A former Olympic medallist is selling his equestrian training ground in the Hawke’s Bay after making a life-changing decision to quit horses.
Greg Best won two silver medals representing the US in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul before moving to New Zealand 30 years ago.
He told OneRoof he fell in love with the country while on a one-week trip for a riding event in the late 1980s when the country “worked its magic” and returned in the early 1990s to live here.
“The more I travelled I kept thinking New Zealand would be a great place to move back to and check it out and see if it was something that was right for me long term.”
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He originally moved to Central Hawke’s Bay due to knowing people there and later met his now wife and fellow showjumper Kim.
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The riding stalwarts had been running a farm stay on a large Te Aute lease block on 400 hectares when they decided they wanted a much smaller property for themselves.
Best said the “dream equestrian property”, which a 15-minute drive to Hastings and 17 minutes to Havelock North, just happened to hit the market at the same time they were looking in 2013.
The 34ha property on the Maraekakaho Plains, which was spread across two titles, had been owned by investment banker Sam Kelt who used it as a breeding property for his thoroughbreds.
Greg Best, pictured with his two children, is selling the equestrian estate so he can spend more time with them. Photo / Supplied
“It was always a little oasis in the middle of the Hawke’s Bay desert. A beautiful, beautiful place with wooden fencing.”
The property was already set up for horses with a large stable block, shedding and storage facilities so they just had to add an arena for their own use.
“We decided to downsize and go for quality over quantity and that’s why we ended up where we ended up.”
Best’s mother-in-law moved into the existing three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on the estate. The couple lived in a horse truck with their young son while they built their American ranch-style four-bedroom, three-bathroom home on the only elevated platform on the property.
“It’s a pretty unique place in that you can sit here on the deck and look out and see virtually every horse on the property.”
Best has been using the 34ha home and equestrian facility in Hawke's Bay as his training grounds for the past decade. Photo / Supplied
The modern four-bedroom, three-bathroom home sits on an elevated site overlooking the horses. Photo / Supplied
Over the last decade, they have used the property for breeding, agistment and training facility for themselves. Another showjumper also moved his business to the property several years and trained horses and gave lessons there.
“The thing with equestrian professionals is they do a little bit of everything. They do a little bit of teaching, they do a little bit of riding and producing of their own horses and taking horses for other people and trying to improve them and sell them on as well.”
Best said the Hawke’s Bay’s dry soil also made it the best place in the country to breed and raise horses.
“Obviously the Waikato there’s a lot more horses up there, but I absolutely believe for the breeding and producing of young horses this is the best place in the country for them. There’s probably more competitions in the Waikato area so I know there’s certain attractions to that area, but in terms of where is the best place in the country to breed and raise horses – Hawke’s Bay I completely believe it – that’s the best place to do it.”
The property had been an amazing place to live both as a showjumper and as a place to raise their two children, while still being close to town and wineries, he added.
However, six months ago they made a huge call to stop horse riding and coaching so they could spend more time with their children now aged 8 and 11.
The fact that their children had absolutely no interest in horses also helped their decision, he added.
A three-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage provides additional accommodation. Photo / Supplied
“The thing with horses is you are either all in or you may as well not do it. So, we’ve decided (to sell) in order to be the best parents that we can be, because we’ve only got these little creatures for a short time and then they move on and we want to make sure we spend as much quality time with them while we still have them around.”
Kim has already found a new career working in administration, while Best continued to manage the property until it was sold. He was unsure of what his next job would be until they moved.
Their next house will see them downsizing again, but this time ideally to a much smaller lifestyle property in Havelock North with enough land for their son to play a game of cricket with friends or kick a football around. There would be no horses in sight, Best said.
“You are either all in or you’re out and we are out. We had really wonderful careers with the horses, but it’s time for us to do something else.”
While the property was set up for horses, Best said there was immense potential for it to be run as a farming block possibly for apples or grapes.
“I’ve often thought about converting it to a farming block, which would essentially mean pulling out everything equestrian, but I can’t do that. I see this place as a really iconic Hawke’s Bay equestrian facility, probably the premiere Hawke’s Bay equestrian facility and I can’t take that quality away from the place.
The premium equestrian facility includes a large stables for the horses. Photo / Supplied
“If somebody else wants to do something else with it I’ve got no problem with that. I just can’t do it myself.”
Bayleys Napier salesperson Luke Dee said they had meticulously designed the property with equestrian enthusiasts in mind.
“The Bests are stalwarts of the Kiwi riding scene, with a unique insight into the scale and function of elite riding facilities. What they have created here is a rider’s utopia with a large stable block, covered round yard, all-weather arena, well-maintained paddocks, and substantial shedding.
In addition the American-style ranch was the perfect residence for the expansive rural estate, he said.
- 3131 State Highway 50 is being sold by tender closing August 6
