The Topside
BACKGROUND STORY
Spin Rey was bred by Erin Park Stud and sold as a yearling to Mark and Shelley Ruff. The couple had him trained by Scott Campbell, where he spent his Futurity year in the cutting pen. Afterward, Mark and Shelley decided to sell Spin Rey at the 2015 Classic Sale, where he was purchased by Rory Fitzgerald.
At the time, Rory was working and campdrafting in the Northern Territory, and he saw an opportunity to own a stallion in the area. He began competing with Spin Rey in campdrafts and quickly saw the potential in the horse. Over the next three years, Rory continued to campaign Spin Rey while moving back to Queensland during this period.
In 2018, Joe Payne began riding Spin Rey and soon formed a strong partnership with him. As Rory’s work commitments kept him busy, he offered Spin Rey to Joe to campaign further. After some time, Joe approached Rory and purchased a half share in Spin Rey, and the two have been successful together ever since. Nowadays, Spin Rey spends most of his time at Joe’s property, ‘Lelant,’ and there aren’t many campdrafts the truck attends without him.
