WE Irish are the only people in the world who are actually nostalgic about the future.” US President Joe Biden’s quote about longing for better times ahead rings true too for the Traditional Irish Horse Association council members who have put in place a five-year breeding plan.

With an estimated 3,000 traditionally-bred mares left and TIH breeding, particularly in Irish-bred show jumping horses, now often appearing in third generations, the timing of the plan’s various schemes is opportune.

The aim of the €156,000 breeding schemes is to boost traditional breeding for the future and retain an element of ‘Irishness’ in the Irish Sport Horse.

At the time of writing, the Irish Sport Horse studbook was in seventh place in the Hippomundo show jumping rankings after the recent results of Pacino Amiro (Pacino x NC Amiro. Breeder: Simon Scott), Java’s Miss Jordan (Luidam x O.B.O.S Quality. Judy Murphy), Kilkenny (Cardento x Guidam. Ita Brennan) and Castlefield Vegas (Cassino x Lux Z. John Clarke).

Five-star event horse winners such as Ballaghmor Class (Courage II. Noel Hickey), Vanir Kamira (Creevagh Ferro x Dixi. Kate Jackson), Cooley Master Class (Ramiro B x Master Imp. John Hagan) and MGH Grafton Street (O.B.O.S Quality. Martin Collins) were effectively sidelined last year, however kept Irish Sport Horse breeding in the spotlight in pre-Covid rankings.

Brookfield Inocent (Inocent x Kings Servant. John Mulvey) was the redemption horse of last year’s results with his second place at Pau, the only five-star event to run in 2020.

High flyers

Great results, however for traditional Irish fans, the TIH factor now often appears in the damline.

When Horse Sport Ireland’s Eventing High Performance Director Sally Corscadden announced her Tokyo 2020 longlist in January, there was one traditional-bred listed: Imperial Sky (Puissance x Horos. Carolyn Lanigan-O’Keeffe).

I asked TIHA vice-chairman and international commentator Chris Ryan about other traditional-bred high flyers on the current scene. “Brookpark Vikenti (Master Imp x Ballysimon), bred by Tristan Kingston is a TIH Irish Sport Horse. He won Chatsworth four-star and was second at Blenheim four-star in 2019 and could be Tokyo-bound.

“As is Monarts Masterpiece (Master Imp x Crosstown Dancer), bred by Wilfred Atkinson,” he said, listing two other Olympic possibles for Japan and Germany.

“You mentioned Imperial Sky and it was good to see his own brother Hollybrook High In The Sky win the 1.15 yesterday at Hillcrest. Clip Clop (Crosstown Dancer x Wolverlife), with Joe Meyer, has some good placings at four-star and was bred by Sandra Byrne. Monbeg Medlar (Emperor Augustus x Clover Hill) looked good winning the Tweseldown OI at the weekend with Harry Meade on their dressage score of 24.3.”

“The horses we can’t claim, because of partial pedigree, is a long list unfortunately: Ivar Gooden (Young Convinced x Coevers Diamond Boy. Pat Coffey), Away Cruising (Cruise On x Able Albert. Eamon O’Flaherty), Ardagh Highlight (Puissance x Kings Servant. Teresa Walsh) etc,” added Chris about the no-gap criteria for traditional-breds.

Another current dilemma for traditional breeders is choosing stallions. There was no proven thoroughbred heir apparent to the household names of Master Imp and Cult Hero. Add in a dwindling number of approved TIH sport horse stallions (just 18 are listed in HSI’s 2020 stallion book), a reliance on the commercial Clover Hill, Cruising and King of Diamonds bloodlines and no suitable additions to either the thoroughbred or TIH stallion ranks at recent inspections.

Then there was the recent loss of Darsi, the thoroughbred Ted Walshe described as the horse he’d like to ride down to a fence.

It all creates extra impetus for the TIHA and breeders to focus on increasing the number of traditional-bred mares, quality progeny and the next generation of suitable stallions.

Promotion and patience will be vital in retaining the traditional element of the Irish Sport Horse. The TIHA breeding plan, with just the right amount of nostalgia, is a step in the right direction for the future of the traditional-bred.

Traditional Irish Horse Association dynamos - Hugh Leonard (left) and Chris Ryan at Dublin Horse Show \ Susan Finnerty

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

GALWAY breeder Kevin Noone is the TIHA council member with responsibility for implementing its breeding programme. For him, the focus of its five-year strategic plan is on improving the quality and quantity of the mare herd, or as he calls it the ‘seed corn’ of sport horse breeding.

1. How long has the Breeding Plan been in the pipeline? Covid-19 played havoc with 2020 plans but all systems go this year?

The High Performance Mare scheme ran in 2018 and 2019 and the colt scheme in 2018.

During 2020, we looked at it again and made a few changes to improve it by having a minimum of 40% TB blood and payment on registering the foal. When we looked at it, we examined our breeding scheme in general and added other areas to it. We felt that we needed an avenue for conformationally correct mares with a good traditional pedigree to be encouraged and rewarded for breeding a TIH foal.

2. The total for the schemes (over five years) comes in at €156,000. Devenish Nutrition has come on board with funding for the High Performance Mare scheme. Where does the remainder of the funding come from?

