Susan Finnerty

DOUGIE Douglas has hit the headlines again this week when it was revealed that the millionaire horse’s new rider is US team member Katie Dinan. Although without a twist of fate, it could have been his grandam Light Clover that was sold stateside.

Had this happened Limerick farmer-breeder John O’Brien would not now complete this year’s line-up of six eventing breeders, who have each contributed to the Irish Sport Horse (ISH) studbook retaining its World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) title this year.

Not only did O’Brien breed Nicola Wilson’s European silver medalist horse One Two Many – the sixth horse in the victorious ISH team in this year’s rankings – but in a remarkable WBFSH double, Dougie Douglas was also bred on his Askeaton farm.

Dougie Douglas, sold for €1.4 million at the Goresbridge Supreme Sale of Showjumpers last month, is also one of the top six ISH showjumpers in the 2015 rankings. This completes a unique double for his breeder, who must surely make WBFSH history as one of the few to have produced studbook leading lights in separate categories in the same year.

One Two Many and Dougie Douglas are out of the half-sisters Cul Na Breathar and Neils Girl, both also bred by John. Light Clover, the broodmare pair’s dam, has since proved a lucky buy but becoming the grandam of a pair of future WBFSH performers wasn’t her original role.

“We were looking for a family horse and came by her. She was supposed to have gone to America but the sale fell through for some reason,” says John, recalling how he heard about “a little Clover Hill mare for sale”. Having bought her for IR£1,650, Light Clover soon proved her worth and it appears One Two Many has inherited her fifth leg.

“My daughter Maureen used to hunt her, she was absolutely dynamite cross-country. She was a woman’s horse, any woman could walk into the field and catch that mare.”

LUCKY LEGACY

Foaled in 1983, she later bred eight foals for the O’Brien family after John inherited “a piece of land, so I got back into horse breeding.” These included Cul Na Breathar, by the traditionally-bred Colin Diamond, in 1998 and three years later, Neils Girl, by the Cavalier Royale son, High Roller. Light Clover died the day after producing her last foal Chacoa’s Clover in 1994 and she has since produced three foals by O.B.O.S Quality for John.

Both Chacoa and O.B.O.S Quality stand at the Kennedy Equine Centre’s Adare base, “just 10 miles away” from John, who runs a dairy and mixed farming enterprise. Neither the Holsteiner sire Chacoa or the KWPN sire Ard VDL Douglas were fully approved when he selected them for Cul Na Breathar and Neils Girl – was their classification an issue?

“Not a bit. Chacoa is an absolutely smashing horse. I used Douglas because he was by Darco and a very good horse himself. As he [Ard VDL Douglas] was a strongish type, he suited Neils Girl, she did nothing herself [performance-wise] and she’s a quality little mare, pure blood, with all the attributes of a thoroughbred.” says John who also relies on “a well-known local horseman for advice. I wouldn’t make a move without consulting him.”

He added: “If they come good, they come good, I’m under no illusions about horse breeding! Breeding is a hobby. You have four years down the road and you have to see what comes then. I just do my best to breed a saleable horse, that’s my aim.”

He sold One Two Many as a three-year-old, with the horse, ranked 30th in this year’s WBFSH individual rankings, later passing through Vere Phillips and Bill Levett’s yards.

Yorkshire rider Nicola Wilson, best known for her partnership with the charismatic Opposition Buzz, then took over and the pair’s excellent form this year was rewarded with a call-up for the British team at the European eventing championships at Blair Castle where they won team silver.

While there are none of the late Cul Na Breathar’s offspring left in Askeaton, John is still breeding from Neils Girl who has produced several more foals since by Ard VDL Douglas.

“I’m in the process of hanging on to one of her fillies and Graham Smith gave me back a daughter of Neils Girl too,” says John. He stays in regular contact with Smith and his partner Holly Gillott, who successfully competed Dougie Douglas before his historic sale to Dinan.

“I’m very happy for Holly, Nicola and the new owner in Florida, I hope the horses go well for them and I wish them all the best of luck,” adds the breeder, whose Limerick-bred duo notched up a WBFSH double and sales history in the same year.

2015 RESULTS

ONE TWO MANY



THE MAGNIFICENT SIX



MAGIC NUMBER