has been nothing short of remarkable.

Yesterday afternoon at the Christchurch Agricultural Park, Smith’s exceptional draft of 19 yearlings once again ruled the roost with another sales topping colt in Lot 139, and a $1.3million aggregate for the 15 yearlings sold. More than double of her nearest competition.

As someone who has naturally avoided the limelight, Smith has had to get comfortable with the uncomfortable so to speak, not that she will ever be on the record taking any of the credit.

“Being the leading consignor was something that had never really crossed my mind, and still, it’s not something I focus on or even think about until somebody tells me afterward,” said Smith.

“That’s not the reason I do what I do—it’s definitely a passion. People say it’s been hard work, but when you dream something in your head and then see it become a reality, it’s quite exciting. I was so caught up in the day yesterday that it wasn’t until this morning when going through some of the results that you realise what the yearlings achieved and how it all stacked up.

“It’s probably always going to feel a bit surreal, but I think I’m getting more comfortable with it. Occasionally, I might get stuck for words because I’m not used to being the centre of attention, but I’m always more than happy to have a chat with anyone,” she said.

Given Smith’s clear and obvious knack for rearing young stock and having them primed and peaking for their grand final in mid February each year, you would be forgiven for assuming she had grown up with or around horses. But that wasn’t the case. Smith has garnered her skills from a variety of roles within the equine industry having decided to chase her passion for the horse upon leaving school.

“I didn’t grow up with horses when I was young. I grew up on a sheep and dairy farm and loved horses for as long as I can remember, but I wasn’t allowed to have anything to do with them. The love was always there, but I never really had the opportunity until after school.

“I studied vet nursing, and then straight out of there, I was offered a job at Wai-Eyre Farm. Going there, I was green as anything, not knowing a thing and probably being pretty useless, I would imagine. But because I always had a love for horses, I just soaked everything up as much as I could. You just pick things up along the way. I went overseas and did a bit of work on thoroughbred studs in Ireland as well, and that just gave me more of a passion, I think. At that point, I realised this was something I wanted to do for myself.

“The next step was obviously trying to find property. I had built a few relationships while I was at Wai-Eyre and got to know a few people, which is generally how things start out. Once I had a bit of land, it was more about spelling racehorses initially, and that just led from one thing to another. You’ve got race fillies being retired and needing to be bred on, and because I already had a bit of stud work experience and was capable of doing things like that, it just naturally grew into breeding, foaling, and everything that we do now.

“Now, we take them right through from weaning to yearling prep. We don’t do as much spelling of racehorses anymore, though we still have a few. Most of what we do now is looking after permanent resident mares. We’ve got all the foals, the yearlings, and probably a dozen or so racehorses when we’ve got the space.

Without the access to historical PGGW Sales records, this story will largely focus on what is publicly available through the NZB Standardbred website. As discussed previously, Smith estimates the 2025 draft to be her 15th sales prep.

Since NZB Standardbred took over from PGGW as the auction company for the NZ yearling sales in 2019, Smith has seen the demand for her services soar on a similar trajectory to that of her results.

In 2019, Smith prepared seven yearlings with an aggregate of $220,000, ranking ninth in the Top 10 vendors list.

In 2020, her consignment grew to eight, though success in the ring was mixed, with six lots selling for an aggregate of $199,000—just $30,000 short of cracking the top ten vendors list. However, 2021 saw Smith’s draft return to ninth place with nine of 12 sold for an aggregate of $304,000.

In the years following that sale, Smith’s draft has not only grown in volume, with clientele flocking to her services, but also in quality—an undeniable factor in cementing a top consignor’s reputation at any bloodstock sale.

The arrival of Todd and Fleur Anderson (Taffy Ltd) as clients brought a new level of prestige to Smith’s operation. With nine blue-blooded yearlings in her care, she topped the consignor list for the first time in her career, selling 15 of 16 lots for an aggregate of $916,000. This included a $200,000 sale for a Captaintreacherous colt out of the recently crowned NZ Broodmare of the Year, Imaginary Bet. Something Smith got to witness on a rare venture into the abyss that is Awards night at Addington.

“We were lucky enough to be there. Todd and Fleur invited my partner and I—along for the evening. It was great to see that side of things because I’ve never really been involved in that aspect. It’s great to see the industry recognising the breeding of quality stock. It’s a lot to take in,” she said.

Anderson who has grown up a stockman and knows a thing or two about rearing livestock has been delighted at the developing relationship, with the results obviously speaking for themselves.

“Someone that we trusted recommended Laura, so we went and had a meeting with her a few years back now obviously,” said Anderson.

“Ironically, her uncle actually had a stud sheep farm, so I already knew him, which created a bit of a connection. Spending time with her on the property and talking to her gave us a lot of confidence to have them there, and from that point, the relationship has just grown, which has been great. We really enjoy working with Laura and Dave here.

“She’s definitely got great attention to detail and a strong work ethic. But it’s also the fact that she’s very quiet and patient. She’s firm when she needs to be, but she creates a harmonious working relationship with the horse—she doesn’t fight them. She just gets to an understanding with them.

“Early on, I could see how well that was working, whether it was with mares, foals, or weanlings. She just has the ability to read them and gain their trust, so they feel very comfortable with her,” he said.

By 2023, Smith’s vendors had a million reasons to smile. With 15 of 20 lots selling for an aggregate of $1,003,000, she finished more than $300,000 clear of the next best Christchurch consignment and placed third nationally, behind only the powerhouse operations of Breckon Farms and Woodlands Stud. She also celebrated preparing her first top lot, with a Bettor’s Delight colt out of Safedra fetching $230,000 for Taffy Ltd.

