Fashion Filly: Liv's A Modern Milliner

Liv Kinley’s Passion For Racing Has Led To Two Dream Jobs For The 34-year-old.

- Steve Landells​​​​​​​

Racing has been my life for as long as I can remember. My parents met at the races at Riccarton Park in Christchurch, and many of my most cherished childhood memories are of being taken by Mum and Dad to race meets in New Zealand and overseas.

I’ve always loved horses, even though I’m allergic to them. As a youngster, I often dreamed of one day being involved in the racing industry, but I saw it as the domain of older people.

That all changed in my early 20s after I met the marketing director of Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland. I realised you could be young and gifted, and involved in racing, and this gave me huge motivation to pursue a career in it. Shortly afterwards, I was offered a contract as a marketing coordinator at Ellerslie. It was a dream come true.

Since then, I’ve worked in various roles on the marketing team and I’ve also enjoyed a spell working with the New Zealand Racing Board. I’m now executive general manager of marketing at Ellerslie.

My job is varied. Each year, we run 22 race meetings but we also manage everything from the Pop-up Globe to weddings and wakes. No two days are the same, and that is both the challenge and the attraction.