As the Festival enters its 45th year, we are proud to welcome our new President Jason Hill, an accomplished corporate professional within the Upper Hunter region who is also CEO of the Scone Race Club. Mr Hill was unanimously voted in as President of the Warburton Estate Agents Scone Horse Festival last month and will generously serve his first term of President during the Festival next year.
Mr Hill has joined Vice President Darryn Wicks, Secretary Rachael McGuirk, Treasurer Robyne Smith and other incredible committee members who are all working extremely hard to ensure a brilliant festival experience is delivered again in 2025.
We are incredibly grateful for their generosity and excited to have Mr Hill leading us into our 45th year.
Let’s get to know Jason!
Jason, what drew you to the role of CEO of the Scone Race Club last year?
Having spent most of my career with the Sydney Cricket & Sports Ground Trust (Sydney Cricket Ground & Allianz Stadium), as a Novocastrian I was looking for a new opportunity that could lead me back to the Hunter Valley. This seemed the perfect opportunity to move back to the area, and begin an exciting new chapter personally and professionally.
What are some major changes you have seen in the industry over the past year?
During the past 12 months we have seen exciting growth within the Upper Hunter Valley equine industry, with Racing NSW committing to invest heavily into the region.
We are already known as the horse capital and are about to become a regional racing capital with the construction of 300 stables near the course and a polytrack, funded by the state government and Racing NSW. This will see Scone’s horse population more than double. It’s an exciting time for the club and will enormously benefit racing in the area.
For the industry this is huge and an indication of the commitment from the industry and Racing NSW to turning Scone into a regional centre of excellence. The benefits to the race club of having 300 stables in the precinct, which will clearly increase the calibre of trainer and horse, will lead to more horses on track for us for trackwork and better opportunities to grow revenue for the race club.
Racing is about to be taken to another level in Scone!
Why did you decide to join the Festival committee?
The previous CEO of the Scone Race Club – Mr Steve Keene – had been on the Festival Committee so when I started late last year, I took up that position. It was very quickly clear to me this was a significant event for the region and was about much much more than just the Darley Scone Cup Carnival. The Board of the Scone Race Club and I agreed it was right us to play more of a role in community events so when I was asked to nominate for President it seemed the perfect opportunity. I hope I can do the privilege justice.
What is one of your favourite parts of the 10-day Warburton Estate Agents Scone Horse Festival?
The festival is an incredible display of the region’s commitment to and love of equine, and each event showcases a different equine discipline, historical element or community spirit. Last year, as the CEO of Scone Race Club my focus was on the incredible two-day Darley Scone Cup carnival – the jewel in the crown of country racing in NSW. At the Scone Race Club, we have received tremendous support over the years from the industry, our partners, members and the local community. Each year we hope to do that support justice by putting on a fantastic carnival for our local supporters and for those visiting us from further afield.
In 2025, I am very much looking forward to being more involved with each of the other festival events and learning about how each one contributes to making the overarching Festival a success.
Thank you, Jason!
We would also like to thank former Festival President Andrew Cooper for his tremendous efforts over the past years. Mr Cooper stepped down after the 2024 Festival to take on a new challenge in Moree – we wish you the best of luck Andrew!
Mr Cooper brought a wonderful energy to the role of President and enjoyed significant success. During his time, the 2023 Festival broke records as the most highly attended festival in 45 years, the first ever Naming Rights sponsorship was developed with a three-year partnership and the Festival was featured twice on national television.