FEATURE
T he 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 Hayes family is rebuilding to make Lindsay Park better than ever. (David Caird/Newspix)
The full fencing project is expected to be completed by mid-2027. It is a long road, but the progress already visible across the property tells its own story. Fencing is only half the picture. The fire took not just the posts and wire but the pasture itself. The entire area has since been fertilised and resown with a perennial grass blend chosen with the horses’ wellbeing in mind. There is even an unlikely silver lining in the destruction. The burnt earth left behind by the fire has broken down into a natural potassium boost for the soil, acting almost like a giant fertiliser hit that is accelerating the pasture’s recovery. Where there was once only scorched black ground, green is pushing through.
Fancy a Gallop? | 91
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