We are in a position to fund the High Performance Mare, colt and the mare scheme that is starting in the Autumn. We are seeking funding for the embryo scheme.

3. In the current The Irish Field, HSI mention a specific TIHA mare grant in their Embryo Transfer scheme. Is this a separate scheme or tied in with the TIHA initiative? So, in other words, could a TIH mare owner ‘double up’ with both grants?

HSI has ringfenced a portion of their embryo scheme for the TIH herd and if we are in a position to fund our embryo scheme, it will be additional to the HSI scheme.

4. Some of the schemes are in their relative infancy/planning stages, such as the thoroughbred mare/embryo schemes, so the focus for now is on the High Performance Mare and Mare selections. Will the TIH Mare Selection scheme synchronise with HSI’s autumn mare inspections?

The schemes that we will be starting this year are the performance mare scheme,the colt scheme and the TIH mare scheme, that we will be dovetailing into the HSI selection process run in the autumn.

5. The generation timelag: Say, if a mare gets approved/embryo taken in 2021, it will take another 12-15 years to see the results on the international stage. If a filly foal is produced, then add on c. 3-5 years to that 12-15 years, before her first foals could potentially reach top level (e.g European and world championships, Olympics). So realistically, will it be 15-20 years before the results are known?

I don’t believe it will take 15/20 years to judge the success of the scheme. Admittedly it will to see them performing at the top level but in three years’ time, we will be able to judge the schemes by the youngstock produced and how they are rising to the top within the group of young horses in the industry.

A very important part of all the schemes is the databases that will be set up and following of the stock as they develop. It must not be a situation where the foals are put on the ground and forgotten about but that they are monitored all the way through, any assistance we can give is provided and any tweaks we find necessary for the schemes are carried out.

6. The $64,000 question – why should breeders opt for the ‘long game’ with traditional bloodlines?

It is gradually being recognised that the TIH mare has an important role in the production of our performance horses. This was borne out by Mary Molloy’s recent research where the TIH mare was prominent in the pedigree of the ISH top horses counted for in the WBFSH rankings.

Many of the people involved in the sharp end of the horse industry recognise the value and distinctness of the TIH/warmblood cross but, if we do not produce the TIH mare for the future, the top breeding lines will be gone and won’t be able to be got back.

TIHA Breeding Plan Schemes

The following schemes will be rolled out by the TIHA in 2021.

1. The TIH High Performance Mare scheme

2. The TIH Mare Selection scheme

3. The TIHA thoroughbred mare breeding scheme.

4. The TIH Embryo Transfer scheme

5. The TIH Colt Identification scheme.

Applications close next Monday (April 12th) for the High Performance mare scheme, backed by Devenish Nutrition. It is aimed at traditionally-bred performance mares and mares from performance families (two-star level and above in eventing and/or show jumping).

Suitable mares will qualify for a €300 premium when a TIH foal, with a minimum 40% thoroughbred blood, is registered with Horse Sport Ireland the following year.

The second scheme is designed to attract new and younger TIH mares and will be held in conjunction with HSI’s autumn mare inspections. According to the TIHA breeding plan, the purpose of this scheme is:

Regarding the thoroughbred mare breeding initiative, the TIHA are in the early stages of discussions with the Irish thoroughbred industry with a view to offering breeding placements for suitable, quality thoroughbred mares. Such mares will be covered by TIH stallions, to ensure a minimum of 50% TB blood in their progeny.

Another initiative in the pipeline involves working with owners who would consider donating an egg from their high performance mares for TIH breeding purposes.

The final scheme – the TIH colt identification scheme – has been championed by the TIHA chairman Hugh Leonard since the association’s foundation in 2012. The aim is to identify suitable colts and encourage their owners to retain them as prospective stallions to offset the dwindking numbers of traditionally-bred stallions.

For more information, see www.traditionalirishhorse.com or contact Kevin Noone at knuain@eircom.net or 087 616 7655.

What is a traditional Irish horse?

A TIH horse has the three building blocks of thoroughbred, Irish Draught and Connemara present in its pedigree. No unrecorded gaps are allowed in the first two generations of a TIH pedigree.

Horse Sport Ireland’s definition of a traditional-bred and the criteria required for a TIH suffix is as follows:

“From 2017, all TIH foals registered in the Irish Sport Horse Studbook will have ‘Traditional Irish Horse Category ISH (TIH)’ referenced on their passports.

Their TIH status will also be published on IHR Online (formerly CapallOir) where breeders now have the facility to filter search results for TIH horses, making them easier to identify.

In order to be eligible for this TIH Category, equines must meet the following definition of a Traditional Irish Horse (TIH):

• Be registered in the Main Section of the Irish Sport Horse Studbook

• Have only the following breeds recorded in their pedigree: Irish Sport Horse, Irish Draught, Thoroughbred, Connemara

• Have only the following breeds recorded in their pedigree: Irish Sport Horse, Irish Draught, Thoroughbred, Connemara Pony. Do not have any foreign ancestors recorded in their back pedigree

• Have no unknown ancestors in the first two generations

• All Irish Sport Horse ancestors from the second generation back with unknown/partial pedigree must have been born before 1982.”