Lindsay Park: Rising from the ashes

The fire left behind a landscape that bore little resemblance to the world-class spelling and preparation facility that the Hayes family has built over decades. Ninety-eight kilometres of fencing was gone. Every paddock – the spelling paddocks, the holding paddocks, the vast majority of the 1500-acre property – was stripped bare. But the people of Lindsay Park adapted, and they are rebuilding.

To stand on the property in the weeks after the fire and contemplate what needed to be done was daunting. Ninety-eight kilometres of fencing needed replacing. The burnt wreckage of what once stood had to come down before anything new could go up, and that exhausting demolition work alone was taken on by a team of six from the Lindsay Park maintenance crew.

Working ahead of the fencing contractors, they cleared kilometre after kilometre of debris, stripping back the fire’s damage to bare ground.

When it came time to choose who would rebuild the fences, Lindsay Park turned to people who knew the property best. Nick Petrie and his team at Petrie Equine have worked with the Hayes family for more than 20 years, maintaining the original cattle farm that occupied this land before Lindsay Park was ever built. The existing relationship and knowledge of the property made them the natural choice for a job of this magnitude.

The new fencing is being installed in two styles. The majority of the property will be fitted with PVC posts and premium coated electric wire, while all boundary fencing is being replaced with Stallion Rail – PVC posts and rails that are as visually striking as they are practical. Both products are from Duncan Equine Fencing, chosen for their safety profile and the fact that they require virtually no ongoing maintenance.

The spelling paddocks are expected to be back in operation at the start of 2027, once the new grass has had time to take root and complete one full cycle of self-seeding – ensuring the pasture will sustain itself and the horses that graze on it for years to come.

Lindsay Park CEO Gareth Downey has been at the centre of coordinating the rebuild, and his reflection on what the team has achieved so far captures the spirit of the whole undertaking.

“Autumn rains and the rebuild project have transformed our Euroa farm’s damaged landscape,” Downey said.

“Luscious green pasture has been sown where there was recently only scorched earth, and gum trees defy what looked like catastrophic damage to sprout new leaves.

It is truly a wonderful sight to see.”

He was keen to acknowledge the people who made it possible. “I am thankful to the whole Lindsay Park team for the manner in which we have been able to continue operating virtually uninterrupted while rebuilding at the same time,” he said. “It has required an extraordinary level of coordination and cooperation between staff across all aspects of our operation, and the results have been fantastic.”

Through all of it, the horses have kept running. Lindsay Park’s operation continued through the fire’s aftermath, and the stable’s string heads into the spring racing carnival with the momentum of a team that has found something extra in adversity