Michael House , another busy boy !

[TAB For Ever]

Michael House wins the NZ Amateur drivers championship held over the weekend  ,held at Addington over 2x days and Cambridge.

In addition he also had several of the horses he trains racing at Addington.

It's a bit ironic cos MHouse has been an outspoken critic of NZ Harness Administration these past couple of years . I hope he appreciates them a little more for organising the event and I assume organising the Winner to travel overseas to represent NZ in the World Champs !

He won the event on countback after finishing first equal on points...maybe the same 'refereeing' that the Crusaders often benefit from at home next door. !!!!! He edged out an Aucklander on countback but maybe very lucky that another threat Frank Phelan didn't have a drive in final race ,instead was gifted 2 x points !

Those with a memory may remember MHouse as a professional driver a while back. 

He had a trotter Castletons Mission who won some 15 races ,many of them when driven by MHouse .

The pair contested Group 1 races at a tough time. They ran second in two of them ,at least once behind Take A Moment and once behind Lyell Creek [ Dominion Hcp]

MHouse , an Amateur now but once a Warrior !

Bet On Red indeed !

[Gammalite]

1 hour ago, TAB For Ever said:

The pair contested Group 1 races at a tough time. They ran second in two of them ,at least once behind Take A Moment and once behind Lyell Creek [ Dominion Hcp]

MHouse , an Amateur now but once a Warrior !

Indeed . Here's Michael saluting proudly with whip held high,  when he thinks he won the Biggest race of all . the Interdominion Trotting Grand Final.

This one was at Addington 2003 where both Castleton's Mission for House , and Take A Moment for Tim and Anthony Butt  had won heats. 

Of course Anthony Butt and Take A Moment are a Nose in front down on the Inner and have taken the Victory in the photo below on Grand Final night.

Might be why Michael went amateur afterwards? following the BIG salute to the crowd while running 2nd ? 😂🤣

 

[the galah]

13 hours ago, TAB For Ever said:

It's a bit ironic cos MHouse has been an outspoken critic of NZ Harness Administration these past couple of years . I hope he appreciates them a little more for organising the event and I assume organising the Winner to travel overseas to represent NZ in the World Champs !

 

nice post but i don't get why you are having a dig at him for being what you call an" outspoken critic of nz harness administration".

are you saying he should have taken some sort of principled stand and not  participated in the amateur chanpionship?

Its almost as if your saying,be a good boy,keep your opinions to yourself and don't bite the hand that feeds you.That sounds a bit condescending to me. 

i don't see any irony in anything house has said and think house should always use his voice to express honest held opinions about the merits of nz administrators decision making. Whether you realise it or not,his views actually represent that of a large proportion of the industry and he is viewed by many as a spokeman for those people.

 

 

Edited 14 hours ago by the galah

[TAB For Ever]

5 hours ago, the galah said:

nice post but i don't get why you are having a dig at him for being what you call an" outspoken critic of nz harness administration".

are you saying he should have taken some sort of principled stand and not  participated in the amateur chanpionship?

Its almost as if your saying,be a good boy,keep your opinions to yourself and don't bite the hand that feeds you.That sounds a bit condescending to me. 

i don't see any irony in anything house has said and think house should always use his voice to express honest held opinions about the merits of nz administrators decision making. Whether you realise it or not,his views actually represent that of a large proportion of the industry and he is viewed by many as a spokeman for those people.

 

 

Who died and made you Chief ?

No digs , just pointing out the irony of the situation !

MHouse ...and I have had shares in his horses and known him for many years ,has been poking the Borax at HRNZ for some years....possibly skating on thin ice at times .

I'm not sure what the current rules are re licensed people speaking out publicly about the Industry that they earn a living from ......but  both common sense and past experience in employment situation  IMO makes it a big no-no.

In words you may understand.......its like a dog biting the hand that feeds it !

 

[TAB For Ever]

18 hours ago, Gammalite said:

Indeed . Here's Michael saluting proudly with whip held high,  when he thinks he won the Biggest race of all . the Interdominion Trotting Grand Final.

