GREG Le Gear, stud manager for Breen Equestrian at their Pook Bourne operation near Hickstead, is busy preparing for their open day on April 6th when he takes the time to talk to The Irish Field. The day, entry to which is free, begins with a masterclass from Shane Breen in which he will ride some of the stallions they are standing for 2026, as well as some of their progeny. “I find that this is a really useful format for breeders” says Greg, “because they can watch sires and progeny side by side and make comparisons, and because Shane is always very candid in his assessment of the horses.”
The day will continue with a question-and-answer session, a raffle and input from this year’s guest speaker, Robert Whitaker, before guests are invited on a tour of Pook Bourne Stud in the afternoon. “Robert is having a fantastic run at the highest level, and I look forward to hearing his perspective on the sport and our stock,” says Greg. The stud tour gives visitors a chance to assess the progeny of Breen Equestrian’s stallions as foals to three-year-olds. There will also be a talk from their stud vet.
This year, Breen Equestrian will stand a total of 20 stallions, eight of which will be available via fresh or chilled semen. Greg lists their elite stallions as Golden Hawk (Vigo D’Arsouilles x Chin Chin), whom he says “has served us very well time and time again,” along with Can Ya Makan (Canturo x Fier de Lui Z) and Cuick Star de Kervec (Quick Star x Diamant de Semilly). About the latter, he notes that progeny already include “rising stars winning two-star Grands Prix, and we’re looking forward to seeing their future success.”
Greg then lists their promising seven-year-olds as Opportunity (Grandorado TN x Kashmir Van Schuttershof), Z7 For T (For Pleasure x Voltaire) and Orville van de Watermolen (Equus Tame x Landsdowne). Five-year-old stallions include BE Bunny (Colmar x Namelus R), Vince JS (Comme Il Faut x Diamant De Semilly) and Heavy Metal Z (Hardrock Z x Cassini I).
The roster is completed by “our exciting four-year-old Dominator stallion Dom Twist,” who is out of Pamplona De Muze, herself by a clone of the legendary Gem Twist.
About this year’s breeding season, Greg says “It’s always exciting to welcome new foals but, if pressed, I guess I’m itching to see the foals by Vince JS and Heavy Metal Z, as we don’t have anything on the floor by them yet.”
Greg le Gear, who is a qualified AI technician, at work at Pook Bourne Stud \ Daisy Honeybunn
An eye on the future
Greg always has one eye on the future, and as soon as a foal hits the floor the team at Breen Equestrian are assessing their potential. “From day one you get a sense of the foals,” notes Greg. “You look at their presence, how they move, the way they are put together and their attitude.” The Pook Bourne young stock are first put over a fence when they are two years old. “As a rule, we tend to give the two-year-olds a small loose jump over a hollow, plastic pole, usually 50-60cm, just to watch their reactions and the shape they make. We have actually just done this recently with them, and we’ll do it once more before they are turned out for the summer at grass. If there is time in the autumn we might repeat the exercise once more.”
“As three-year-olds, we will do this with them again” Greg continues, “over larger fences of up to 1m or so. They’ll be lightly backed in groups of four to six, just to the point where they can have a short trot and a canter each way with basic steering. Then they return to the field again, until they are restarted as four-year-olds to do some jumping. We will often take a group of them around our farmland jumping small drains and logs too. Some may do a couple of shows and some may not, and a few will come in in mid-summer to be part of our auction in September and hopefully sold.” Future breeding decisions are made with feedback from the riders producing these horses in mind, and Greg says “The feedback from our team members is really important to us. It’s always interesting, and over the years you find a pattern, with some particular crosses you want to develop further, and some that you want to avoid.”
While Breen Equestrian have collaborated to run auctions with the likes of the Billy Stud and the London International Horse Show, Greg picks out the Breen Equestrian September auction at Hickstead as being “pretty unique. It’s run in the garden at Shane and Chloe’s home, it’s literally the most beautiful setting and a real highlight on the calendar. We auction foals to Grand Prix prospects, and bids come in online and from the floor with a live auctioneer. We put forward some of our own Pook Bourne Stud-bred horses, but we also allow some of the people who have used our stallions and our local partners to be involved. We have a very thorough selection process and the horses are examined by our vets. People are able to try them and watch them at shows and our showcases, which are full-on events with crowds, often under lights, so they can really get a sense of the horse’s attitude and ability to perform under pressure. The auction works well for clients in terms of both our buyers and our breeders.”
Greg le Gear, who is a qualified AI technician, at work at Pook Bourne Stud \ Daisy Honeybunn
The Breen Equestrian Open Day \ Equisportif
Dreams and goals
In 2022, The Irish Field’s Susan Finnerty quoted Shane Breen as saying “You dream about breeding a horse who can go on and make a name at the top level.” When asked if the team at Breen Equestrian have fulfilled this dream, Greg isn’t convinced. “I guess we have partly achieved this” he says. “BE Sky Hawk (Golden Hawk x Harlequin Du Carel) has jumped incredible rounds in the biggest five-star Grands Prix with Michael Duffy, and I believe he is a potential medal contender in the future. We were very proud of BE Golden Lynx’s (Golden Hawk x Lux Z) performance at Aachen last year in the Nations Cup, jumping clear in both rounds bar a time fault with Breen team rider Georgia Tame. Then Scarteen (Cardento x Chellano Z) is a consistent winner for Shane at five-star level.”
“We are aiming to breed a horse that will make us all happy. I am not breeding for myself, I’m breeding for everyone” is another quote from that 2022 interview with Shane, and when Greg is asked about the goals of the Pook Bourne programme and the condition of the market he clarifies that “our aim is to breed high level competition horses, and so it’s important for us to use the best mares and stallions we can. Even with the best endeavour, some do not turn out to be superstars, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be successful. They may only jump to a lower level, but there’s a huge market for good 1.30m and 1.40m horses. You need to have horses for every stage and level of rider, and we hope to breed the best we can.”
Objectivity is important
Clare native Greg’s own equestrian career began when he took a summer job with Sheila White when he was sixteen, and later, after university and some time spent travelling the world, he went to work for Denis Lynch in Germany. “I stayed with Denis for four years as his home rider, and I competed some of his young horses at national shows up to 1.40m level. After that, I came to the UK to work for Prince Torki at Old Lodge stables for two years, and then I started at Breen Equestrian as stable manager in 2014. In 2017, I transferred across from Hickstead to Pook Bourne Stud where I am today, and I also have my own small string of show jumpers whom I compete from novice to Grand Prix.
“We now have over 200 horses in the UK, between those in work and at the stud, and our stallion station has developed into one of the busiest and well-respected studs in the country.”
When asked what advice he would give other breeders, Greg’s answer is objectivity.
“You always have to be objective in your assessment of the horse in front of you, be it your favourite mare or even a stallion. It’s an easy trap to fall into when you have a soft spot for your horse. I always tell mare owners asking for advice to look at their mares and consider the things they’d like to improve on and the areas they’re particularly strong in to make an informed choice. Quite often breeders will send through videos of their mares and their breeding, and ask what choice I would make if the mare were mine. I’m always happy to help.”
Shane Breen and Scarteen in action \ Nour Al Masri