LOUGHMOGUE Miracle Star is an Irish Sport Horse gelding by O.B.O.S. Quality 004, bred in Co Wicklow by Robert Storey, bought by Martin Fenlon as a foal and sold to current owners, brothers Michael and Ado Moran, as an unbroken three-year-old.

Michael whipped-in for the Kildare Foxhounds up until last year and before that he whipped-in to the Killinick Harriers. He recently moved back to Co Wexford to establish his own breaking and training yard.

Ado is the huntsman of the Carlow Farmers pack.

“First and foremost, hunting is what we do – we mainly break and train hunters,” explained Michael, who was responsible for breaking and producing Loughmogue Miracle Star. “But sometimes, unexpectedly, we get one that has the ability to be competitive in a different discipline. We knew that this one would be worth the effort to bring on and produce as a prospective show jumper or eventer.

“By nature he is very quiet, but when he is at a show, he just lights up. He knows his job and is a very natural, careful jumper.”

The Moran brothers took their time with the young bay gelding, lightly campaigning him as a four-year-old before setting their sights on the 2017 Dublin Horse Show. A quality type with scope to burn, the brothers decided to enter the now five-year-old gelding in the working hunter horses class for five and six-year-olds.

Ridden by Michael, the bay produced the only clear jumping round in the class. Taking everything in his stride, the brave young horse, known affectionately as Chase, was completely unfazed by the atmosphere and cruised around the challenging track with ease.

The gelding received good scores for conformation and movement and was judged the overall winner of the class by judge Richard Mills. The Morans were always confident in the horse’s jumping ability and were thrilled that all their hard work had come to fruition.

However, they had given little thought to qualifying for an overall championship and would have been content to leave the show with a single red rosette. The Morans never envisaged what would happen next.

MIRACLE BIRTH

Michael and Chase entered the ring for the championship amongst the very strong line-up. To the brother’s delight, Loughmogue Miracle Star was announced as reserve champion. But nobody was more amazed and delighted than his breeder, Robert Storey, who was standing ringside.

The reason being that Loughmogue Miracle Star was a ‘red bag’ foal and was lucky to be alive at all.

Storey recounted the night he was born: “Ballinabarney Mandy, Loughmogue Miracle Star’s dam, was the only broodmare I had. She had successfully bred a number of foals before this one and I had a half share in this foal with my uncle Norman Storey. On the night the mare was due to foal, Norman called over to see her.

“She was outside and we were keeping a close eye on her. Around 11pm, the mare got down to foal and Norman quickly realised that there was something wrong, it was a red bag delivery.”

LIFE-THREATENING

In a red bag delivery, the placenta separates from the uterus before the foal is delivered and the unborn foal is no longer properly sustained by the mare’s circulation, a life-threatening situation. The foal must begin breathing on its own immediately, or it will suffocate.

“We acted quickly and it took both of us to pull the foal from the mare. We initially thought we hadn’t been quick enough to save him. I remember it was such a bright night, with the stars and the moon, we could see everything clearly.

“The vet arrived and both the mare and foal began to come around. The outlook still wasn’t good however and we stayed with them throughout the night. By the following morning, the foal had got a little bit of strength.

“So that’s how he got his name, Loughmogue is my prefix, Miracle because it was a miracle he survived and star because he was delivered under the stars. To see him now and what he has gone on to achieve is unbelievable, it’s an indescribable feeling.

“He is a credit to Mike and Ado. If they hadn’t seen something in him and taken him on, he wouldn’t be here.”