Sir Patrick Hogan receives highest Waikato business honour

 
17 Dec 2017

 

Sir Patrick Hogan has been inducted into the Waikato Business Hall of Fame at the 2017 Westpac Waikato Business Awards in Hamilton.

Sir Patrick joined fellow Waikato business leaders Brian Perry and Bill Gallagher snr, both now deceased, as the 2017 laureates, his dedication to the pursuit of breeding excellence earning the praise of Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive William Durning.

“We felt that through a lifetime of following your passion and very simply doing a job the best way that you could, the impact that Sir Patrick Hogan and Cambridge Stud has had, not only on Cambridge and the Waikato but also the New Zealand thoroughbred industry could not go any longer without acknowledgement,” Durning said.

In his citation presented at the awards, Durning said: “[Sir Patrick is a] businessman who identified opportunity, struggled with challenge and adversity, kept the faith and with focus, hard work, determination and with supporting and being supported by others epitomizes exactly those attributes that we all strive for in how we approach business here in the Waikato.

“Our laureate has always been a son of the Waikato, and from humble beginnings in Cambridge, where his dad was a dairy farmer who bred and traded working Clydesdales you could very well understand that his love of horses, working horses and the special relationship that they have with their trainers was in his blood right from day one.

“From a very early age our laureate understood the importance of creating and developing a world class brand, first starting at a personal level when he led yearlings in the sales ring at Trentham, making sure that ‘I was immaculately dressed in shirt and tie, dress trousers and shoes.  And afterwards some of the top stud masters made a point of coming up to me and telling me how good a job I was doing - and that meant a lot to me’.

“In addition to creating a world class brand, the importance of competition, focusing drive and determination, observing the best and learning from them so that you can be better these were all important factors in his success.  But there was one other major component and that was the support, encouragement, and hard work from his wife of over 42 years Justine.

“That global business transformed an entire New Zealand industry and placed Cambridge and the Waikato firmly on the international map. 

“Our laureate is a great ambassador for his industry, our region, and our country and while it's been a lot of hard work, it has also been an opportunity to have had great fun and meet some fantastic people.  Some of those fantastic people are not so ordinary our laureate has hosted the Queen twice and numerous other dignitaries from all over the world.  But despite all that they have always said - gate is always open.

“This world class brand created from passion and hard work has always had at its heart horses and our laureate who acknowledges that this isn’t an old man’s game and I’m approaching 80 still loves horses. It says it all when you hear him say ‘I still try and spent a day a week walking in a paddock with the young ones. It's therapeutic.’

“But we are not just taking about any horse and in the Thoroughbred industry to have a star, is sometimes all you get - let alone when lighting strikes twice defining and almost single-handedly carrying the New Zealand breeding industry through the months following the stock market crash.  That is the part of the legacy of Sir Tristram and his stallion son Zabeel.

“Both horses have helped shape the thoroughbred breed in New Zealand and having both on the farm put Cambridge Stud on the world stage.”

For the much-honoured Sir Patrick, his induction to the Waikato Business Hall of Fame follows his earlier inductions into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame and the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame.

“When I realised I was going in alongside the late Brian Perry, who I knew very well, and Bill Gallagher, who founded perhaps the most recognised of all Waikato businesses, I was blown away,” Sir Patrick said.

“It’s amazing to think that I would be acknowledged alongside two such luminaries of the business community. To match up with them is pretty humbling. I’m hugely honoured.

“It’s great to get such recognition in the Waikato business community and while it’s for my contribution to the thoroughbred industry, it’s nice to get acknowledgment from outside of it. This is pretty special and something I’ll really cherish.”