A MEETING with Belgian breeder Luc Henry through their mutual friend Dermott Lennon ignited Gerry Marron’s now thriving breeding programme.

The Monaghan man’s Kinmar Stud is making a name for itself on the national and international stage with home-bred horses jumping at the Dublin Horse Show and the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken in 2019.

In fact, Marron and Luc Henry had three home-breds at Dublin last year.

Athletix Hero Z finished second in the international seven and eight-year-old class under Dermott Lennon; the exciting stallion Ganesh Hero Z made it to the five-year-old final with Damien Griffin; and Kinmar Quality Hero was runner-up in the six-year-old final, also with Griffin, and went on to jump in the competitive six-year-old final in Lanaken.

Based near Corduff in Co Monaghan, Gerry followed in his father’s footsteps on the dairy farm, with 50 cows and a 40,000-gallon milk quota. He sold that in 2004 to concentrate on horses and breeding. But it wasn’t until later years that Kinmar Stud was officially founded and began to flourish.

“I always had the grá for horses, I always kept horses, and I was always breeding a mare or two, but I didn’t know what I was doing to be honest,” he told The Irish Field.

Marron has worked with former show jumping world champion Dermott Lennon for some 25 years and it was through Lennon he met Luc Henry of Hero Stud. “Luc wanted to raise horses in Ireland, he had heard about the natural environment here. He came over and just loved it, the natural way to rear horses,” Gerry said.

Luc has bred the 1.60m horses AD Rahmannshof’s Bogeno, Top Hero and Tonik Hero, among others.

“He started sending over recipient mares, about 10 mares a year, in foal to me. I foaled them down in Ireland and they were raised here until they were sold, as a yearling, two or three-year-old.

“He would come over about four times a year. We would jump them to assess them, take a video every time and see the progress. It was like that for two years and then we went into partnership, breeding everything together.”

That breeding partnership lasted nine years, and the pair have reaped the rewards.

“I would have saved a lot of time if I met Luc sooner and improved my breeding sooner,” said Gerry, whose original foundation mare was Hallo Beag (Hallo x Dangan King), from the damline of Kilbaha, ridden to huge success for the Irish Army by Captain John Ledingham.

Separate ways

In the last three years, while he still breeds a few horses with Luc, Gerry is standing on his own two feet, with the trusted help of his wife Mary and three sons, Eamon, Cillian and Diarmuid.

He is mainly breeding from mares that he bred in partnership with Luc, including the dam of Kinmar Quality Hero, the 2009 mare Magician Hero (ISH by Moujik De Sohan), who had a colt foal by home-bred Ganesh Hero Z in 2019.

Kinmar Quality Hero and Damien Griffin at the 2019 Dublin Horse Show \ Laurence Dunne Jumpinaction.net

Akyida Hero Z is another resident broodmare at Kinmar Stud. By Aganix du Seigneur, a firm favourite sire of Gerry’s, the mare’s oldest progeny is the four-year-old gelding Kinmar Candy Hero (by Sligo Candy Boy), who will be produced by Damien Griffin this season.

Another by Aganix du Seigneur is the eight-year-old Absolutely Kingmar Z. As well as being part of the breeding programme, she is an exciting prospect in the sport and is being produced by Dermott Lennon. “I bred her as a two-year-old and she has a very nice five-year-old by O-Piloth that Dermott is starting off now.”

With 45 horses in total, Gerry has about 10 competing in the sport at all times, and currently has five with Lennon and five with Damien Griffin in Galway.

“The partnership with Damien happened through Ganesh Hero Z,” says Gerry, who perks up when talking about the now six-year-old stallion who was sold last February but remained in Ireland for the 2019 breeding season and achieved his preliminary approval at the 2019 Horse Sport Ireland stallion inspections.

By Gemini, the clone of Gem Twist, Gerry believes he is the most special horse he has bred. “When Luc started with me 12 years ago, he said ‘one day you will breed an Olympic horse!’ I think that is Ganesh, he is probably an Olympic horse, he is very special.”

Gerry has used him on plenty of his own mares and currently has five yearlings and six two-year-olds by the stallion.

He also has another home-bred stallion that he is using on his own mares, the four-year-old For Kinmar Hero Z.

By For Pleasure, he is out of the Aganix-sired Alana Hero Z, who is jumping at 1.45m level under Belgium’s Melanie Gelin.

“He stood with Brendan McSorley in Fintona, Co Tyrone, last year and he got a very nice book of mares. He has 23 or 24 mares in foal, I covered four of my own mares to him.

“He is with Damien at the moment, and he has great praises for him. The plan was to try for the Dublin qualifiers but that is all up in the air at the moment, so we will see.”

Gerry relies on the help of his family, who all have a big interest in the business.

“Cillian gets the horses ready for the riders. He doesn’t back them but he does all the ground work. Damien and Dermott both report they are excellent and Dermott sends some of his here to get ready.”

Struggles and triumphs

His wife, Mary, is a teacher at Lisdoonan National School. “She is the breadwinner in the last number of years. I have changed my system from selling as foals and three-year-olds and started to keep them to go out and compete.

Ganesh Hero Z at the Dublin Horse Show ridden by Damien Griffin \ Evan Hughes Jumpinaction.net

“It has been a struggle,” he admits. “You can only sell when you have clients. I have a lot of horses competing at the minute, so I am hoping things will start happening.” And on the current lockdown of shows due to Covid-19, he added: “I am very worried to be honest. Horses need to get out to shows to be seen and get sold.”

Gerry and Mary were at The Irish Field’s Dublin Horse Show breeders’ breakfast last August when we discussed the topic of breeders making money. A survey showed just 28% of breeders were making a profit.

Does he feel breeders in Ireland can make money?

“It is absolutely a struggle, there is no doubt about it. People are getting big prices for foals and have been for a few years. But I don’t know if that is going to last.

“People are using very fancy stallions on not so nice mares; they go to the sales, have one good page and sell well, but when they come to a four and five-year-old, people might be disappointed. That is short sighted, you need to have it on both sides of the family.

“Ganesh is the only one that I have sold these few years and it was a drop in the ocean, but nice what I got for him at the time. Other than that, to be honest, no. I have gotten normal prices,” he said frankly.

They are however, all for sale, and he feels there are good days to come.

“Touch wood, I have nice horses. I was getting a good price for Kinmar Quality Hero, but I really like him and thought I would get more. There are bright days ahead, please God.”

Kinmar Stud is going places.