Our Board

Dianne has been a member of the Canterbury Jockey Club since 1984. She became the first woman Board member in 2001 before moving to Australia two years later. She was re-elected in 2017 becoming Treasurer for one year prior to becoming Chairperson in 2022.

Her past business experience has been mainly in management at the ANZ Bank, and Financial and Administration Manager in a Recruitment Company in Australia. She has completed various consultant contract roles in Project Management, Business Development and Marketing.

Dianne has horses both in New Zealand and Australia over many years.

Phil Blacktopp joined the Canterbury Jockey Club Board in 2022 having been a member since 2010. Phil and his wife Pam, who shares his love of racing, have four adult children and a small stable of grandchildren.

Phil has a background in both chartered and commercial accounting and is the owner and Director of a boutique accounting firm, Helston and Associates, which was established in 1990. Phil assists several Charitable Trusts and serves on the Board of Showbiz, a role he has held for over 20 years.

As an owner and sponsor Phil understands the racing industry and the need to provide the best racing experience every time; balancing the interests of owners, trainers and the customer who all are vital to making each race day event possible.

Phil brings a background in accounting, compliance, risk management knowledge and experience to his role on the Board.

Jeffrey has been a member since 1990 and was elected to the Board in 2007. He has served terms as Treasurer and Chairman from 2009 to 2017.

He was raised just south of Christchurch, on a property of 50 acres complete with horses.

Jeffrey went to Lincoln High School, then Canterbury University where he graduated with a Law Degree. After a period in the thoroughbred horse mecca of the Waikato Jeff has practised in Christchurch for the last 35 years.

Jeffrey has served the racing industry as a Chair of the Canterbury/Marlborough / Westland/ Otago branch of the NZTBA, a member of the NZ Pattern Committee and NZ Members Council. As an owner he has regularly shared in ownership and is still looking for the elusive Group winner

He is married to Tanya with two adult children. Away from racing Jeff enjoys the theatre and getting away from it all, will see him in Aitutaki fishing and relaxing

Susanne has been a Canterbury Jockey Club member since 1996 then elected on to the board in October 2010. Currently on the administration sub-committee and chair the Sponsorship Marketing sub-committee.

Susanne is married to John with 3 adult sons she loves being involved with the grandchildren. They both share the passion of horse racing.

In the 1980’s they set up racing syndicates for thoroughbred horses and Susanne currently administers two syndicates.

Over the years they have bred and raced numerous horses and had success with numerous wins to date.

Susanne was president of the Canterbury Westland Racing Owners Association from 1997-2010. Much was achieved thru those 14 years with “The Mellay Room” in The Grand National Stand. The racing industry is a wonderful industry for meeting people.

Now semi-retired but prior to that was in a farming partnership with John farming sheep and beef cattle along with a successful business within the farming operation of overnighting all types of stock in transit between the south and north islands of New Zealand. A large part of that was caring and the distribution of valuable stud stock -sheep and cattle

Valerie’s early years were spent growing up in Christchurch before becoming involved in life as a farmer, encompassing both sheep and beef as well as dairy.

A change of direction to a partnership role in a transport business, connected to the irrigation industry, saw her develop skills as a business manager and truck driver around the South Island. Her shoe collection grew somewhat through a stint in retail in the city which happened to cover both Christchurch earthquakes.

Throughout her life she has given time to voluntary roles with community and sporting groups in rural areas. The competencies she gained from these ventures have been many and varied giving her the capability to organise, manage and learn.

‘Me time’ is spent reinventing her golf game, boating around Banks Peninsula and spending time with her grandchildren, as well as continuing a lifelong connection with horses by breeding and racing Thoroughbreds.

Member since 1986

Bio to come

Member since 2009.

Bio to come

Tim is a Senior Credit Manager at Rabobank NZ, a role he has held for 13 years. He is responsible for approving credit applications across NZ and across all sectors and exposures. Prior to joining Rabobank Tim worked in Corporate Finance M&A in NZ and London.

Tim is Chartered Accountant having previously worked for EY in NZ, London, and Bermuda. Tim holds a BCom Mgmt with Hons in Accounting from Lincoln University.

