GORTNAMONA Stud is in Schull, west Cork, and has been in the O’Donovan name since my father Jim received it from his uncle John Leahy. I have some great memories of himself and his brother Dan.

There has always been horses about. My first memory was a Gortlee mare he had and she was the perfect model of an Irish Draught and a great mover, until she came towards you! She was bred to Seven Bells when he stood down in Waterford with Declan Fitzgerald in Kinsalebeg before the horse came to John McCarthy in West Cork.

The resulting foal was Gortnamona, who jumped with Robert Splaine to Grade B and sold to Libya through Dermot Forde.

I suppose from there on, I always had an interest and started breaking in and buying a few horses.

1. “It takes a team” – who’s on yours?

We’re just a small, rural family farm set-up, milking 25-30 cows, half being pedigree Shorthorn and run a handful of sucklers and drystock. There’s myself and Linda, and we have Sean, who is in Tasmania, and Siobhan who is studying Agricultural Science in Waterford; they both have a good interest. Then there’s my brother Danny, who calls himself the farm manager but while he mightn’t admit it, is a keen horse supporter!

Bobby Cleary gives me a hand with the coverings and we’re blessed here with all our neighbours. Everyone helps each other in busy times and it should never be forgotten, so thanks and best wishes to everyone this Christmas and New Year.

2. Cork was once renowned as a county for stallions. Why did you decide to stand stallions?

The breeding game got tough around here in the early 2000s and we had to travel long distances to stallions. After the passing of Jimmy Wolfe in 2005, his son Billy needed a hand when covering mares with Abdullah. Abdullah died in 2006 and from there on, it was clear that stallion owners were getting thin on the ground and we saw the need for one in our area.

The Wolfe family at Stouke Stud had some great horses through the years like Tynwald and more notably, Edmund Burke. Hopefully, we’ll have one of those greats too.

The demise of fresh blood in West Cork, added with rising costs, led to us to start looking out for a stallion. We were always adamant about a thoroughbred but the opportunity became available to stand Rockrimmon Silver Diamond, when Pat McCarthy from Meelin Stud approached us about the horse’s availability and how the Irish Draught breeder in West Cork needed a variety and change of blood.

Following on from ‘Diamond’, we saw a need for a thoroughbred next and when Sean went to college in Kildalton, he rang (following a tip-off from John Watson), saying: “I’ve a thoroughbred coming. He’s not what we wanted, but I think he’s what we need.”

He [Craigsteel] surprised us a lot. Everyone of them had a great walk, very athletic but some lacked a bit of scope. After Craigsteel died around Christmas 2017, we got Fruits Of Love. A week later, Simply Ned (by Fruits Of Love) won the Grade 1 Paddy Power in Leopardstown, beating Min. He won the same race again the following Christmas. Age was against Fruits Of Love so after years of wanting Darsi, we contacted Paddy Kinsella and bought him.

3. Winning the Croker Cup with Darsi (2019) – a matter of pride and/or increased support from breeders?

Darsi winning the Croker was no doubt a very special moment and will take a little replacing.

Look, to have a horse good enough to even go to Dublin is nice and it was brilliant to see such outstanding new thoroughbred sires, each and every one of them a credit to their owners and handlers.

I hope it will continue on, it’s a very special class and a very important way of advertising the thoroughbred stallion who can often get a little lost until too late. He covered the exact same book as the previous year, so we were very happy considering all that’s gone on this year!

4. As breeders too, what do you aim to breed?

We aim to breed a good, sound, traditionally bred, three-quarter bred with good conformation. It never always works and we know that well, but there’s always a market for them, even as leisure horses or hunters. A good looking horse with a walk and temperament will always sell. These old fashioned, three-quarter-bred types are a very scarce commodity nowadays and it’s very sad.

It takes a team: Sean and Siobhan O'Donovan with their parents Linda and Jimmy, plus Darsi, at Dublin \ Susan Finnerty

5. Favourite broodmare, past or present?

That’s a hard one but it’d be a toss of a coin between Jim Bourke’s mare Miss Golden (Golden Years), or a good friend of ours John Hickey had a Bassompierre mare Queen of Coronea, who was almost unfaultable too! It’s a tough one but Hickey’s mare was as an outstanding mare as you’d see.

6. Favourite stallion/mareline?

Favourite stallion ... unquestionably biased, but Edmund Burke. In 1998, there were 18 yearlings in Dunmanway show and 12 were by him! Smashing lookers and movers and performed consistently to the highest of levels from all types of mares but his standout would be Supreme Rock.

I suppose I couldn’t go past Derry Rothwell’s mare Cailin Deas, who was Mister Lord x Bassompierre x Awkward Brief x Oxonian and bred by the Faheys in Clonakilty. She’s as good a representation of an outstanding broodmare as you’d find, not only in looks but in what she bred too.

It was already a performance family with Big Ed (Edmund Burke) being a half-brother and just look what she has left, from eventers to show horses and her legacy will live on for a long time yet.

7. What do you think are the greatest challenges facing sport horse breeders?

X-rays. There’s no doubting that the added costs associated with getting your horse X-rayed doesn’t justify its return. Things have gone a way too far. And there can be plenty of immoral behaviour surrounding such deals!

The demise of our strong, traditional damlines is a major concern for me and what we’ve left, we need to protect. With all the technology and embryos nowadays, you’d like to see a swing back to traditional, just to hold them because when they’re gone, they’re gone.

8. You’ve won the Euromillions jackpot. Would you buy a replacement stallion?

Of course! Sure what good is all that money if you don’t have health and happiness? If having a new stallion makes you happy, it becomes very cheap. Your health is your wealth.

9. 10 years’ time, what changes do you think will have taken place by 2030 for breeders?

I’m very, very optimistic I’d have to say looking forward over the next 10 years.

It’s so refreshing to go to a local show in these past few years and see all the younger generations coming through, sharing the thrills and spills whilst learning from some of the masters! It might often skip a generation and it can go in cycles.

It’s humbling to see and be it that they come through the pony ranks or showing for their relations, they’ve a good interest in the breeding side of things too. Great credit is due to the young handlers’ classes like at Dunmanway Show and the HSI finals. West Cork might be just on a comeback, please God.

10. Does Horse Sport Ireland do enough for breeders?

HSI, credit where credit is due, has turned inside out and with the support from government is distributing wisely by helping everyone, from the breeder to producer. Two very good new schemes are the foals with over 70% TB blood registration and the other is the grant for breaking in colts or fillies.

Everything helps and the money always trickles down. So major thanks to them, not from me but local diehard breeders that have been so loyal to both us as stallion owners and to the industry. It’s brilliant to see them get something in return and to make it affordable. Roll on 2021!