Ted Bates Farm Manager of the Year | Horse Racing Free Tips

Matthew Koch Named KY Farm Manager of the Year

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club (KTFMC) has chosen Shawhan Place's Matthew Koch as the 2022 Ted Bates Farm Manager of the Year. The honor is given annually to a farm manager “who has demonstrated quality and success in their management role; service to the community; involvement in the KTFMC; and industry leadership and dedication.”

“I am thrilled to hear Matthew has won this prestigious award,” said Teddy Kuster, co-owner of Shawhan Place and the 1986 KTFMC Farm Manager of the Year. “The club has meant a lot to Matt's entire family and all of us at Shawhan Place. Matt is a wonderful individual who wears many hats. He's a farm manager working in the trenches and has given back to his community by serving on several boards. He serves as State Representative for 72nd District (Bourbon, Nicholas, and Fleming County) and was instrumental in passing HHR for the industry… Even more important than raising horses, Matthew raises the next generation of young horsemen and women. He is a mentor to many and regularly hosts interns from both KEMI and the University of Kentucky.”

A graduate of both the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Horseshoeing School, Koch is also a former United States Marine captain and served his country in Afghanistan and Kosovo. In 2006, Koch and Kuster formed Shawhan Place, which now breeds about 100 mares a year.

Among the boards Koch has served on are Kentucky Equine Management Internship (KEMI), the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association (CBA), and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA). He has previously been the president, vice-president, director, and treasurer of the KTFMC.

Koch is a second-generation KTFMC Farm Manager of the Year, as his late father, Gus Koch, was awarded the title in 2004. The pair join B.G. Hughes and Scooter Hughes as the only father/son recipients of the award. Koch currently resides in Bourbon County with his wife, Kristen, and their three children Taylor, Jack, and Nate.

The KTFMC will be hosting its annual dinner dance to honor Koch at The Carrick House in Lexington Dec. 2. A silent auction will be held with all proceeds benefitting The Horse Farm Workers' Educational Assistance Fund. Tickets and sponsorships for the event will be available for purchase at ktfmc.org later this month.

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Dermot Ryan Named Ted Bates Farm Manager of the Year

Ashford Stud's Dermot Ryan was named the 2021 Ted Bates Farm Manager of the Year, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club announced Tuesday.

Ryan has long been a supporter of the club, through donations, involvement in club events, and encouraging participation from other Ashford Stud employees. With his blessing, Ashford Stud hosted the inaugural KTFMC 5K in 2016 and has expressed interest in hosting again in the future. He has supported other programs such as KEMI by taking students each session and has served on many boards and committees industry wide.

He grew up in Tipperary, Ireland about an hour away from Coolmore. He had exposure to horses, thanks to his parents Malachy and Miriam, riding, hunting and showjumping from a young age. After leaving school, Ryan completed the Irish National Stud course. From there, he went to work at Coolmore at the age of 19 for eight years before coming to Coolmore America in December 1992, where he has remained ever since.

While in America, Ryan met his wife Debbie. Ryan is currently a Director of the KTA/KTOB and is on the Board of Directors at the Gluck Center.

“It has been amazing to see Ashford grow through the vision of John Magnier and his family,” Ryan said. “I am very thankful to have been given the opportunity to be a steward of such a wonderful place, to be around such amazing horses and work with wonderful people. It has been as much of a pleasure seeing young horses progress and go on to be successful as it has been seeing the success of the young people, past and present that have come through Ashford. We have a lot to be grateful for working in such a fantastic industry here in central Kentucky and I am very thankful to all of the breeders who have supported us and have been a great pleasure to work with over the years. I am very humbled and thankful to all at the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Manager's Club for this award.”

John Magnier added, “The horses and people at Ashford are always at the forefront of his mind. He is the real deal, and it is a great honour for him to receive this award. We are proud to have been associated with him and his family for such a long time, it is very well deserved and comes as no surprise to us.”

M.V. Magnier said, “It is a great honour to see Dermot receive such a well-deserved award and we are delighted to see that others see what we see on a daily basis. We have been very lucky to have him at Coolmore for so long, he is a great guy and if he wasn't in this business, he could have turned his hand to anything.”

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Mike Cline Named Kentucky’s Farm Manager Of The Year

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club (KTFMC) is pleased to announce the 2020 Ted Bates Farm Manager of the Year, Michael Cline.

In 1979, Will Farish hired a young horseman named Mike Cline to manage his developing Lane's End Farm, located on an important and historic tract of land in the Bluegrass of Versailles, Woodford County, Kentucky. The two horsemen would combine their knowledge of horses, land and business to build Lane's End into one of the premier Thoroughbred organizations in the world.

Mike Cline has been surrounded by horses all of his life. He grew up in Versailles, the son of a farm manager, and attended the University of Kentucky on a football scholarship. After college, Mike took a job on the racetrack with Hall of Fame Trainer Mack Miller, another Woodford County native.

Upon returning to the Versailles area for his first farm management position, with Big Sink Farm, Mike was very fortunate to meet Mr. Farish, who hired him to oversee broodmares, foals, yearlings, barn construction and pasture management at Lane's End Farm. From this foundation, the industry-leading sales and stallion divisions of Lane's End emerged.

In his role at Lane's End over the course of 40 years, Mike has been involved in breeding, raising and racing numerous champions and stakes winners for the farm and its clients. The farm has been the leading sales consignor 26 times, selling 380 stakes winners including over 50 champions or Grade 1 winners, among them A. P. Indy, Saint Liam, Rags to Riches and Lemon Drop Kid. Lane's End has earned the title of leading stud farm 15 times, with the stallions siring over 285 Grade 1 winners.

Mike has mentored many successful people in the industry, currently managers at some of the world's top Thoroughbred farms. He was a strong supporter of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association's Kentucky Thoroughbred Equine Management Internship program (KEMI) which provides opportunities for students to learn horsemanship and management skills and begin their careers in the world of Thoroughbred breeding and racing.

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