In 2024, Smith secured her third consecutive crown as the leading consignor in Christchurch, with a remarkable 19 of 20 yearlings selling for an aggregate of $1,307,500. This total was a mere $7,000 shy of the amount achieved by Woodlands Stud, despite them offering 14 fewer yearlings. She also prepared three of the top seven lots for the Andersons, including two sales surpassing $200,000.

After the withdrawal of one yearling, Smith’s 2025 draft stood at 20, including the usual suspects and the notable addition of six elite-bred trotting yearlings from Pat Driscoll’s Yabby Dam Farms in Australia. It was a serendipitous series of events that led to Smith even having the capacity to take Driscoll’s stock in the first place with the boutique operation typically busting at the seams and without the scope for more outside clients.

“It’s kind of bizarre how it all worked out because initially, we had a full barn for yearling prep in midwinter. But we sold a number of lovely-bred stock privately as weanlings, so a few spots opened up. When I got the call, I wasn’t sure if it was going to eventuate, but sure enough, the horses were quickly on a flight. This year, I’ve probably felt a bit more pressure to make sure I get the job done,” she said.

And get the job done she did.

With the fourth lot of the day, Smith presented a Captaintreacherous full brother to Group 1 winner and 2024 NZ 2YO Filly of the Year, Captains Mistress, on behalf of Taffy Ltd. Lot 134’s dam, Imaginary Bet, had recently been crowned the 2024 Pacing Broodmare of the Year, while her fourth foal, Merlin (by Art Major), claimed NZ 4YO and Pacer of the Year honors. In 2024, Merlin and Captains Mistress made history as only the second pair of siblings to win a Group 1 on the same day in NZ, with respective victories on Show Day. Unsurprisingly, he was highly sought after, with Hayden and Amanda Cullen securing him for $160,000.

Just five lots later, Lot 139—a Bettor’s Delight colt out of Imagine Me, a half-sister to the dam of the aforementioned colt—made an emphatic statement in the Christchurch sale, fetching $270,000 from Kentuckiana Lodge.

While it may have been a slow start on the Yabby Dam Farm bred yearlings with the early market not being as receptive to the stock of first season sire, On A Streak, it well and truly warmed up with the third of Driscoll’s draft.

Over an hour later, New Zealand’s first-ever offering of a yearling by champion French stallion Bird Parker saw Driscoll’s faith in Smith vindicated, with the hammer falling at $180,000 to Stonewall Stud. A second son of Bird Parker was soon knocked down to Barry Purdon for the price of $85,000.

“Just out of pure interest, I thought it would be a toss up for top billing between the Imaginary Bet colt and another standout which ended up being the Imagine Me colt.

“I wasn’t sure which way it would go, but they were both beautifully bred and stunning types, so I’m not surprised they finished where they did. Pat’s Bird Parker was another standout. As soon as he came out of the stables, people’s jaws sort of dropped—he was just another stunning type. Lot 150 was also a standout, just such a strong colt. You can already see him going around the track—he’s just so powerful,” she said.

Yabby Dam Farms Principal, Pat Driscoll was effusive in his praise for Smith.

“Peter Lagan recommended Laura, Logan & Shane. What can you say about both. Specifically to Laura, her attention to detail, her knowledge, her work ethic. It just blew me away. Even going around the farm and seeing the time and effort she put it. People like that don’t come along everyday and I can thank her enough,” he said.

While the Taffy Ltd and Yabby Dam drafts stole the spotlight at yesterday’s sales with several high price lots, Smith paid a lot of credit to those who have been with her along the journey since it’s infancy.

“Sheldon Murtha was probably the one from day dot, and also Brent Smith. Brent was one of the first ones who approached me years ago when I was only doing limited yearlings. At that point, I didn’t have a base or facility myself—I was just helping out others and doing the odd one here and there.

“Brent saw what I put through the ring at a yearling sale many years ago and called me afterward, saying he loved what I did. From then on, he gave me somewhere between one and three yearlings most years, and he’s continued to do so. He’s had some nice ones—BD Joe would probably be the standout from his draft over the years. It’s nice to make sure I look after the people who have been very loyal to me from day one,” she said.

When asked about what aspect of her job brings her the most joy, Smith didn’t hesitate to answer with the following;

“I probably get the most joy out of seeing them being born at home and working with them right through, seeing them develop and progress. When you work elsewhere, you develop different skills and start thinking about how you would do things slightly differently.

“Because I’m operating on a slightly smaller scale, I like to focus a bit more on attention to detail and keeping numbers manageable so I can do everything to the best of my ability. I also love following them when they leave here and seeing what they do later in life. We’ve been pretty fortunate to have some nice horses come out of here in recent years,” she said.

With the Smith prepared yearlings doing the job in the ring and on the race track, the requests for her services are only continuing to grow. Whether she expands upon her current operation or continues in it’s current capacity is something she continues to mull over as she tries to catch her breath, with an eye undoubtedly looking to the future.

“It’s really rewarding because if you’ve got owners coming back year after year, it means you’re hopefully doing something right—getting the results for them and looking after some pretty valuable stock.

“At the moment, we’re quite happy with where we are. It’s a discussion point at this time of year to sit down and make a plan moving forward. I’m not saying expansion won’t happen—you never say never. There’s interest there, but it’s something I need to sit down and work through to decide where I’d like to head next,” she said.

To view the full list of yearling sale results catalogued in the Christchurch consignment of Laura Smith, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink