Susan Finnerty
LISSAVA Stud is an operation run by Anne Marie O’Gorman Owens, who is a Irish Horse Board Breeding Sub-board Director.
Set in south Tipperary’s Golden Vale and situated one mile outside the historic town of Cahir, Lissava is also home to 15 brood mares with top bloodlines sourced from abroad.
The stud specialises in breeding, producing and selling a range of young horses, competition horses, including show jumpers, eventers, potential American Hunter and equitation horses for the USA market and beyond.
Although Lissava’s senior statesman Iroko is now retired, Cobra, Jack Of Diamonds and Vancouver are proving highly commercial successors, with their progeny successful on both the show jumping and eventing circuits.
COBRA
1997. 172cms
IHB Classification: Approved.
Show jumping performance rating: one-star
Show jumping progeny rating: two-star
Now fully approved in the IHB studbook, this is another stallion with an excellent strike rate from initial smaller books of mares.
Last year he had four progeny qualify for Dublin including Ita McDermott’s Emoe Barney Crumble, (fifth in the four-year-old final), Cobra Khan and Grovine Class Act, plus Jordan Coyle’s Blurred Lines, fifth in one of the five-year-old classes.
Other show jumping progeny include Cheetah Z, Condor Z and Lissava’s homebred American export Cobana LVS Z. His earlier international offspring include Austrian rider Gerfried Puck’s Wibo B and Spy Coast Farm’s Beluga, competing on the Florida circuit.
Cobra has also proven to be a commercial choice, with Moycullen Falcon sold for €35,000 at the Goresbridge Go For Gold sale. More eventing progeny include American export Zurich and British-based Postmaster, second in the Advanced class at Chatsworth International last year to Opposition Buzz.
Approved by multiple studbooks including Horse Sport Ireland, AES and Zangersheide studbooks, Cobra has already produced several stallion sons, including Allegro, Cobrantus Z and Cobana LVS Z.
Amongst his book of mares was Loughview Diamond Lucy, dam of Dermot Lennon’s recent winner Loughview Lou Lou.
Cobra showed precocious ability by placing second in the five-year-old final at the WBFSH young horse championships at Lanaken and then going on to win the six-year-old title there the following year.
Line-bred to the renowned Cor De La Bryere, Cobra is one of the relatively rare sons of Carthago Z available to breeders. He is also a half-brother to Versace, the 2007 French five-year-old champion and a three-parts brother to Zwolle Stallion Show winner Eurocommerce Naples.
JACK OF DIAMONDS
2002 167cms
Classification: IHB Approved
Another commercial stallion, Jack Of Diamonds’ progeny have really started to make their mark in the show jumping and eventing worlds with the Swedish-bred grey producing a number of winners last year.
His best-known eventing performer is Margaret Kinsella’s medal winner Rioghan Rua, who earned her owner-breeder a Horse Sport Ireland breeders award last November.
Rioghan Rua and Cathal Daniels won back-to-back gold medals at the European junior championships at Jardy (2013) and Bishop Burton (2014) with the pair also adding an individual silver medal to their tally. The young combination were also the best of the Irish team in the seven-year-old division at the WBFSH young event horse world championships at Le Lion d’Angers last autumn.
More successful Jack Of Diamonds progeny on the home circuit include Bridget McGing’s two-star homebred Hyjak, while former FEHL prizewinner High Jack was sold to Canada at the 2012 Goresbridge Go For Gold sale.
His show jumping offspring included Noel Cawley’s Jackie Oh and James Kernan’s Aurora’s Diamond, who qualified for a second successive year for Dublin in 2014.
Jack Of Diamonds competed on the 1.30m circuit in his Swedish homeland. His international show jumping sire, Irco Mena, carries the famous Irco, Battleburn and Menelek lines.
Shamsong, also produced Jack of Diamonds’ full-brother, the Washington International Horse Show winner Nick Of Diamonds.
VANCOUVER
2002. 166cms
IHB classification: NA1
Vancouver is another to see his progeny making a name for their sire on the competition scene, chiefly through yet another homebred in LVS Vanessa. Having qualified twice for the Dublin young horse championships, where she placed third in the five-year-old final, she also competed at Lanaken before beginning her international career with Abdullah Modh Al Marri.
The homebred LVS Van Rock was a winner in six-year-old classes in the States last year and other early progeny number Dublin and Millstreet Discovery prizewinner Darrara Achilles, Finod Vancouver and Vancouvers Journey.
Vancouver’s progeny have started to make their mark in the eventing world with David Bogossian’s consistent Ballinamona Park Rebel and Darrara Achilles’ full-brothe Glenabbey Cotton Sox amongst his prizewinners..