Ivo Thomas taking leadership to heart as his career at Tweenhills blossoms

Ivo Thomas has a double armful of straw. It's a changeover day at Tattersalls, with a revolving cast of horses arriving at and departing from the Tweenhills boxes in the Solario paddock and rooms need to be prepared.

Yet there remains a sense of quiet order in this corner of the sales ground, of duties diligently carried out. For Thomas, who won the leadership category at the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, sponsored by Godolphin, at the start of the year, there's now an extra layer of responsibility.

"I've had a promotion at work since," he explains. "I'm now stud manager at Tweenhills, having been the assistant before, so things have definitely gone upwards for me.

"It's nice to have that recognition and a few more people say hello to you when you're out and about. There's been plenty of stick for it too:  'I've worked with you before, how have you won that?' I'd say, well, people can change . . ."

It's what turns out to be a typically self-deprecating comment from the easygoing 31-year-old. Thomas, who had filled several assistant trainer roles at the start of his career, first with Brian Meehan and then Matt Cumani in Australia, has been working for David Redvers at Tweenhills in Gloucestershire for the last seven years.

"We had a very good team at Tweenhills, I was enjoying my role and then the stud manager [Pieter Van Zyl] got offered a job that worked well for him and his family, so he took it," he explains. 

"I was very lucky. David didn't even hold an interview process, it was straight away offered to me, so I jumped at that. It's something I really wanted to do."

Thomas had already been involved in overseeing the stud's sales consignment, captaining the ship when others were elsewhere, but he admits his promotion has been a steep learning curve. The 800-acre farm in Hartpury is home to three significant stallions in Kameko, Zoustar and Lightning Spear, as well as countless blue-chip mares and foals.

Ivo Thomas and David Redvers with Kameko, meeting Hartpury C of E Primary School students Credit: Racing to School

"I found out quickly there's a lot of difference [to the new role]," he says. "The buck stops with me and David isn't always at Tweenhills so there are decisions now that I'm making solely.

"If anything happens it's up to me to sort, so the pressure has increased massively but, luckily, we have the same team around so it's been pretty seamless. I can't hide behind someone else if something goes wrong, though.

"The big one is the day-to-day care of the horse. I was always involved in that but there was another set of eyes and ears casting over it; if we had any worries about a horse we could always talk about it. Now I've got to think about everything I've learned from [Van Zyl] and other people to back that decision myself."

Thomas is actually the first person from the stud world to win the leadership award, one of the major categories at the ceremony sponsored by Godolphin which comes with a £5,000 prize and the same figure allocated to the winner's workplace and colleagues.

He is perfectly placed to understand that stud work and a job in a racing stable can suit particular individuals.

"It's very different but it's just as important to the thoroughbred and the overall racing industry. Someone has to breed them in order for someone to race them," he says.

"There are certain people who love the hustle and bustle of a racing yard and never knowing where they're going to be, at the races one day and home the next, whereas we mostly know we're on the farm. 

"It's definitely a lot more peaceful, I wouldn't say easier-going but it's a slower pace because we're trying to use nature to rear these horses. We work closely with them but there's a lot of just allowing them to be a horse rather than in the intensity of a racing yard."

Thomas is from just outside Middleham in Yorkshire and grew up pony-obsessed, first riding out on the gallops aged 14. There was only one career ambition on his mind and he has surprised himself as to how he has mellowed into his present role.

"I fell back into stud work," he confesses.

"I always thought I was going to be the next Ruby Walsh or AP McCoy; it was just what was going to happen. I didn't have a plan for anything else until I grew to 6ft3in, put the pounds on and suddenly my world fell apart.

Ivo Thomas with his award, flanked by William Buick (left) and Rishi PersadCredit: Dan Abraham

"I did a stud job back in 2015 at Tweenhills. That was my first experience and, to be honest, I didn't overly enjoy it; I thought I've done that now, went on and did the Irish National Stud course, which I learned so much from and made some amazing contacts.

"When I came back, unemployed, after my time in Australia working for Matt Cumani, the first man I bumped into was David Redvers. I asked him if he could help me to find a job, thinking about which trainer was looking for an assistant. He rang me the next day and said he was looking for an assistant, would I start. 

"I ummed and ahhed but I thought it might be a good opportunity. Tweenhills was doing well, had some new stallions. I took the plunge and now I'm very much a stud man."

The thoughtful Thomas has contemporaries who are starting out on the treacherous road to becoming racehorse trainers. 

At one stage, there might have been pangs of jealousy but this has been replaced by a contentment with the life he has built in Gloucestershire. There are plans for the future and, alongside his partner Lauren Gaunt and with Redvers, he has been investing in a few mares of his own.

He says: "I think it's important to have a financial connection. It makes you care a bit more and understand what you're working towards, what the main goal is."

His story is one of personal and professional growth. The afternoon's work must continue at the Solario paddock for Thomas and his small, cheerful team. By proving no task is too small, he continues to show why his leadership is so valued.

"When I thought I couldn't be a jockey the only other route to me, theoretically, was training but I was fortunate to have spent that first year at Tweenhills as it showed me a different world," he says.

"The important thing for me was staying in the industry and I found this avenue. It wasn't what I wanted at the time but it's proved to be the best decision I've made."

Ivo Thomas on

The best part of the job: 
"It's something very simple but it's those spring mornings. I'd be the first out in the yard to feed the horses and when that spring sun is coming up you're greeted by all the mares and foals with their heads over the stable door, all excited for a bit of feed. It's just me and my dog there and you always start off in a good mood."

Favourite horses: 
"I work closely with Kameko. Having taken on the stud manager role, he's the heartbeat of Tweenhills and I need him to be firing at all times. I spend a lot of time with him and he's a lovely horse, he's so easy to get on with. He'd be one of my favourites.

Guineas winner Kameko is the focal point of TweenhillsCredit: Edward Whitaker

"I do love them all, though. We have a lot of mares who have been here since I started so you know them inside out and their family traits, which really helps in building a bond."

Winning the leadership award: 
"I'm very proud of it. Finding out I was the first stud person to win the category was a really good feeling and I'm very grateful to David Redvers for feeling confident enough to nominate me for it."

Nominations to the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, sponsored by Godolphin, are open until November 4

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