Employer Spotlight: Vinery Stud

A well-respected brand, Vinery has a long history of being an elite thoroughbred stud. Offering an accepting and supportive environment for their staff, they are dedicated to welcoming new, young and international employees, along with a commitment to fostering employee growth and advancement. We step inside the gates to find out what it is like to work in one of the most prominent stallion farms in the Hunter Valley.

About Vinery Stud

Vinery Stud is an elite Thoroughbred nursery, located in the Segenhoe Valley, just east of Scone. It’s an area famed for having a long history of producing top flight racehorses. Vinery has been in operation in Australia since 1998.

What roles and opportunities are generally offered by your farm or business?

The Vinery property encompasses over 2,300 acres, so it takes a team of farmers and gardeners to maintain it. Our resident equines are cared for by broodmare, yearling, weanling, speller and stallion teams and this is overseen by our office team.

What qualities do you look for in potential employees?

The most important quality for any of our staff is having a passion for horses. Whether you’re our horse breaker, admin officer or a farmer, it is so important to want to do your best for our horses and always have their welfare front of mind.

It is also important to be able to work well as part of a team (which you will obviously be a part of) and independently (because there are times when you’ll have a lot of autonomy over your role).

Could you describe the culture and working environment at your organisation? 

Vinery is a well-respected brand with a long history of being an elite thoroughbred stud, so we expect our staff to be good representatives of our brand, especially while away at yearling sales, for example. Because staff are proud of the types of horses Vinery produces, we find that they are proud to represent the farm. 

On the farm, things are a little more relaxed, and we have a lovely culture of acceptance and core staff that are supportive and welcoming of new, young and international employees.

As a stallion farm we often foster a culture where staff are interested in the success of our stallions’ progeny and our Vinery graduates. In the past, we’ve had staff syndicates buy into broodmares, for example, and have supported them on their journey into managing bloodstock and matching pedigrees. 

What opportunities for growth and advancement does your company offer to its employees?

Vinery is dedicated to fostering employee growth and advancement by enhancing staff skills. This commitment not only improves daily operations on farm but also empowers individuals to extend their skills and pursue career progression. Besides on-the-job training, we often give staff the opportunity to attend local information seminars (for example, run by the HTBA) and complete TAFE studies while working.

How does your organisation support its employees’ well-being and professional development?

We often have staff lunches to mark different celebrations or meaningful dates in the year, like the horses’ birthday, Melbourne Cup, etc., and find that this togetherness enhances team morale. 

Professionally, we often offer staff further education via Tafe. We have had a Fast Track staff member most years since the inception of that initiative, and we’ve encouraged staff to take part in the Irish National Stud Course. Most years, we host Godolphin Flying Start participants and are always looking for new ways to help up skill and further educate our employees.

Can you share a recent business or employee success story/achievement that the company is especially proud of?

Vinery has had a lot of success in the past 12 months, highlighted by having the largest amount of winning 2yo graduates last season, Ole Kirk’s first yearlings selling to $1million, and All Too Hard equalling Vinnie’s record of Group 1 wins for the last 4 years.

Members of the Vinery team have been equally as successful and in recent years, we’ve celebrated having:

Three winners of Godolphin stable staff awards.

Four staff members onto the Irish National Stud course

Three award winners at the HTBA Awards ceremony.