“THIS was just a field when I started, there was nothing here,” Colin Bowe proudly relates, as he shows me the sprawling training set-up he has built up over the last 20 years in the village of Kiltealy, Co Wexford.

The 13-time champion point-to-point trainer (still only 52 years old), who has unearthed stars such as Samcro, Envoi Allen, Ferny Hollow, Gerri Colombe, Brandy Love and Skylight Hustle, can rightly be classed as the most prolific point-to-point handler of all time. But more than that, Bowe has been the wayfinder for others in this part of the world, showing what can be achieved with hard work, bravery and no small measure of horsemanship.

At present, there are more horses in training in this parish than there are on the Curragh, which is an extraordinary boast for a remote Co Wexford village close to the Carlow border, nestled in the shadow of the Blackstairs mountains.

Colin Bowe is, rightly, immensely proud of what he has achieved and, not just for himself, but for his locality and county too.

“Before I started this, I would have bought and sold a lot of half-bred horses. There was a family tradition too, as my uncle [publican] J.J. Bowe was heavily involved in that scene. I just began to get more and more involved with point-to-points and it just went from there. When I was younger, point-to-points were dominated by Cork and Tipperary stables, but that has changed now.”

It is now widely recognised that Wexford has become the dominant force in the sphere, specifically this parish of Kiltealy. It is a revolutionary development.

1,000 horses

“Well, Denis Murphy was at this before me, while myself and Sean Doyle started around the same time. But I would say that there could be 1,000 horses in this parish now, alone.

“Between myself, Matty Flynn O’Connor, Jim O’Neill, Sean Doyle, Gearoid Doyle, Cormac Doyle, Harley Dunne, Rob James. Scobie Fitzgerald is just outside it.

“Sure, I have horses in partnership with Denis Murphy and others. We could bring home four horses from the sales in partnership, I would train a couple for them and they for me! If I was having a quiet time or they were quiet, it works out well.

“We compete against each other, but we all drink and socialise together. We even go racing and to GAA matches together, we are rivals but generally all get along very well.”

Competitive man

Bowe lost his title as champion handler this year and, while he is obviously a driven, fiercely competitive man (he wouldn’t be where he is without that in him), he is philosophical about conceding to Sam Curling;

“Look, it has cost me money in the past chasing titles, so this year I am going to prioritise business over numbers. I have chased that championship for the last 20 years, I have probably been in the top three during that time.

“Before, it was easier to get good riders, I would have had seven lads, all really good riders but when the numbers got bigger, it just got a little looser and I want to tighten it up a bit now. Obviously, I would love to win the championship again but I won’t be sacrificing other things to do it.

“When I had 50 horses, I had enough good riders to go around, but things are getting stretched with 100, so I have to tighten up the yard, look after the business. Before, I would have kept horses that I could have sold just to win the championship, I was very driven. I won’t go chasing the championship this year, but I will still compete as hard as ever, if it happens, it happens.”

Old friend

Ironically, as soon as I jumped into Bowe’s four-wheel-drive to go up the gallops with him, he fields a call from Curling regarding the sale of a mare. Instead of directing ire towards the man who took his crown, Bowe greets him like an old friend and they discuss the terms of sale.

That is generally the nature of the point-to-point scene, especially amongst Bowe’s nearest rivals in his own parish and county. Wexford people tend to be proud of each other’s achievements and stick together, even if they are competing within the same sphere.

Bowe’s wife, Fiona is also from the area, a full-time nurse and a great support to him, especially in the early days.

Colin remembers those times mostly with fondness, but with one exception: “One time, we would both have to face into all the paperwork together after doing a day’s work, but we couldn’t keep doing it. Fiona does a small bit of it still, but Brendan Walsh, who also rides three or four lots every day, looks after all that now. He is the controller! Only for him, I would never have got as big, all that administrative side of the job can be a killer.

“I have three children; Katie, my eldest [20] is a qualified teacher, she rode out for a while, but didn’t really like it and is more into GAA. Aimee [16] jumped ponies, but is more interested in GAA too, is on the county GAA team, while my youngest, Bobby [14] is now riding out, jumps ponies too and is also on the local GAA team.”

Important

Regarding his staff, Bowe doesn’t want to leave people out, but singles out some as being especially important.

“Barry O’Neill has been a huge help to me for a lot of years. He is a very good jockey, and he doesn’t knock horses about. If he gets beaten on one and says that it will win the next day, then he is nearly always right, his feedback is massive. Rob James was great too when he was here with me (about 18 seasons I’d say), he is out on his own this year. Harley Dunne and Donnchadh Doyle all started with me and are doing so well on their own now.

“But we have some good, young riders here coming on too, like Bertie Finn, Luke Whitty, Ronan McParland, a couple of girl riders, the two Grants [Jessica and Caitlin]. Aimee Kelly and Pat Nolan do the travelling and bandaging with horses, while Craig Casey and Keith Cogley are important, senior members of the team here. I don’t want to forget anyone! As a boss, I think I am easy-going in ways too, I don’t get too excited if things go wrong, I am fairly level-headed.”

Though Bowe owns most of the horses in the yard outright, there are plenty of fruitful partnerships with prominent owners.

On my flying visit there, I met Benjamin Hill, of Monksgrange Stud and a member of the family which will be forever associated with Dawn Run. He relates the story of the sale of a Getaway filly (Royal Response) he owned with Colin for £290,000 at the Aintree sale last April to the bid of Nicky Henderson. Not bad for a filly that cost only €29,000 at the Goffs Arkle Sale the year before. That is just one example of what an association with Bowe can do.

Indeed, Bowe has a particularly good record with fillies, something he attributes to his straightforward set-up and the way he trains.

Good humour

“Even when I was training more for the track, I had some blacktype mares like Askanna. I think mares don’t get as bored with this routine as they can do in other setups. They are not doing big mileage, the gallop is 5f, so they are doing 10 furlongs a day; it is interval training and it is not monotonous, keeps them in good humour. I actually love training fillies.”

With the new autumn point season getting going in earnest, the Bowe winning machine has started to crank up too and has notched scores at Island and Tattersalls points last week.

However, he still feels that he is probably a little bit behind with the young horses.

“Because I have a good few older ones left over from last season and I own a lot of them myself, I have to try move them along to make way for the three-year-olds coming on, so we are a bit behind.

High risk

“Horses at the premier store sales this year were crazy dear, you wouldn’t have brought home many horses for a lot of money, my average spent on each horse was 50-60 grand, which is high risk.

“We do all the breaking and early work with the three-year-olds here, mainly because I need work to keep the staff here, if I don’t have them in the summer, I won’t have them in winter. I have a good team of lads and want to keep them.”

“Basically, I like to keep training simple and have trained over 500 winners like that, so it obviously works. I get horses fit enough here to do their job without being too hard on them and they train on for other people, they are supposed to, that’s my job. It is a fine line. When I started, I didn’t have a lot of land to work with, so I knew that I had to make it work with what I had.”

He has certainly done that.

What Colin Bowe has achieved from basic beginnings is nothing short of remarkable and he continues to be an inspiration to others.