THERE can be no doubt that the education which young Irish horses receive is the reason they become brave and useful in so many aspects of the sport horse world.

As well as the horses, Irish riders are well regarded worldwide, but with increased exposure to both travel and information, are we in danger of losing just what makes the Irish horse great?

Earlier this week, Róisín Sheridanchatted to one of our most successful producers of Irish Draughts, Connemaras and young eventers, Diarmuid Ryan, to find out how he got to where he is today, and how he feels about the challenges facing the industry in 2026 and beyond.

“My parents don’t have much interest in horses, they might come to see me in Dublin once a year. That’s about it. I started in Canninstown Riding School with the late Jackie Doyle in Navan, Co Meath. Then I did a little stint with Ger Lyons working with thoroughbreds, for maybe two years when he was training National Hunt and Flat horses.

Hunting is a religion

“Following that, when I was about 14, I went working for Michael and Gary Quinn in Garristown. They were involved in dealing in all types of sport horses. I stayed with them all the way through college, when I studied veterinary medicine in UCD. They had hunters, breakers and all sorts. They used to keep a lot of liveries for the Ward Union. Hunting was like a religion in that part of the country, at that time anyway.

“I enjoyed the horses, but I was well advised to study something else, to make it pay, so I did veterinary. I was able to live at home for the first four years of college and still did the weekends with the Quinns, so that was ideal.

“I moved to Graiguenamanagh in Co Kilkenny when I qualified. I worked for five years as a mixed animal vet and I set up my own equine practice after that. There is such a huge population of horses down here. All the equine vets almost have too much to do. I’m on the border of Wexford and Carlow, in the corner of the county. It’s a massive area for horses.

“I rode my first winner in Dublin in the working hunter class on a horse belonging to Micheal Roche from Saggart in about 2011 or ‘12. At that time, I rented a yard and was breaking horses. We kind of progressed into showing when owners decided they wanted to hold onto horses for longer and had me ride them.

“A lot of the good horses we’ve had came about that way. We have about 40 boxes here now. Anna Murphy is doing her Leaving Cert now and she gives me a hand at the weekends. She keeps her horse here and was fourth in the young rider event class in Dublin last year. Deirdre Keogh, who is a school teacher, helps me as well. She is here most of the summer and comes to the shows with me.

“Of the 40, we’d have some from the veterinary side of things, who need to be injected or minded, like with cuts to look after. We might also have some broodmares to be scanned, or young stock to be castrated. We do a lot of handling too.

“For the local breeder, we could have a mare. We could scan her, cover her, mark and chip the foal. If it’s a colt, we could castrate him as a two-year-old, break him in as a three-year-old and compete him as a four-year-old. The veterinary goes hand in hand with producing them as well.

“I’m still hunting. Any time anyone tells me there is a good day, we travel to it. We had eight at the Ward Union charity ride in Johnny Drake’s last Saturday, and I was out with the Fingals over Christmas. The hunting is quite poor in Kilkenny, at least compared to what I was used to with the Ward Unions. I was quite spoiled I think from the start.

“I’m not that into the actual hunting side of it, I’m more into the jumping. I like to take youngsters out and put some mileage on them. Most of the eight we had out on Saturday are Draughts. We broke them and we want them to get a couple of days’ hunting before they go competing.

“You can’t replace the hunting for mileage. The group of eight of us went round together the other day, so it is that bit safer when you are trying to mind the horse a little, when you don’t know what their career will be.

https://foto.ifj.ie/fotoweb/archives/5006-Irish-Horse-World/Irish%20Horse%20World/2025/5YO_B_BTJustSpecial_DiarmuidRyan_3862.jpg.info#c=%2Ffotoweb%2Farchives%2F5006-Irish-Horse-World%2F%3Fq%3DDIARMUID%2520RYAN

Diarmuid Ryan and BT Just Special winning at the 2025 YES qualifier held at Orchard Lodge \ Tadhg Ryan

All about Dublin

“I mainly do the working hunter and performance classes. I don’t have much interest in the flat ridden classes.

“It’s gone quite restricted in Dublin. This year, we would probably be trying maybe 10 for the four and five-year-old classes. In the working hunter, you can compete as many as you want, but you can only go back in on one. The rules are getting tighter.

“You can only ride two Draughts in Dublin. We could have up to 15 four-year-old Draughts that could go to the show, but I can only ride two.

“In Balmoral, you can ride as many as you want in the qualifier and the best two will go through to the final, which is much better for us, because the decision is taken out of our hands.

“The Connemara class in the RDS has always been lucky for me. I think I won it three times and was second twice. It’s a tough class, 16 of them in it and just two clear this year. They have to jump up off the bank and jump the plank, it’s a difficult ask on a spooky Connemara that is looking at everything.

“I won in 2025 with Naomi Murphy’s Pem Boy, and in 2022 with Ann Benson’s Busy Bee. Last year, he almost beat me, I was leading for a good while and he was second last to go. There was a big cheer, and we started worrying then.

“There were only two clears in the class and he was the other one. We sold him the day after he won in 2022 and he was the only other clear round with his new rider Amelia Durkin. It’s nice to sell them and see them going well.

“Most of the horses are for sale, but there is the odd one that we hold on to. The eventer from the young horse class last year, Bridget Speirs’ BT Just Special, could have been sold for any amount of money last year, but she decided to keep him. She is going to see it out with him, which is nice.

“The most horses I’ve ever had in Dublin is 11. We do the three-year-olds’ loose jumping. The young eventers, working hunters, the Draughts, the Connemaras. What makes it really busy is having to qualify all of them. The owners are great, they’d nearly always be there to lend a hand. We have very proactive owners.

“We have a half-brother to BT Just Special for this year, who is coming four, and we think he is quite nice. We have a good few just broken now, so the dream is alive for the time being. The first qualifier is not until May and a lot can happen between then and now.

A problem for the industry

“I need more people to come and work with me. There is no one applying and I think it’s going to be a massive problem for the industry. The next generation seem to have no interest.

“There’s plenty who want to come and ride them when they are jumping around a course of fences, but none that want to work with them before that. We have any amount of people to ride them when they are up and running, but no one for the job before that.

“There is not much glory in riding a three-year-old around a cross-country course that first day, when they are humpy and bumpy and it’s lashing rain, but it has to be done. It’s the roots of the Irish horse; they are so adaptable and can do so many different things. That’s what makes them popular. I would be worried about the future.”