The second Mudgee Guardian People of the Year list aims to recognise the most influential, impactful and notable people in the region in 2020. Their impact could be positive, negative or somewhere in the middle, but one thing is certain, they made a difference.
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I am a proud mum and have always been a little bias to say they could take on the world if they wanted to.
The 2019-20 season for Team Thompson has been very successful with 26 wins, 31.5 seconds, 36.5 thirds, 22.5 fourths and 21 fifth placings (at the time of submission).
It all comes down to early starts and late finishes, seven days a week with the boys each having their individual roles in the business.
Brett programs and contacts our 300-odd owners by phone or internet, so he is on the phone a lot. He also drives the truck to the races which can consist of three meetings a week all over the state. Brett has taken a step back from the preparation of the horses and let his sons take on the role of getting them fit and ready to win. At times he struggled with the change and still will have his opinion, he has since become more relaxed as the winners continued for the stable.
Ben has a great talent and is connected to the horses, he is very relaxed and patient with all types of behaviours. He organises the morning program and watches every horse closely as they work, and also rides track work and breaks in the young ones. Ben will bring his daughter Lainey to the stables most mornings where she sits and watches everything her dad does.
Kurt organises the ground staff which consists of 10 employees ageing from 15 to 70, with the young boys attending work before getting dropped to school most mornings. He also arranges the horses to be ready for riding and their morning work, and also rides the breakers and is in charge of the rosters.
Jay rides track work and the breakers, and is great at doing forms and informs what race is suitable before acceptances.
Team Thompson have employed children from Fam Connect.
Overall our family work closely together which sometimes sparks many arguments but they get resolved quickly. We are lucky to have all our children and grandchildren around us every day. Family is everything.
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