12 minute read
Ridgmont Takes Off
from 2025 MMGC Magazine
by Glen Latham
Swapping the security of an ‘office’ flying at 30,000 feet and the bustling lifestyle of Hong Kong for the Hunter Valley and lush paddocks replete with mares and gambolling foals sounds very much like a quantum leap fraught with peril. But for Ridgmont’s Mitch Cunningham, wife Stephanie and their four children, their question is ‘why didn’t we do it earlier?’
Brisbane born, Cunningham has seen a lot of the world, and that was even before he graduated as a pilot with Cathay Pacific at just 23 years of age. His father Gary, a small stakes punter with a love for hunting down a winner, had business interests in the US and one of Mitch’s fondest memories is his mother Lorilie lighting up the local racecourse. “Having moved to Tennessee in the early 90s, I have vivid memories of the Steeplechase held there once a year, and of my mum dancing on top of the cars as the horses passed, which, if you know her, isn't much of a surprise. I guess it was at an early age I realised just how much fun the industry is, and equally the effect horses can have on the collective mood.”
Back in Brisbane and having finished school, Mitch took a year out to travel Europe before enrolling in a Degree in Aviation at Griffith University, then finding his way to Cathay’s headquarters. “A lot of the airlines have cadet programmes, run sort of like Darley Flying Start, taking in people from around the world. It's great to get onto because those selected avoid paying the huge cost of flight training and university. I got into the cadet programme with Cathay and that fast tracked my way into the airline allowing me to jump a few hurdles pretty quickly - I was a 747 pilot at 23. I wouldn't say that I was a lifelong aviation enthusiast or had a great deal of passion for that industry, but I found myself in a really interesting job pretty quickly and certainly enjoyed my time flying. I was flying for just shy of 11 years and flew the 747 for five of those before progressing to the 777 for six years. By the time I left I was a Senior
First Officer and Relief Captain on the 777-300ER.”
Then came that leap from a career behind a console to running a progressive Hunter Valley stud. So just how did that all come about? “In about 2017 Dad and I were discussing doing something in the industry and early conversations were around buying a few broodmares and agisting them somewhere, along with selling a few yearlings and racing a few fillies. Very quickly, this conversation snowballed into a far more ambitious model, which would necessitate my resigning from Cathay Pacific and moving back to Australia, which I did in early 2018. I spent the next 6 months with my ears pinned back, meeting with as many industry participants as I could as well as leveraging my existing racing contacts in order to grow our network.”
“I had decided that the business was going to be two pronged - racing and breeding, but significantly biased towards breeding with racing being the hobby/feeder system into our broodmare band. We would predominantly buy fillies with strong pedigrees and put them in the right stables, and if that all works out then hopefully they'll form part of a growing broodmare band. That then quickly morphed into “well if we're going to be doing this at the scale we're talking about, then why not buy a farm?”. Through existing connections it became apparent that the old Glastonbury Farm was for sale which we bought and renamed Ridgmont. Soon after we bought a neighbouring lucerne property which gave us close to 500 acres in total and a bit of a blank canvas.”
For the first few years Mitch was happy to share his time between Brisbane and Segenhoe Road, but eventually the point came when the realities of running a business an eight hour drive from home caught up. “The transition to the Hunter Valley was a necessary one for us and for the family, especially given my lofty aspirations for the farm. Stef and I quickly realised we needed to be immersed in the day to day at Ridgmont and that any meaningful growth wasn't achievable at arm’s length. Logistically that was going to be difficult with the kids at school, but we both knew that we were ready to move and that the kids were of that age where these sort of things are seen as adventures rather than inconveniences for them. But in all sincerity, it's been the best decision of our lives and for us it's not just a business venture, it's equally a lifestyle decision for the whole family and one we're deeply appreciative of now.”
That’s a sentiment echoed by Stef when asked if rural life agreed with her and the family. “Absolutely! It's a much slower pace and it's been great for the whole family. I feel like we're not supposed to have quite as much structure as we had when we were in a bigger city. There were always so many activities after school, things you had to be at and lunches you had to go to that would divide the adults from the kid’s stuff. And now we don't have as much of that, so we just have a lot of family time which is great.” Making up the latest generation of the Cunningham clan is Uma, 9 and Sol 8 who were born in Hong Kong, and five-year-old Yael and Leni who is 2, both of whom were born in Australia.
That lifestyle decision Mitch spoke of means at any time he can step out of the office to take in the surroundings and fresh air which isn’t advisable from a Boeing 777 at cruising altitude.
“The horses have a medicinal effect on you and just being surrounded by them every day, and to be able to raise kids in this environment, is something that fills me with a lot of gratitude. The life that they're afforded down here is something that you can only really dream of when you're planning how you're going to raise your kids. We're incredibly fortunate that the network's really strong down here and the people fantastic, so the adjustment’s been nothing but positive for us and I can't see any reason why that would change.”
