THE first day of spring marked a very special day in the calendar for sport horse breeder Jess Dorban Stallard and her husband Finn, with the exciting arrival of their first baby. “I was awake anyway checking on mares!” she chirped, recalling the days and weeks leading up to March 1st when little Adeline arrived safely into the world.

“My mother Barbara and I keep a close eye on the broodmares using CCTV cameras and my father, Dan, is always around if we need help foaling,” she added.

Bar the few days Jess was in hospital, she has been on constant watch over her broodmare herd at Danville House Farm outside Kilkenny city, waiting patiently for their new arrivals.

On February 18th, DHF Dakota delivered a super colt by Zapatero VDL. “We were eagerly awaiting his arrival as he was our first ‘third generation DHF horse’, his granddam being the one and only Queen 15. She is the matriarch, our first proper jumping mare,” Jess outlined. “She is by the 1.50m stallion Hagedoorn and came here in 2018. I competed her to 1.35m.”

Queen 15 suffered a near-career ending injury in 2019 and had to stop jumping for a time, during which they covered her with Pilothago TN (the last approved son of the legendary Pilot). “Her first foal was a filly, who we named DHF Dakota. We retained her for breeding.”

“All our broodmares have had some form of breaking and riding to manage them. We believe this is very important. We are hands-on from the beginning. It’s always in their best interests and it is why many of those we have sold have done so well.”

Danville House Farm's smashing colt by Zapatero out of Dakota, by Pilothago, born on February 18th. Zapatero stands at Drumhowan Stud in Co Monaghan \ Siobhan English

For Jess, breeding sport horses has become a passion and to now have a third generation carrying the DHF prefix is truly rewarding.

Her love for horses came at a young age thanks to her connections at nearby Warrington Equestrian Centre. “My late grandmother Kitty (Stallard) was a Moloney, and we rode over there as kids. We then got various ponies from them to keep here,” Jess said.

“I didn’t grow up with horses, but Dan did some eventing and show jumping,” Barbara added. “Our friend David Healy gave us two lovely thoroughbred mares, and we covered them with his Connemara stallion Currabawn Mark. It was nice to have horses here when we had tourists.”

In addition to the horses, Danville House operates a busy glamping and camping facility which is run by Dan Stallard and his son George (26). Jess’s husband Finn oversees another thriving business on the premises, Danville Doggy Hotel, a year-round boarding and daycare facility.

Both Jess (30) and her older sister Shani (32) were tremendous swimmers and represented Ireland. With swimming also being one of the phases of minimus in Pony Club, along with running and riding, they were always hugely competitive and successful.

Both won swimming scholarships to UCD, where Jess studied equine science. “I then did a research masters in equine physiology and breeding.” This knowledge has become such a useful tool when deciding on stallions each year.

“I went away from riding horses while at college but I always loved them so I was thrilled when we got the opportunity to purchase Queen 15 in 2018.”

The pair enjoyed some great days on the circuit, but sadly the mare got injured the following summer, so they sent her to stud. “After she produced her first foal we covered her again, but sadly it didn’t take. “We figured she would be better out competing again as she was sound, so we sent her showing with Shane McKenna. That was 2022 and they got to the Dublin Horse Show where they placed a creditable third in the large riding horse class, having been initially pulled in first.

“She looked amazing and he did a fantastic job with her, but she did have a scar from her old injury. She had fractured a pastern.”

“We then loaned her to our good friend Jacqueline Malone to go jumping again and they had great fun in amateurs.”

More broodmares

Within a short space of time Jess began to accumulate some very nice mares with jumping pedigrees.

Her mother Barbara takes up the story. “We were then looking for a few other broodmares, so I called my good friend Ronan Tynan. He showed us a lovely four-year-old chesnut who came home to us that very same day.”

Bred by Stephen Keane and by Harlequin du Carel, DHF Lift Off was from the same family as the 1.40m show jumpers Krafty Kate and Krafty Jack and showed huge potential from the outset.

With Jess in the saddle they had several wins and placings in the ISH Studbook Series and qualified for the RDS in 2020.

Jess competed her to 1.35m, after which she was purchased by Greg Broderick. She went on to achieve further success with Kevin Gallagher, with whom she won the HSI 1.50m Premier Grand Prix at Barnadown, and she also won a world ranking class with Niamh McEvoy. She was later sold to the UK where she competed with Amy Inglis last year.

Commandant Geoff Curran salutes the crowd after winning the Nortev Speed Championship on DHF Alliance at the 2025 Dublin Horse Show \ Siobhan English

“Ronan then called us another day and said he had a few other nice fillies. One of those was DHF Alliance who was only three at the time.”

Bred by Paul Douglas and purchased by Tynan as a foal, she boasts a super jumping pedigree being by Ard VDL Douglas. The dam Rosie Bee, by Lux Z, had also jumped to 1.35m level. Within a few months, the Stallards knew they had something really special on their hands.

“Along with several others, including Warrenstown Tomboy, I backed her and got her going,” Jess commented. “She could jump the sky and did really well in the HSI Series as a five-year-old.”

The best decision

As Jess was getting more involved in show jumping she took some lessons from Commandant Geoff Curran. It was this encounter that sent the mare on her incredible international career with the Army Equitation School.

“We could have sold her 10 times over, but we decided to keep her. When Geoff saw her, he was really impressed and asked if we would lease her. We were privileged that the Army wanted her. It was the best decision we ever made.”

Captain Charlene Keogh competed her as a six and seven-year-old and accumulated numerous placings, including fourth in the six-year-old championship at the RDS. Curran took over the ride in 2022, since which the mare has shown her prowess as a speed machine with multiple wins across Europe. She won the RDS Stakes at the 2024 Dublin Horse Show and last August returned to the Main Arena where they lifted the Nortev Speed Championship on the final day.

