Matthew Koch | Fasig-Tipton
The Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Management Club (KTFMC) has selected Shawhan Place’s Matthew Koch as the 2022 Farm Manager of the Year Ted Bates. The honor is given annually to a farm manager “who has demonstrated quality and success in their management role; services to the community; participate in KTFMC; and dedication and industry leadership. “
“I am delighted to hear that Matthew has won this prestigious award,” said Teddy Kuster, Shawhan Place co-owner and KTFMC Farm Manager of the Year 1986. “The club means so much to the entire Matt family and to all of us at Shawhan Place. Matt is a wonderful individual who wears many hats. He is a farm manager working in the trenches and has contributed to his community by serving on several boards. He is the State Representative for District 72 (Bourbon, Nicholas and Fleming Counties) and is instrumental in passing the HHR to the industry… Even more important than horse farming, Matthew raises the next generation of horsemen. doctors and young women. He is a mentor to many and regularly hosts student interns from both KEMI and the University of Kentucky. “
A graduate of the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Equestrian School, Koch is also a former captain of the United States Marine Corps and served his country in Afghanistan and Kosovo. In 2006, Koch and Kuster founded Shawhan Place, which now raises about 100 mares each year.
Among the boards Koch has served on are the Kentucky Equine Management Internship (KEMI), the Commercial Breeders and Depositors Association (CBA), and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA). He has served as president, vice president, director and treasurer of KTFMC.
Koch is the second-generation KTFMC Farm Manager of the year, as his late father, Gus Koch, was given the title in 2004. The couple joining BG Hughes and Scooter Hughes are only father/child receive awards. Koch currently lives in Bourbon County with his wife, Kristen, and their three children Taylor, Jack and Nate.
KTFMC will be hosting an annual dinner dance in Koch’s honor at The Carrick House in Lexington on December 2. Tickets and sponsorship for the event will be available for purchase at ktfmc.org at the end of this month.
Not a subscriber? Click here to subscribe to PDF or daily alerts.
This story was posted in Top News and tagged Farm manager of the year, Gus Koch, Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Management Club, KTFMC, Matt Koch, Matthew Koch, Shawhan Place, Farm Manager of the Year Ted Bates, Teddy Kuster.
