IT is important to open what follows with some short health warnings. The first must be that 2021 has been a very difficult year for the sport of eventing. With doubts about will it or won’t it be happening, most horses started late. With many big events cancelled, there is little doubt that the results may not be as they might have been.

The second warning is that the season is not yet half way through; the Americans have had six months but the UK just three. All the figures used here are for the results for events up to the end of May this year.

The third warning must be that I have a passion for ‘Irishness’. It is the same passion that has made those who breed horses in Ireland so proud of their Irish horses. It is a justified pride when one remembers that it is the Irishness that has made Ireland the ‘go to’ place for horses of all sorts, for all jobs.

Change from the top down

Since the late 1980s, eventing started to change at the top level. The serious stamina element was taken out when they removed the ‘Roads and Tracks’ and the Steeplechase from what was then the four-star events. This put the dressage and show jumping sections right up the list of ‘must do well’. It let into the top tier those horses that would probably not have made it when very serious stamina had so much influence.

As the years went on, it became clear that the talents of the Warmblood could influence eventing in the same way it had done in, firstly dressage and then show jumping. Those on the continent had the facilities to hone these skills all winter.

Meanwhile in the UK and Ireland, horses were trained to gallop, jump, and find that elusive fifth leg out hunting which is such excellent training for cross country.

It became clear that the Warmblood influence improved the horses in two of the elements and as those sections became more important, so the course builders had to take more notice of how many finishers they could produce and, quite correctly, health and safety. To make a competition of the cross country, tracks became more a rider’s test of related distances, skinnies, and options for an easier route. However the horses still needed that fifth leg, temperament and stamina.

So the breeders quite understandably turned to the Warmblood sire for the first two elements but still had to find that special quality that would make the complete eventer. They turned once again to Ireland and the traditional Irish-bred mare – just ask those who breed and sell to the eventing market.

Sometimes the pure original Irish Draught, the Connemara and the Thoroughbred, but then it became clear that the cross of these three produced the ideal mare to cross with the Warmblood.

Crunching the numbers

As we move on to the numbers, one must remember they represent only CCI one- to four-star classes in the USA and the UK from January 1st to the last day of May 2021.

I have looked at those horses attaining a top-10 place (T10Ps), so a good few have got more than one but I have credited their parents for each one.

Harking back to the health warning, there are just 169 T10Ps. I have combined CCI one and two-star together and the CCI three-star with four-star, and we will see the difference, if any, between both the harder and less hard classes, and also between the USA and the UK.

In the total 169 T10Ps, 128 (75.7%) were sired by Warmbloods. Of the others, four had unknown sires, 24 were ISH and 13 were of Traditional Irish breeding (three Connemara ponies, one Irish Draught, six Thoroughbred and three Traditional Irish Horse).

If we split the USA and the UK, it seems the Americans prefer Warmblood sires as 74 of the 90 T10Ps (82.2%) were Warmblood. Nine were ISH, and seven were Traditional breeding. In the UK however the Warmbloods drop to 68.3%, the ‘Others’ (ISH and any that are not Warmblood or Traditional) stand at 24% and the Traditional remain the same at 7.6%.

We are talking small numbers and I have not done the figures to prove it but studying results week after week, I get the impression that the cross-country has less influence in the States. It is too early to judge, perhaps. The standout Warmblood sire is OBOS Quality 004 who has 13 T10Ps. One was out of a pure Warmblood, four were out of ISH mares by Warmblood sires but eight were out of traditionally bred mares, three were ID mares and five were pure TIH.

It’s time now to look at the dam sires in detail. If one splits CCI one and two-star and the three-star and four-star, the traditional breeds top the list in all sections both in the UK and the USA if you add both countries together – 52.4% in the lower section and 52.9% in the higher one.

In the USA, traditional dam sires are top with 48.3% in the higher grade and 56.7% in the lower. In the UK the stats are 58.7% in the higher and 48.5% in the lower. In every case, they are at least 16% above the next best breed type.

Looking at the dams, there is a slightly different story. Adding both countries together has the traditional breed losing out to the ISH in the higher grade but 14% ahead of them in the lower.

