A malfunctioning timer on a sprinkler system could be described as a minor complication compared with recent events in the Omakau area.
The breakdown that caused chaos and the rescheduling of the region's annual thoroughbred race meeting pales in comparison with a recent racecourse investigation.
A recently released Judicial Control Authority (JCA) report paints the investigation into Omakau horseman Murray Hamilton's involvement with racehorses while disqualified from training as a scene out of a spy novel.
In October 2016, Hamilton was suspended from training horses for three months following the culmination of three misconduct charges that related to an ongoing dispute with the Central Otago Equestrian Club, which runs the Omakau racecourse.
In June last year, he was disqualified from holding a trainer's licence for 14 weeks after breaking the rules of that suspension by assisting former Omakau trainer Bridget Emerson.
Then, in September, the Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) investigated Hamilton after it received information he was involved with the training of horses at a property near Omakau.
A racing investigator armed with binoculars and a recording device was sent to observe Hamilton at the property.
He gave the JCA inquiry a detailed timeline of what he saw, which included a man who he identified as Hamilton applying gear to and feeding horses.
The horses were then observed to have been exercised by a trackwork rider, whom the inquiry identified as Shae Robinson, a licensed trackwork rider.
Racecourse investigators approached Hamilton at the property the following morning, where he admitted in an interview he had been involved in the pre-training of the horses.
Another racing investigator kept watch over the meeting from a vantage point, also armed with binoculars and a recording device.
Hamilton said the work was a one-off occasion while his son Marcus was away.
Though it was confirmed there were thoroughbred racehorses at the property, the inquiry heard that some of the horses Hamilton handled were hacks.
Robinson was also interviewed by investigators and told them she did all the work with the horses, and had been asked to ride them not directly by Hamilton but through other people.
She said Hamilton had nothing to do with the day-to-day care of the horses.
All of this information was presented at the inquiry in early November.
The JCA found a charge that Hamilton assisted in the training, care and control of thoroughbred horses while disqualified proven.
Robinson was charged with assisting and associating with a disqualified person for the purposes of the care and training of a registered horse and the inquiry found that charge proven.
Penalties were not handed out at the inquiry, with the respondents given time to prepare written submissions.
Hamilton's charge means he faces at least 12 months' disqualification on top of his current disqualification.
Robinson faces a heftier penalty, as her charge is considered a serious racing offence.
She faces being disqualified for any specific period or for life and/or suspension from holding or obtaining a licence for a period not exceeding 12 months, as well as a fine of up to $50,000.
