FOR a man that describes horses as ‘just a hobby’, Baden Powell has owned and bred a lot of successful horses that have gone on compete at the highest level in both show jumping and eventing.

Powell balances breeding horses with his job as a beef producer and Chairman of the North Tipperary branch of the IFA. “My father was the one that started it all really,” he told The Irish Field.

“Back in his own time he was the one in the family who looked after the horses. In those days, they were working horses and then, when it transferred away and people began using machinery, he began crossing them with the thoroughbred.

“He was good friends with Philip Heenan (owner of stallions Clover Hill and Ballinvella). So there’s a link there between what I’m breeding now and what I inherited. Dad was probably one of the first to breed Clover Hill mares.

“When I was young, there were always two mares here. We would have shown in a few mare and foal classes, things like that. Mostly they were sold as foals and you might hear about one or two of them doing well; there wasn’t the same amount of traceability back then.

“Dad had his own success with jumpers. He sold an unbroken four-year-old to Neil O’Malley for his son Eoin. He was a young rider well taught. They lived in Pallas Green and, when Eoin gave up the riding, they sold the mare to the Army Equitation School. She went on to have great success under Comdt. Gerry Mullins. She ended up with the name Limerick. She was a small dark bay mare by Clover Hill.

“When I was young, I rode very little and poorly! I had a pony but did nothing serious, only hacking around the farm. My glory day was about 15 years ago when I was following the hunt with the huntsman’s lead horse. I got a couple of days of that. I didn’t have the riding skills but I had great fun.”

Growing interest

Powell then started to look at how horses were bred and it has led him to where he is today. “When I was 17 or 18, I began to take a bit more of an interest in how the horses were bred and the shows were run. I used to love going to the Dublin Horse Show, watching classes and following the breeding.

“I’m based in my home place here in North Tipperary, near Nenagh. Traditionally, back in the day you would put an advert in the Farmers Journal at the back end of the year ‘Foal for sale’ and people would come to the yard and buy them. After a while, people knew who we were and where we were, and would come looking for them.

“When Clover Hill was no more, I decided to give Cruising a go, but had little joy so I began looking elsewhere. I would have loved to get that Cruising x Clover Hill cross, but it wasn’t to be.

“I liked the look of the stallion Jacomar (Ramiro Z - Voila x Lucky Boy xx). That was the start of what I call the ‘Jack line’. That was how we got Curraghraigue Jack take Flight (Jacomar x Errigal Flight), who went on to great National Grand Prix success under Liam O’Meara.

“One year at the Dublin Show, I was chatting to a friend who had three racehorses in training. He told me about the enjoyment he got from that and how he thought of them as assets. I was on my way to watch the Mo Chroí four-year-old class in Simmonscourt at the time and thought ‘maybe I’ll hold on to the next foal I think is any good’ and that’s how the ownership side of it all started really.”

Hooked

“Initially, in 2016 I went to Maura Counihan, as she had had success on one of ours we had sold. But her father told me she was away training in the UK. He recommended Martin Dean. He said he was a good horseman.

“I decided to send the horse Curraghraigue OBOS Flight to him. He broke him and Katie MacDonnell went on to win the first of the Mo Chroí qualifiers on the Wednesday of the show that year. That was the drug that got me hooked. That horse went on to achieve international success with Britain’s Matt Sampson.

“It was so easy back then to pick a stallion, in my mind. It’s very different now; it’s all catalogues and frozen semen. Whatever looks glamorous in Lanaken becomes the fashion item. I’m not knocking it, it’s probably right. It’s just a long way from where I started.

“At the peak of it, I had seven or eight mares. I’ve slowed down a bit. Producing seven or eight foals a year was hard, but I used to love doing it. I was good at getting mares in foal, but I wasn’t great at handling them afterwards.

“That’s how I started with Gemma Phelan. She took a few foals I had started with and she put the finishing touches to them,” said Powell, who has great faith in his jockey.

“I went to Millstreet that year and watched her compete. Millstreet is a daunting place for any young horse. She was so calm and straight forward that even before she had jumped the first fence, I knew she was the girl I wanted to send my horses to. That was in 2018.

“I have three horses with Gemma Phelan. The nine-year-old Curraghgraigue Jack Bro (Orestus x Errigal Flight), who went to Lanaken and Valkensvaard as a seven-year-old. Unfortunately, Gemma broke her leg off him in Belgium which was awful. Micheal Duffy was able to stand in and ride him in Valkenswaard and he went really well.

“Gemma also has the seven-year-old gelding Curraghgraigue Tyson (Tyson x Obos Quality), who is still quite green but looks promising. He was slow to develop but has great character and presence.

“I seem to be doing it a little differently; taking time to let them progress by not worrying about getting results notched up to get something on the book. She also has the five-year-old Nike who is just starting out. He is by Vivant and is a half-brother to three 1.50m horses.”

No pressure

Powell likes to take it slowly with his horses, explaining: “I feel like I’m under less pressure than the people who have spent money on them and need a quick turnaround. They need to get shows in and results and maybe rush the horses to get them. This can fry their brain and that’s not good for anyone.

“I do enjoy watching them progress. I keep track of lots of the horses I have bred all over the world, which is nice. I covered no mare this year. Between County Chairman IFA and three boys in school and rugby etc, it’s hard to find time.

“I know the core mares that I want to hold onto. I’d like to get back to the numbers I was at a few years ago.

“I have great respect for people like Jason Higgins, who have boomed in the current industry. They do a fantastic job. It’s nice to see good riders doing a great job producing horses; like Francis Connors and James Kann Cruz. Fra brought him to a certain standard and then he was ready to go to the top.

“I’d love it if there was another champion Irish stallion, it seems to be going more towards foreign blood, which is a pity.”