In the UK at both grades, the traditional is level with the ISH at the higher grade but is well clear in the lower grade. In the USA the traditional dams are ahead on 50% in there lower grade but well behind in the higher by some 28%. Are we perhaps seeing that cross-country influence again?

Of course the Irish breeder wants to breed winners, world champions, Olympians, or be in the ring at the RDS. It is clear from results worldwide that the ‘continental’ horse has swept all before it at both dressage and to a very great extent in show jumping.

However, where Ireland can compete and has done for as far back as records go, is in eventing and in the leisure horse industry. Many will chastise me for suggesting that Irish horses should be bred with any thought to the latter, but it is 80% of the whole non-thoroughbred market.

The unique selling point of the Traditional Irish horse is that it is, almost without exception, versatile. It has in its breeding the guarantee that it is what it says on the tin. Firstly, it must (with some exceptions) be born in Ireland and at the very least registered with Horse Sport Ireland in the Irish Sport Horse Stud Book. However the guarantee comes with the suffix of Traditional Irish Horse (TIH). This is the guarantee that it is of pure traditional breeding and will bring only traditional bloodlines and genes to the mating.

Many of the (ISH) mares could probably claim the same but with the very tight regulations in the studbook they do not qualify, leaving perhaps some doubt in the mind of the potential buyer. If Ireland is to keep its uniqueness in the breeding of sport horses, it would seem clear that the way to go is with the (TIH) mare and for those mares to return to traditional sires that have proved themselves to be so successful.

Not perhaps all the time but sufficient to breed a couple of TIH fillies for the future. If we do not do this, the TIH mare will become extinct and once gone, it would be a long road back to replace the work of generations of Irish breeders whose legacy is this unique selling point.

Breeding records

I looked at the breeding record of some of the TIH dams that have had T10Ps. Taking every dam in the three- and four-star section, of the 11 mares, just four have bred any TIH foals, nine males and seven females. These mares vary in age somewhat, one has had 13 foals, sadly none is TIH, however John Craig’s mare has had six fillies and three colts, all TIH by Boherdeal Clover (TIH).

So we can see that of the mares producing at the higher level, there is a downward trend from 11 to nine. At the lower level, I looked at every third mare plus two to make a comparison. These were all different mares as well and they have produced eight fillies and five colts, again the production of TIH fillies is reducing. Had it not been for John Craig with six and Janette Glynn with three, the numbers would have been seriously worse.

TIHA schemes

The Traditional Irish Horse Association (TIHA) has a great scheme to encourage the best mare to go to the best sires to restock the TIH breed (for it is a breed of its own, unique to Ireland).

Certainly within the thoroughbred industry, breeding from the best – in most cases – breeds the best. I believe that while this is a great start, it is essential that the TIH herd must be built up to much higher numbers, and quickly before bloodlines become overwhelmed by the ‘best to the best’ approach.

How many times have racing commentators raved about an animal winning a high-class race when its mother had done nothing or in fact never raced?

This happens because they come from a very large, but pure, pond. Any fisherman will tell you that you seldom catch big fish from a small pond; big fish are caught in big ponds.

Everyone knows that traditionally bred animals mature more slowly than the Warmblood cross, and we know that the majority breeders sell their stock as foals because it is a costly job to keep them until they mature.

It follows that it is in their interest to breed early maturing foals that will fetch more money. If we are to build the TIH herd to sustainable levels in time, it is important that it is worth the breeder’s while financially to breed his or her TIH mare to produce a TIH foal.

I believe that the Irish equestrian world, be that racing or sport horse, have great pride in a horse’s ‘Irishness’. I also believe there would be great support for a charity to be set up whereby the TIH foals were bought at a high price, kept to mature, be brought on at their correct speed and perhaps competed, before the fillies were bred from.

With the rise in prices, it would encourage even the best TIH mare to be bred back to traditional sires because, while many more would have wanted breed TIH in the past, current prices would make it viable.

Ireland has a pond of Irish-bred horses doing well in the eventing world but while they were bred in Ireland, are they really Irish? Is it true Irish blood in their veins? Can we be truly proud until the pond overflows with mares full of real Irish blood? We must not let the dam leak so we are left with no heritage.