“The Army have been so good to us, and we are invited to the show for lunch every year. They keep in touch and update us with where she is going next.”

Now 11 and showing no signs of slowing down, DHF Alliance will one day make a superb breeding mare. “There is no rush though. We were given the option of taking embryos but to be honest we would prefer to wait until she is retired and back home.”

Naturally the DHF profile has been raised considerably by ‘Alliance’, but Jess Dorban Stallard has recently added several other well-bred mares to the equine team at Danville House Farm.

“I found another broodmare Marit Loma W (Zoe) on Facebook as a three-year-old. She is by Eldorado Van De Zeshoek and a half-sister to Katja Loma W who is jumping 1.50m with French rider Fanny Guerdat Skalli. They are from the same family as the 1.60m stallion Golddigger.

“She has had three foals for us. Her now four-year-old, DHF Valentina (Jorado) was sold at Monart last year when consigned by MBF Sport Horses. They bought her from us as a two-year-old. She has gone to Alexandra Schaerer in Switzerland.”

MBF Sport Horses sourced another two home-breds from Danville who went through the same sale. DHF Maximus (Castlefield Kingston) was purchased by British event rider Jasmine Holmes for €20,000, while DHF Romulus (Jorado) was sold to American event rider Andrea Baxter for €15,000.

Marit Loma W has also produced a three-year-old colt by Carrera VDL and a yearling filly by Cascadello I and is in foal to the 1.60m campaigner Darry Lou.

“We are very excited about the three-year-old colt who we named DHF Patriot. We showed him lightly last year and he is now just riding. For me he ticks all the boxes. He has a fabulous temperament, moves beautifully and his conformation is excellent.

“He makes it look so easy when jumping, but we decided to hold off on the inspections. He would have needed a lot of work and I didn’t want to rush him. It has been an aspiration of mine to stand a stallion to use on some of our own mares.”

Jess will bring him along slowly and aim him at the loose jumping qualifiers. She has had much success in these competitions in the past with such horses as the home-bred DHF Defiant (United Way).

“She won at Warrington as a four-year-old and was third at Emerald. She also qualified for the RDS. In 2024 we had a foal from her via embryo transfer by Ermitage Kalone. We named her DHF Theia. She was born with only one eye so we will probably keep her for breeding.”

DHF Defiant and the Dutch-bred mare Olivia Garden TN (Highway TN), whom Jess sourced through Brian Kearney, are both now being campaigned by Dylan Savage, who is based at the yard. “He has done a brilliant job with them and will be back out with them again this season. He has some of his own horses here too, so it works well for us.

“Libby (Olivia Garden TN) was placed fourth in the Ruby Final in Millstreet in 2024. She is closely related to the 1.60m horse Pino and we took an embryo from her last year. We will hopefully have a foal soon by Cascadello I.”

Dylan Savage also competed the now nine-year-old Mon Bijou. “I bought her as a four-year-old and Dylan got her to 1.40m. She was sold to the US last year but we took an embryo from her first to Call Me Number One. That foal is due soon. She was bred by the late Harm Westerd. I knew him very well and he sent us some nice mares over the years.”

Another acquisition

Always looking to strengthen the quality and depth of her breedingstock, Jess was thrilled to acquire Magician Hero Z in late 2024. She is the dam of the 13-year-old OBOS Quality 004 gelding, Kinmar Hero Z, who was produced here by Damien Griffin and is now jumping 1.60m in the US with Tanner Korotkin. She is also the dam of Kinmar Heathe Ridge Hero, winner of the Billy Stud Auction Star of the Future at Hickstead in 2024.

“She was a bit older when we got her and we wanted to get good fresh semen locally, so we covered her with Call Me Number One who stands with Michael Hutchinson at Ballyquirke Stud. Michael is a true horseman. I like to support locals and the quality of stallions coming to Ireland is on the rise.”

In February Jess also welcomed another new mare, Lola Caterina. “She also came through Brian Kearney - he knows what I like. By Cohinoor VDL out of a mare by Heartbreaker, she jumped to 1.30m and won at Hickstead as a five-year-old. She is a half-sister to Glock’s Zaranza who has multiple placings at 1.60m. She has five half-sisters who have also bred 1.50 performers.”

Another mare, Indira Van de Heffinck (Contact VD Heffinck), has a yearling filly by Zapatero VDL and is in foal to Rock n’Roll Ter Putte.

When looking at potential stallions, Jess spends hours doing research and all are carefully selected to suit the mares. “I will possibly cover her with United Way. He is tall, leggy and compact, while she is small and long. He is currently jumping 1.50m with Lucas Wenz of Germany and I like him a lot.”

Another stallion on her radar for 2026 is Fernando who, like Zapatero VDL, stands at Drumhowan Stud. “I also like Grand Slam VDL who stands at the VDL Stud. He has been on my list for years, but I haven’t gotten around to using him. I might cover Dakota with him this year. Other stallions I would consider are Balou du Reventon and Tobago Z.”

Bloodlines are very important to Jess, and she believes line breeding is doing no favours to the sport. “I have no interest in it. It’s basically in-breeding with a different name. Genetic diversity is how species survive. Why would sport horses be any different to in-breeding in birds for example.”

For Jess Dorban Stallard, it’s all about the love of the horse. “We love our horses and the mares are our ‘girls’. “We’ve had our ups and downs, and lost foals and that is hard, but in a very short space of time we’ve had a lot of success,” she concluded.