WHERE your county ranks is often a matter of pride. The GAA All-Ireland finals and this week’s Rose Of Tralee are two such examples, so how did the 32 counties fare when it came to totting up where this year’s Dublin Horse Show winners were bred?
A couple of surprises uncovered. For example, as expected, Galway - the county that has consistently topped Horse Sport Ireland’s foal production figures in recent years - polled well. As did other traditional strongholds, such as Kilkenny and Wexford.
In fact, Model County breeders scored the highest at this year’s Horse Show with nine Wexford-bred winners, across a range of classes. Plus, there were two more points over the championships bar, thanks to Assagart Hopeful (Castleforbes Lord Lancer x Big Sink Hope) and Cushinstown Special (Castlefields Conthargos x Cavalier Royale) - see the Dublin Champions by county results.
Wexford’s winners cropped up in a variety of classes, from the Furlong family’s winning filly foal Thistletown Victoria (Castlefield Kingston x Foxglen Cruise Control) to Martin Egan’s Castlefield Tycoon (Tyson x Lupicor), a winner with Jack Kent of one of the five-year-old classes in Simmonscourt.
Galway
Galway and Wicklow tie on eight wins apiece. Pat Finn’s unprecedented feat of breeding both winning mares - Becca Baby (O.B.O.S Quality 004 x Limmerick) and Castlegate Sweet Emotion (Mermus R x Loughehoe Guy) - in The Irish FieldBreeders’ Championships accounted for two of those eight (See Breeders’ 10 on p86).
Two more traditional farmer-breeders in that Oranmore-Claregalway-Turloughmore triangle are Connie Joyce and Tom Lenihan, the respective breeders of the side-saddle and Sportsman winners: Lackaghbeg Augustus Star (Emperor Augustus x Star Kingdom) and Redwood Quality Street (Lagans O.B.O.S Quality x Coevers Diamond Boy).
As expected, native breed class winners involved Tribesmen breeders, including Marcus and Emma Donnellan’s Irish Draught colt foal class winner and reserve champion: Suileen Gentleman (Tors Gentleman Farmer x Moylough Bouncer).
Two of the six ridden and performance Connemara class winners were bred in Galway; namely Pem Boy (Clifden Silver x Rathcoona Cove) and Glencarrig Douvan (Glencarrig Knight x Laerkens Cascade Dawn), by Michael Moran and Patrick Curran.
Wicklow
Wicklow breeders also produced the winning goods in a range of classes; Derry Rothwell and Daphne Tierney kept up their strike rate in the young horse classes, having bred the yearling filly Greenhall Caviar (Cavalier Land x Financial Reward) and three-year-old middle/heavyweight gelding winner Bloomfield Inheritance (Dignified van’t Zorgvliet x Financial Reward).
Other Garden County breeders of Dublin red ribbon horses are Arklow’s Michael Byrne, who bred both the working hunter winner Coolcorran Cool As A Breeze (Island Commander x Coolcorran Coold Diamond) and Empress Nala (Honour Cruise x Puissance) on the winning Greenhills team with Mia Browne in the Riding Club show jumping championship.
On a poignant note, Broomfield Banner (Silver Banner) that won the Pony Club intermediate combined training final with Niamh Tobin, was bred by Pam Kerr-Horan, who recently passed away.
Cork, once a bastion of household name stallions and RDS champions, had a quiet year in comparison to the top trio. The Rebel County saviour was Aidan and Lucinda Williamson’s KLF Robinhood (Jack The Robin x Ghareeb) and the three-year-old not only won his class, but the three-year-old, traditional and home-bred titles too.
His path to the Laidlaw overall young horse championship honours was blocked by Pat Finn’s Frenchfort Kildysart Lady (HC Chelis Z x Lux Z) and the Ger Grace-bred’s two titles - filly and supreme young horse champion - also boosted the Banner County’s tally.
“Cork. Definitely Cork!” Aidan said, when asked where his county allegiances lie. Although he and wife Lucinda’s address is now Malahide, as the couple work in Dublin, KLF Robinhood was foaled and is produced in the Williamson’s West Cork home place.
The Seamus Neville-bred Kontiki, a pure-bred Irish Draught, won the working hunter pony title and the third Cork-bred class winner was the young riders 1.10m class winner Abbey Lagans, bred by Richard Hurley.
“Cork. Definitely Cork!” Aidan and Lucinda Williamson with their multiple champion KLF Robinhood \ Susan Finnerty
Two-way trade
Several Dublin winners had no recorded breeding and/or breeder, while several were bred cross-channel, including the Racehorse to Riding Horse class winner A Plus Tard, bred at Cheveley Park Stud.
Trade works both ways across the Irish Sea and it was interesting to see a number of Irish-breds return home to new owners, such as Lackaghbeg Augustus Star and small hunter champion Ebony King.
Winning owner Kathryn Smiley also liked what she saw at Eastlands Stud in Scotland where she spotted her future Dublin 2025 ridden Connemara champion: Eastlands Jollybrae (Eastlands Harleybrae x Lockinge Frederick).
The UK is where the show pony market, based on crosses between small thoroughbreds, Arabian and native breeds, first developed post-WWII. Irish breeders excel in breeding working hunter ponies in particular and, while equitation classes are based on the rider, the sight of Clonross Giselle in the results is significant as a reminder of Denise Daly and her family’s contribution to breeding Irish ponies.
It was good to see a €100 bonus to the highest-placed Irish-bred pony in the show hunter and working hunter classes.
Louth’s Sharon Walsh claimed one such bonus for Pine View Remeo (starter stakes) and also bred one of the Connemara performance class winner Pine View Ice Cool (five to seven-year-old section). This meant she, Michael Byrne and Marion Hughes bred more than one Dublin class winner at this year’s Horse Show.
Ennisnag Stud’s Niall and Andrew Hughes \ Susan Finnerty
Competition
That Irish breeders came in for serious competition at Dublin by their European counterparts in international and age classes is uncontested. Several of the pony prize winners, including the Marcus Ehning-bred Poncho 29, by Ehning’s former top horse Plot Blue, were bred on the continent. In an open market, owners may buy where and what they prefer.
However, a number of Irish breeders produced Dublin 2025 winners and Kilkenny proved the dominant breeding county in the Simmonscourt and main arena show jumping results.
Marion Hughes bred HHS Fortune (Catoki x Ard VDL Douglas), a winner of two international classes for Mikey Pender, plus HHS Mercedes (Can Ya Makan x Couletto), that won the second of the seven/eight-year-olds international qualifiers.
The next black-and-amber winner is BP Othello (Ganesh Hero Z x Tygo), bred by her cousins Andrew and Niall Hughes at Ennisnag Stud, where ESI Rocky was also produced from.
The very consistent Mayfly Green Peter, a winner of a 138cm class and then the final, is another bred in Co Kilkenny, by Justin Barrett.
Other Dublin doubles were recorded in the young riders’ classes by Sydney PMD (Quidam Junior I x Cumano), bred by Patrick O’Dea, and Creevagh Special (Camiro de Haar Z x Harlequin du Carel), bred by the late Ronnie Hollinger.
Another BP-winner, contributing to Ballypatrick Stables’ impressive Dublin strike rate, is BP Royal Highness (Aganix du Seigneur x Caspar), bred in-house by Austin Broderick.
2025 over, breeders and owners are already planning for next year’s replay.
The late John Gilboy, from Boyle in Co. Roscommon, who bred Moylough Legacy and Moylough Supremacy, with Peter McHugh at the 2016 Dublin Horse Show \ Susan Finnerty