THE three of us [Niamh Grimes, Samantha Fitzsimons and Maryclare Travers] met in Ballyteague Stables about 15 years ago, where we all had horses on livery. In 2014, we decided to buy a horse together and started the search.
Maryclare had fallen in love with a Crosstown Dancer mare who was in the Performance Irish Draught class at Dublin Horse Show and so we agreed to search for a filly or mare by the sire.
We eventually found a Crosstown Dancer filly advertised by her breeder Aiden Travers. April (Pagestown Harmony) was raw and in her winter woollies, but when she floated across the muddy field towards us, the decision was made.
April was two years old then and we started showing her the following year. We had never done any in-hand showing and we didn’t know a lot, but we were blessed to meet Jennifer Haverty on our first day out at the Irish Draught Horse Breeders’ Association (IDHBA) Wicklow Branch Show in Boswell. She gave us so much help, and she has become a firm friend.
We went to the IDHBA Laois Branch Show in Stradbally Hall later that summer, where April was youngstock champion. We joined the Laois branch then and have been involved ever since, serving on the committee and helping to run the annual show and one-day event.
Through April, we also met Liz Freeman and that was a pivotal point in this story. She introduced herself to us at Athlone Show, loved our mare and wanted to buy her.
April wasn’t for sale, but we became great friends with Liz from that day forward. She stood the stallion Lionwood Kinsales Lad and he sired two of April’s foals, one of which was Carrafarm Courage.
Before her breeding career, April had a fantastic career in the showring, winning the Mare of the Future title at the IDHBA National Show, and many other cups and sashes. She also competed under saddle with Niamh, winning the Balmoral Performance Irish Draught class as a four-year-old, qualified for the same class at Dublin and gained her Silver Merit for Dressage as a five-year-old.
She has had five foals for us, two Irish Draughts and three Traditional Irish Horses. I guess we will think about going back to an Irish Draught stallion with her this year!
1. Congratulations, you bred Carrafarm Courage, one of the Class 1 Irish Draught stallions at Cavan. Tell us more about him?
Carrafarm Courage (Dempsey) is a 15.2hh bay stallion with athletic movement, a super jump and a lovely attitude. He’s by Lionwood Kinsales Lad out of Pagestown Harmony (Crosstown Dancer). He was named after the great Irish singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey. Our other obsession, apart from horses, is live music and all our horses are called after songs. It’s not easy to reach a consensus on foal names each summer, but the debate is always good fun!
Courage came from one of our favourite songs by Villagers, another great Irish band who we have seen live many times. Carrafarm Courage was April’s third foal. That year, we had covered April again with Liz’s thoroughbred stallion Templar Spirit, but she was not in foal quite late in the season. We made a last-minute decision to use Lionwood Kinsales Lad again, which turned out to be the right one!
He was born in July, Liz foaled him and at three days old, she said he would be a stallion. We weren’t really set up to keep a colt, but said we would try it. Thankfully, his temperament has proved outstanding, making him easy to keep. When it came to producing him for the inspections, we thought long and hard about getting him professionally produced, but decided we would learn so much from doing it ourselves. It is a huge amount of work and all credit to anyone who does it.
Thankfully, it paid off for us and it meant the world to us to be able to present him ourselves in Cavan.
‘Dempsey,’ the future Class 1 stallion, as a foal \ Niamh Grimes
2. Proudest breeder moment?
It’s an obvious one, but seeing that sash go on Carrafarm Courage at Cavan was definitely the highlight of our breeding journey so far. To hear him getting such excellent marks and positive comments from the inspectors really meant a lot. It was also lovely to have so many Laois Branch members there to support us on the day too.
3. Prefixes - your thoughts?
100% essential. If you are proud of something, put your name to it!
4. Your Draught template?
Excellent conformation, movement and athleticism, while maintaining true Irish Draught characteristics.
5. 2026 covering sire sorted?
We’re really looking forward to breeding Carrafarm Courage to our two mares Carrafarm Light Years ISH (TIH) and A Sky Full of Stars (IDC1). We think he’ll be a great cross on these two very different mares and we’re very excited to see his first foals on the ground next year.
6. Your hope for the future of the Irish Draught breed?
That it continues to go from strength to strength, as it has done over the past 10 years. And also that breeders are financially rewarded for breeding and producing quality stock, allowing them to keep breeding.
7. It takes a team - who’s on yours?
Samantha’s husband Paddy has to get the first mention here. Paddy has learnt more about looking after a colt in the last four years than he ever wanted to know!
Liz Freeman is another central part of the team, she’s a skilled reproduction vet and her experience with producing stallions previously was invaluable to us.
Liam Lynskey was very generous with advice to us over the last few months, we are very grateful for that. Thanks also to Mike and Paul Murphy, who gave us great help with jumping preparation prior to inspection day.
We are lucky to have a very skilled team of professionals to call on; our excellent farrier Dave Gorey, our vet Jonathan Cawley from Anglesey Lodge, and physio Jenny Costello from Ballyvarney.
8. Breeding horses, would you do it all over again?
After the week we’ve had, absolutely! Just when you think the juggle is too much, you get days like this to pull you back in!
We’re really looking forward to breeding Carrafarm Courage to our two mares Carrafarm Light Years ISH (TIH) and A Sky Full of Stars (IDC1).
9. Greatest challenges facing breeders?
Rising costs across all areas is definitely a challenge, especially for Irish Draught and TIH breeders, who tend to be breeding on a smaller scale where every penny counts.
For Irish Draught breeders, it’s a challenge to keep true to the Breed Standard, while breeding commercially for what the market wants.
10. Would you like to see any changes to the Irish Draught Inspection process?
It was great to see Horse Sport Ireland conducting a users’ survey at last year’s inspections and to see the resulting changes this year, with guest inspectors coming from abroad.
We’d love to see more women on the inspectors’ panel. With so many women now breeding and producing Irish Draughts, it would be great to see that reflected at the inspections.
More information on how to become an inspector would also help breeders and producers understand the pathway and work towards it.