Tim has been a member of the Canterbury Jockey Club since 2005 and became a board member in 2014, He is passionate about the Racing industry and enjoys playing football, and coaching cricket.

With a background in farming and agronomy Nigel Johnston has established a successful agronomy research business from the ground up starting in 2011. Prior to that Nigel worked for multi-national agricultural seed and crop protection companies in New Zealand and Australia. Nigel and his wife, Cecille, also own and run a 75-acre cattle grazing farm near Dunsandel.

Hailing from the Central Districts where Nigel’s enthusiasm for racing was nurtured following family horses. He has been breeding and racing horses since the late 1990’s and currently has horses in work with Riccarton Park and Canterbury trainers as well as Australia. He is also an active breeder, with two mares due to be served by a Canterbury stallion this season.

Den became a member of the Club in 2010 and is a new Board member having been elected for the 2023/24 season.

He is a long-term Banker with his last 30 years being with the ASB in a private banking role.

Den is a keen racing, rugby (in fact all sports….) and beer man, he’s keen on getting crowds to the races with a special emphasis in attracting younger age groups back.

He is married to Deb with two adult children, Sean and Niamh.

Den is always keen to hear a constructive view on how we can improve this great sport!

Glenn has been a member since 2014 and has been on the Board since October 2018 when he was elected Chair of the Riccarton Turf Ward Committee and their representative on the Board.

He is married to Pip and has had an interest in racing from his earliest years visiting friends’ stables (Bert Powell) at Wingatui whose best horse at the time was a filly Susan Jane who won a NZ Oaks. From the age of 19, he ventured to Christchurch for NZ Cup Week, the best week in NZ racing, and has not missed one since.

Over the last 16 years Glenn has had shares in horses, and still remembers the thrill of that first winner PRINCESS SHYLA at Riccarton. He has gained some amazing friendships over this time.

Glenn considers being on the board an honour, a chance to give back something to the game he loves and believes it is important as a board member to engage with our members, trainers, and owners. He requests members to feel free at any time to discuss any issues regarding racing at Riccarton or racing in general.

Matt has been a member since 2002 and currently sits on the Board representing the Hororata Ward Committee having been appointed to that role in October 2023.

He is current South Island manager for PLP specialising in Transmission-Distribution-Communications. Matt grew up on a dairy farm and worked for Fonterra for 18 years mainly in UHT export milk before moving onto working in the Electrical industry.

Matt’s grandfather was a thoroughbred trainer and his father raced thoroughbreds, whilst Matt’s early interest centred on the harness racing side of things, and he held a junior driver’s license for five years and driving 13 winners.

His interests these days are most sports, racing and socialising and he plays golf to a bad standard.

Matt has been married to Jo for almost 20 years and they have two teenage daughters.

Dugald spent his childhood in Amberley where his interest in racing began with his father having an involvement with the Amberley Racing Club. He was a member of the Amberley Racing Club and a Canterbury Jockey Club member since 2005.

Dugald farmed in Amberley briefly in the early 1980s before moving to Banks Peninsular where he also farmed before moving to Christchurch and becoming a manager at the Canterbury A&P Association.

Dugald joined the committee of the Amberley Ward of the Canterbury Jockey Club in early 2000 becoming the Chair in December 2019. That same time he was appointed the Amberley representative to the Board of the Canterbury Jockey Club, a role he still holds.

Member since 2007.

Bio to come

Recently retired Group 1 winning trainer Peter Williams relocated back to Canterbury after training out of Byerley Park for the past 13 years. Prior to that his stellar training career operated out of his own Ashburton property and from 1996 to 2011 from a stable complex at Riccarton Park.

Peter, along with his wife Dawn, were presented with the NZTR Award for Outstanding Contribution to Racing at the national racing awards on Sunday 8 September.

Peter has previous experience in racing administration having been president of the Canterbury branch of the NZ Trainers Association for 10 years and a committee member of the Ashburton Racing Club for six years.

Peter said, “If I am appointed to this position my years of knowledge and experience with the horse and racing generally will be of help to the Club”.