1. WEG eventing medals

Starting off with the first of the decade’s three World Equestrian Games in 2010 when Team GB’s gold medal team horse Imperial Cavalier (Sire: Cavalier Royale. Breeder: John Brennan) and New Zealand’s team bronze medallist Grass Valley (Legal Pressure. Brian Cogan) banked the first Irish-bred medals from Lexington.

Four years later in Normandy, High Kingdom (Master Imp. William Micklem) matched his London Olympics team silver medal and Boleybawn Ace (Harlequin du Carel. Ronan Rothwell) was on The Netherlands’ bronze medal side.

Then there was a remarkable result for Irish-breds at the last-as-we-knew-it WEG at Tryon. Quarrycrest Echo (Clover Echo. John Dooley) and Arctic Soul (Luso. Michael Whitty) provided 50% of the victorious British team’s horsepower and Ireland’s home-bred silver medallists – Ardagh Highlight (Puissance. Teresa Walsh), Rioghan Rua (Jack of Diamonds. Margaret Kinsella) and Stellor Rebound (VDL Ricochet. Rhona Barnwell) – added three more medals.

If you want to play the ‘Irish granny qualification for Irish football team’ game, a serious bid could be made for another in the form of the British-bred individual silver medal horse with that intriguingly named breeder Mr Chunky (Jumbo. Sue Trump).

2. Lanaken and Le Lion d’Angers

An excellent decade of results by Irish Sport Horse (ISH) across the age categories (five-, six- and seven-year-olds) at the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) young show jumping horses finals in Lanaken.

2010 saw NLS Coole Al Clover (Aldatus Z. Eamon Kenny) win the first gold medal, followed three years later by Arraghbeg Clover (Captain Clover. Agata Leonard).

Killossery Kaiden (Lux Z. Frank & Laura Glynn) struck gold three years later, then Columbcille Gypsy in 2017 (Toulon. Eamonn Murphy), Uppercourt Cappucino (Pacino. Paul O’Byrne) in 2018 and a 2019 double for Rockwell RC (Kannan. Ronan Byrne) and Cuffesgrange Cavadora (Z Wellie 72. Eamon Sheehan).

Ard Ginger Pop (in 2014. Luidam. Heather Dean-Wright); MHS Washington (2015. O.B.O.S Quality, Ita Brennan), Z Seven Caretina (2016. Coltaire Z. Marion Hughes), CSF Sir George (2018. Sir Shutterfly. Shane Connolly) and MSH Cardenta (2019. Cardento. Tom & Sinead Brennan) were Lanaken silver medallists.

Talks Cheap (Tinaranas Inspector. Ronnie Kelly) won the first ISH bronze medal in 2015, followed by Z Seven Canya Dance (2016. Canya Makan. Anne Hughes) and HHS Vancouver (2018. Indoctro. Marion Hughes).

Moving to Le Lion d’Angers, (where the WBFSH young eventing horse championships takes place), gold medals eluded Irish-breds this decade. However, seven silver medals, five bronze medals and four studbook titles (2010, 2015, 2017, 2018) were won across the six- and seven-year-old championships.

2010 saw the start of the silver medal run with Annie Clover (Newmarket Venture. James Bradley); then Fernhill Adventure (2013. Newmarket Venture. Mary Quinlivan), Direct Cassino (2017. Cassino. Mary McCarthy), Emerald Jonny (2018. Waldo Van Dungen. Donnacha Quinn), Capels Hollow Drift (2018. Shannondale Sarco. Jeanette Glynn),Cooley Moonshine (2019. Cobra. M.J Kavanagh) and this year’s silver medalist, Cooley Rosalent (Valent. J.W Rosbotham).

Kiltealy Brief (2011. Kiltealy Spring. Patrick Kavanagh), Cooley Dream (2014. Cruising. Frank Gordon), SRS Adventure (2016. Newmarket Venture. Billy Daly), Cooley Moonshine back in 2018 as a seven-year-old and Brookfield Benjamin Bounce (2019. Nazar. Stuart Collier) brought home bronze medals.

