The Murray Bain Service to Industry Award honours the outstanding achievements of those in our industry who champion exceptional service to industry with hands-on practice and not at a safe distance.
This year we honour a woman who has spent her life to future proof our industry in her capacity as a teacher, mentor, farmer and owner/breeder.
Growing up in central Riverina, she indulged her equine passion by borrowing ponies to ride, competing at Pony Club, working as a stable hand, and nurturing aspirations to become a jockey. Taking an unusual turn for a life long, hands on, career in the thoroughbred industry, she joined the Navy, trained as an electronics technician and still managed to compete in horse trials.
On completion of her Naval traineeship and having gained a trade qualification, she worked as a riding school manager and instructor and completed a Diploma of Agriculture, Horse Husbandry and Management at the Roseworthy Agricultural College winning the award for the highest proficiency in horsemanship in her year.
A testament to her captivating, hands on, horseman skills, Mia arrived at Roseworthy college with a rogue gelding called Laddy who tested everyone’s horse skills and patience. By the end of her time there, Laddy was used by the teaching staff as the quiet horse for beginner horse handling courses.
Her career is marked by international experience (in both yearling management and tertiary education) in New Zealand, followed by four years in bloodstock marketing initially as Executive Officer with Australian Thoroughbred Marketing (the forerunner to currently online marketing platforms) and as a bloodstock pedigree consultant with Magic Millions at the Gold Coast.
It is her 30 plus year career as a teacher of Equine Studies that many of us here tonight are familiar with. Starting in 1991 at the Kurri Kurri TAFE campus with no students and no courses but bucketfuls of enthusiasm, great faculty support and a strong, loyal following among the Hunter horse industry.
It was at this time that she gained her Diploma in Teaching at the University of Technology in Sydney and after a short stint at the Victorian College of Agriculture and Horticulture as the Rural Course Coordinator, she commenced her tenure at the brand new Scone TAFE campus where she taught until the end of 2024.
And what an expansive knowledge and training base she shared with her innumerable students – from anatomy, health, first aid, nutrition, horse handling, horse breeding, foaling and foal care, yearling preparation and as a riding instructor.
She is a knowledgeable innovator who shared her passion for our industry will all who passed through her TAFE courses – from establishing the Equine Nursing Certificate (at that the second only equine specific nursing program in the world) to all manner of Certificate III and IV courses including Agriculture, Horse Breeding, Veterinary Nursing, Equine Focus, Racing, Equistart, and short courses such as Foal Night Watch, Horse Anatomy, Horse Nutrition and Horse Health. She is also a valued trainer to Darley Flying Start students and to equine students across Australia through the Fast Track Certificate III in Horse Breeding and Stud Start programs.
It is our honour to award the HTBA 2025 Murray Bain Award to a woman of exceptional skills and experience and life-long hands on practice. Thank you for your service to our industry Ms Mia Collins.
This year’s HTBA President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement has been awarded to a quiet achiever whose skill, strategy and counsel is highly respected, a man who is a passionate leader and advocate but shuns the limelight and has already packed in a lifetime of achievement, despite his relatively young years.
Born in Ireland he was raised on his parent’s farm in Co. Wexford, and educated at Gormanston College, Dublin following his father’s footsteps and those of his brothers. Always a quiet but thoughtful lad, he rode ponies as a child, excelled at swimming and was recognised as college prefect.
Following his graduation from Gormanston College, he attained a Bachelor of Science Management from the Dublin Institute of Technology and a Masters of Business Studies from the prestigious Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in Dublin. Eight years as a stockbroker for Goodbody Stockbrokers in Ireland followed before he was called to Coolmore. This was the beginning of a brilliant career, so far spanning 13 years, and a devotion to the thoroughbred industry highlighted by his unwavering advocacy for the Hunter Valley and directorships across national, state and Hunter Valley breeding associations.
A respected and longstanding member of the Coolmore Advisory Board; a Board member of Thoroughbred Breeders NSW since 2015, Treasurer since 2018, and Vice President since 2022; Director of Thoroughbred Breeders Australia since 2023; and longstanding member of Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association; Protect Our Industries sub-committee member and Treasurer since 2013, he has advocated for the protection and development of the industry as much in the board rooms and before government decision makers as on the farm, at the track and at the sales ring.
For eight years he helped champion the industry cause to stop Anglo American’s plans to develop an open cut mine across the road from Coolmore and Woodlands - one mine that stood to jeopardise the future of an entire industry. One wrong mine in the wrong place. Alongside Tom Magnier, Henry Plumptre, Andy Wiles and Ross Cole, he fought tirelessly, scoured voluminous amounts of mining, environmental and expert scientific reports, advocated ceaselessly with officials, politicians, commissioners and lawyers for the right to protect our industry, our reputation and the jobs and livelihoods of our people.
Wise beyond his years, dedicated to the advancement of our industry, respected by all who know and work with him, the HTBA is very proud to present Mr Paddy Power with the 2025 HTBA President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement.
