Building their horse dream
KELLIE and Cameron Bond feel lucky to go to work every day and live their dream.
Both with a background in horses, they decided to start a thoroughbred stud, Kenmore Lodge, in 2007.
“We thought it was just going to be a hobby. We put a small figure in a bank account to start off and the business has grown from there,” Mrs Bond said.
“We moved from Dulacca about three years ago because our operation outgrew our property.
“We had cattle and grain as well, but we decided to move and focus on the thoroughbreds.”
In their first year, Kenmore Lodge had limited success.
But in the second year things really kicked off.
“We bought a horse out of Adelaide and educated and sold him six months later at Magic Millions’ r eady to run sale,” Mrs Bond said.
“He topped the sale at $180,000. That was by Gonski out of Blazing Sky. He went on to win some big races.
“I’ll never forget when we led him out into the ring. We thought we’d get about
❝ We put our heart and soul into it and there’s a certain level of nervous energy that makes you strive for excellence. — Kellie Bond
$60,000, and the opening bid was $100,000.
“It was really exciting, we weren’t expecting it.”
Mr and Mrs Bond said it took a moment for it to sink in.
“It was a little bit surreal that he made that money because we paid a small figure for him and we were relatively unknown,” Mrs Bond said.
“People were introducing themselves and saying ‘enjoy the moment because it may never happen again’.
“And that drove us because success drives you to want more success.”
Kenmore Lodge is run by Mr and Mrs Bond and their nine-year-old son, Rhys.
In 2012 they started breeding their own horses.
“We bought a few brood mares. We have 25 to 30 brood mares that we’re breeding at the moment,” Mrs Bond said.
“We sold a foal this year for $260,000 as a weanling that we bred.
“We sold a yearling filly in 2016 for $350,000 in Sydney and that was a bit of a surprise. We bred her ourselves.”
“We also sold a horse called Tyzone. We selected him as a foal.
“He’s gone over to win 13 races. He’s a successful horse at the moment. He’s racing in Brisbane.”
Mr Bond said last year the stud sold the top-price horse at the Breeze Up sale.
“We sold My Big Boss for $320,000,” he said.
“He’s gone on to be successful in Singapore and run a winner in a Group Two race.
“We’re lucky because our business can operate at all the major sales, not just one sale for the year because we do Breeze Up horses and breed our own.”
Mrs Bond said they felt lucky that they have the opportunity to diversify in the industry.
“We breed yearlings, break in horses, train horses, and trade horses to Asia,” she said.
“It’s everyone’s dream to get paid to do something that they love.
“Every day when we go to work we get to live our dream and that’s probably pretty lucky.”
Mrs Bond said she still got nervous before a sale.
“We put our heart and soul into it and there’s a certain level of nervous energy that makes you strive for excellence.
“I still get nervous, there’s a lot that can happen at the sale that can make the end result different.”
Kenmore Lodge is run on 233 hectares across two properties in Wyreema and Cambooya, near Toowoomba.
“It’s within good proximity to the Gold Coast and Brisbane,” Mr Bond said
“And we believe the Darling Downs is one of the best horse climates in Australia.
“The climate and the soil is very suitable for raising thoroughbreds.”
Mr Bond said the next big goal for Kenmore Lodge was to breed a Group One horse.
“The success of the products of our operation is what really drives us,” he said.
“We want to see our horses go on and be good.
“Whether it’s a horse we’ve broken in, sold, or bred, it’s satisfying to see them go on and be successful.”