3. Five-star triumphs

Eleven Irish-breds won a five-star event (eventing’s new ‘Group 1’), this decade. None too surprisingly, no Irish-bred Adelaide winners; this year’s runner-up Brookfield Inocent (Inocent. John Mulvey) came closest at Pau and Fair Hill International’s inaugural five-star was another Covid-19-related cancellation this year.

Tankerstown (Diamond Clover. Mary Blundell) started the Luhmuehlen tally in 2010, followed up there three years later by Mr Cruise Control (Cruising. David McCann). It was a quieter decade for Irish-bred Badminton winners with the mares Paulank Brockagh (Touchdown. Paula Cullen) in 2014 and Vanir Kamira (Camiro de Haar Z. Kate Jackson. 2019) winning this ‘holy grail’.

Kentucky provided three wins in Bay My Hero (Cult Hero. Bryan Maguire. 2014) and back-to-back wins for Cooley Master Class (Ramiro B. John Hagan. 2018-2019) and Burghley proved the best hunting ground with Lenamore (Sea Crest. Helen Walsh. 2010), Ballaghmor Class (Courage II. Noel Hickey. 2017), Ringwood Sky Boy (Courage II. Myles Mahon. 2018) and MGH Grafton Street (O.B.O.S Quality. Martin Collins. 2019) all winning there.

4. Rankings crown

Three Irish Sport Horses won the WBFSH leading event horse title: High Kingdom’s full-brother Mandiba (Master Imp. William Micklem) in 2010; Mr Medicott (Cruising. Donal Geaney) in 2012, and Mighty Nice (Ard Ohio. William Kells) in 2016, when he doubled up as the United State Equestrian Federations’s Horse of the Year.

Although not recording its usual clean sweep in the WBFSH rankings, the ISH studbook still won seven eventing titles (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) and fared even better with a 100% strike rate in Hippomundo’s prize-money-based rankings.

Hippomundo highlights, since these rankings began in 2015, include five consecutive ISH studbook wins in eventing; a posthumous eventing breeder title in 2018 for Myle Mahon (Ringwood Sky Boy); Courage II (2018) and Camiro de Haar Z (2019) topping the eventing sires leaderboard and Vanir Kamira being Hippomundo’s top-earning event horse last year.

5. The year of Flexible

2012 – the year Flexible (Cruising. Catherine Doyle) won the World Cup show jumping final, placed sixth in the London Olympics and another USEF Horse of the Year Irish-bred. His results placed him sixth in the WBFSH horse rankings and propelled the ISH studbook to eighth place – the best Irish results in both categories this decade.

6. Olympic glory

The 2012 London Olympics saw High Kingdom and Imperial Cavalier add further British team silverware to their collection and Lenamore was on the Kiwi bronze medal team. Four years later, Paulank Brockagh helped win Australia’s team bronze medal at Rio with her individual fourth finish, one place behind bronze medallist Mighty Nice, a horse that maintained the Border Counties Olympic eventing medallists strike rate.

And there was another top-10 Irish-bred with Ireland’s Cooley Rorkes Drift (Courage II. William McHarrison) finishing ninth, another top result for his Burghley winner specialist sire.

7. Triple crown master

The WBFSH, British Eventing and USEF’S 2014 eventing sire rankings produced an unprecedented titles treble for Master Imp, the only sire with four eventing progeny at London where two – Master Crusoe (Phyllis & Michael Doyle, seventh) and High Kingdom (eighth) – recorded Olympic top-10 results.

8. Gone Global

MHS Going Global (Quidam Junior. Ita Brennan) captured Irish show jumping fans and the general public’s attention between his double clear on the victorious Aga Khan home team in 2015, Rio Olympics selection and lucrative sale afterwards to Athina Onassis. The stuff Irish breeders and riders dream of.

9. Millionaire mare

Irish show jumping breeding received another boost in 2018 through Suma’s Zorro (VDL Douglas. Susie Lanigan O’Keeffe & Marily Power), winner of the $3 million CP International Grand Prix at the Spruce Meadows Masters that autumn. The Tokyo Olympics-qualified mare finished the year as Hippomundo’s sixth-highest earner.

10. In hallowed company

Rounding off a decade of medals is that individual bronze won in Luhmuehlen at the 2019 European championships by Rioghan Rua, later voted Equiratings Horse of the Year.