“The horses have a medicinal effect on you and just being surrounded by them every day, and to be able to raise kids in this environment is something that fills me with a lot of gratitude.”
Of course Mitch wasn’t as reckless as to think Ridgmont’s goals could be achieved without expert assistance so he called in a fellow Queenslander for advice. “In 2022 we upped our investment significantly and that was when I brought Jim Clarke into the fold. Jim and his young family had just moved back from the UK, where he worked for Godolphin under John Ferguson, and set up his own agency. He actually went to school just up the road from me and we finished the same year, so we got in touch and quickly became very good mates. What I was looking for in an agent was somebody who I could trust, but also was at a similar stage in their career as I was. That way you share the aspiration of success together, which, I guess, is a pretty unique partnership. Most agents don't have the time to provide the service which I was after, but Jim was able to do so. He’s an incredibly clever, capable fellow but at that time he didn't have the runs on the board as an agent. We speak multiple times a day and work very closely together and I recently brought Jim on as Director of Bloodstock for Ridgmont to help us get to where we want to get to, and he’ll be instrumental in achieving that.”
In chatting with Jim it is clear that aspirational success has greatly benefitted both Ridgmont and Clarke Bloodstock. “It's been incredible for me, professionally working with Mitch and his family; they're fantastic people. They've got into the game in a big way, but they've gone about it the right way as well. Mitch has learnt a lot about the industry and horses in a short space of time and it's been a real privilege being able to work alongside him since he started.”
And just how has the Director of Bloodstock role differed from the working relationship at conception? “I was involved with the Cunningham family in the early days when they started investing in yearlings and breeding stock. Then about twelve months ago Mitch asked me to take on a broader role with Ridgmont, advising them on the management of their own bloodstock portfolio but also assisting with the broader Ridgmont business in terms of sales placements, assisting with helping sell horses at the sales and reporting on all stock on the farm. That covered not just Ridgmont owned stock but also the horses owned by clients at the farm as well. I've been doing that for close to 12 months now.”
“If the adage ‘you make your own luck holds true’ then Mitch and Stef certainly seem to have made it by moving to the Hunter.”
So what might Ridgmont aspire to in the future? Jim explained “I think at the moment the main objective is to develop Ridgmont into the premier broodmare farm in the country and there are aspirations for it to be a sort of industry-leading agistment/consignment business. That's really the focus, certainly in the short to medium term. Ridgmont have invested significantly to develop their own broodmare band, but alongside that we've been working hard to recruit permanent broodmares to the farm from other clients, and try and recruit people that are investing at the same level in the industry as what the Cunningham family are.”
From being relatively unknown twelve months ago, Ridgmont’s blue, yellow sash, sleeves and cap are now instantly recognisable, first from the deeds of Storm Boy and then Stefi Magnetica who, in a feat not previously achieved by any owner, between them claimed the twin peaks of Queensland racing, the Magic Millions 2YO Classic and the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap. For Mitch and the family it was an electric start for their venture. “2024 has been extraordinary for us. I don't think we could have ever expected to have gotten the outcomes we've had this year, but I must say that we are certainly in this game to be playing at that level, so when we buy we're always thinking where is this horse going to end up and what sort of style of filly or colt is this? We’re very well researched and deliberate in the buying of our racehorses, but, as you know, there's an extraordinary amount of luck in this game and so for it to come to fruition was just so exciting for us.”
“Storm Boy at Magic Millions was such a thrill for us all and the story behind him is so interesting, he’s been such an exciting horse for connections”, said Mitch. “Stefi has been more of a surprise packet, but equally as thrilling. I think Storm Boy was very good from day dot whereas Stefi has progressed so rapidly over the last year from prep to prep - she just keeps getting better and better. If you had asked me six months ago would she be running in a Stradbroke let alone winning, I would have probably choked on my cereal. It's been a great year for Ridgmont but we know to enjoy these periods while you've got them because obviously they're pretty rare.”
As an agent getting one outstanding result in any year is an achievement, to get two in six months, particularly the two most prestigious races in your home state, was an exciting start for the partnership, as Jim explained. “Yes it's been an amazing year on the racetrack for all of us. To have the Magic Millions and the Stradbroke won in those colours was pretty well the culmination of everything that Mitch and his family has been trying to achieve since they started investing in a big way a few years ago. For it to happen as quickly as it has is amazing and I think it's fuelled the appetite for them to continue to be a major force in the industry.”
At the risk of sounding extremely corny one could say Ridgmont’s entry into the industry has been jet propelled in more ways than one, but behind it all lies the farm, the most perfect setting and community for Mitch and Stephanie to raise their own brood. If the adage ‘you make your own luck holds true’ then Mitch and Stef certainly seem to have made it by moving to the Hunter.