This one was at Addington 2003 where both Castleton's Mission for House , and Take A Moment for Tim and Anthony Butt  had won heats. 

Of course Anthony Butt and Take A Moment are a Nose in front down on the Inner and have taken the Victory in the photo below on Grand Final night.

Might be why Michael went amateur afterwards? following the BIG salute to the crowd while running 2nd ? 😂🤣

 

I'd forgotten that the 'winning salute' was in such a big race !

[Gammalite]

1 hour ago, TAB For Ever said:

I'm not sure what the current rules are re licensed people speaking out publicly about the Industry that they earn a living from ......but  both common sense and past experience in employment situation  IMO makes it a big no-no.

Well Robert Dunn was appointed to the HRNZ board about 3 years ago,  and is NZ's leading trainer.

At one stage he shared ownership in about 50 horses and at a point a few years ago he was supervising the Northern Team while John did Woodend. Is that still the case?

As a member of the board does he (Mr Dunn)  comment on what's going on with NZ harness racing ? or allowed to comment ? or does just gets paid behind the scenes ? 

Dean Shannon a bit of a loss to NZ via Entain , as he loves his harness horses and would of kept the game moving ahead in NZ. He raced about 70 horses at his peak in the 90's. Not sure how many he has now but still a fair few.  

[the galah]

2 hours ago, TAB For Ever said:

Who died and made you Chief ?

 

 

?

 

2 hours ago, TAB For Ever said:

Who died and made you Chief ?

No digs , just pointing out the irony of the situation !

MHouse ...and I have had shares in his horses and known him for many years ,has been poking the Borax at HRNZ for some years....possibly skating on thin ice at times .

I'm not sure what the current rules are re licensed people speaking out publicly about the Industry that they earn a living from ......but  both common sense and past experience in employment situation  IMO makes it a big no-no.

In words you may understand.......its like a dog biting the hand that feeds it !

 

I also point out ironies sometimes.. But irony means your pointing out both good and bad,or double standards.So it sounds like having a dig.

And just to make it clear,i like that your expressing your opinions,whether i agree with them or not .So dig or discuss perceived ironies as much as you like.i do the same.  

Whats that about a dog biting the hand that feeds it. My analytical self doesn't get that bit, other than to think ,aren't you just saying what i said,but saying its a dog in the example.When you say"words that i may understand",well you already know i understand.so thats more a sign i agitate you when you comment like that.Don't you realise that? 

Your comment about someone within the industry expressing opinions publically that may paint administrative decisions, or those making the decisions in a bad way.

Well,if the administrators felt secure and truly believed they were making good decisions,then they would not fear what he has to say. The proof would be in the results and critics could easily be silenced or discredited ..

in other words,when i read you say that,it illustrates to me there is an uneasiness amongst those who run the sport that they are not achieving the results they hoped for from policy decisions,they have a degree of fear of the inevitable accountabilty they may face. 

So thats what i think your comments indicate. To that you may say,what am i on about,but really,you know what i'm on about.

[TAB For Ever]

3 hours ago, Gammalite said:

Well Robert Dunn was appointed to the HRNZ board about 3 years ago,  and is NZ's leading trainer.

At one stage he shared ownership in about 50 horses and at a point a few years ago he was supervising the Northern Team while John did Woodend. Is that still the case?

As a member of the board does he (Mr Dunn)  comment on what's going on with NZ harness racing ? or allowed to comment ? or does just gets paid behind the scenes ? 

Dean Shannon a bit of a loss to NZ via Entain , as he loves his harness horses and would of kept the game moving ahead in NZ. He raced about 70 horses at his peak in the 90's. Not sure how many he has now but still a fair few.  

Up to date info Gamma....

Robert Dunn is NOT an HRNZ Board member now , but is a member of the Board of Auckland [ ATC ].

By speaking out ,I mean being critical of ....

Both RD and DS are not only glass half full types , the glass is overflowing.

And with the emphasis on Governance these days , individual Board members rarely speak out , more likely to stick to protocol.