JOHN Hyde must be one of the busiest equine veterinary surgeons in these islands so I was lucky to be able to catch up with him for The Irish Field. The last time we met was in Limerick’s Regional hospital where he was recovering from a fall taken during the 2019 renewal of the famed Athlacca Ride. He was a little the worse for wear having numerous broken ribs, punctured lung and other associated issues. Such injuries might end the hunting career of lesser men but the gallant doctor is made of sterner stuff and was back in the saddle in a couple of weeks.

A man of uncertain years, John has practised veterinary for over 50 years. He came back to Cork almost immediately from college to join his father’s practice, then based in Blackrock on the outskirts of Cork City. His father, Sean Hyde, would at that time would have been one of Ireland’s best known vets, having been a long-time member of the Veterinary Council and served a term as president of the Irish Veterinary Association.

Sean’s entry into the profession was far from normal. From Bandon, his time in vet college coincided with the height of the War of Independence. An ardent republican, he was one of Michael Collins’s key intelligence officers and was part of the team that planned the action on Bloody Sunday which resulted in 16 British intelligence officers being ‘accounted for’.

At this stage he had to drop out of college as he was on the run and ended up being captured and held prisoner on Spike Island in Cork harbour. It was a Saturday morning, April 1921, when he and some other prisoners were working under armed guard on a new golf course which was being built on the island for the British officers. The story goes that the guard’s attention was distracted as they were reading that day’s account in The Irish Field of the previous week’s running of the Grand National, won at Aintree by Fred Rees on Shaun Spadah at 100/9.

As the rescue boat came into view, they managed to ‘disable’ the guards and made good their escape, despite coming under fire from the island. Not long after, the truce was announced and he was able to resume his studies the following September. However, because of the political situation and that many of the Dublin professors would have been staunch unionists, he did his final year in London Veterinary College under the famed Prof. Hobdaye where he qualified just as the Irish State came into existence.

His professional life was further interrupted as he took the republican side in the civil war but he was instrumental in negotiating the settlement which eventually ended hostilities.

Ireland and veterinary were very different in those days when he started his practice and he was soon recognised as a skilled clinician and became the visiting vet to the great Senator Parkinson’s racing yard at Maddenstown Lodge in the Curragh. However it wasn’t all work as he and his brother Tim represented the South Union Hunt in 1926 at the RDS, winning the inter-hunt jumping championship. By coincidence, 1926 was the first running of the Aga Khan Trophy and his fellow freedom fighter, Major Jed O’Dwyer, led the fledgling Irish Army jumping team which came second on the day to the Swiss army team.

His brother Tim Hyde went on to become one of the greatest jockeys of his day, winning the last peacetime running of the Grand National in 1939 on Workman and, after the war, the 1946 running of the Gold Cup on Prince Regent. He went on to buy Camas Park Stud near Cashel and founded the Hyde Bloodstock and hunting dynasty.

Steeped in hunting

The hunting gene was very prominent in the Hyde DNA as Sean founded the Shaun Peels which he hunted from his base in Blackrock while Tim founded the Golden Vales in Tipperary. Tim’s grandson, young Tim, also a veterinary surgeon, is currently senior joint- master of the Tipps. The Shaun Peels were the first mounted pack to hunt on Sundays in Ireland. Their country, which is now hunted by the Kileady Harriers, ran from Carrigaline to Waterfall and west as far as the Rising Sun.

This was the world in which young John and his brother David and two sisters, Emily and Jane, grew up with loads of ponies, hunting in the winter, gymkhanas in the summer and veterinary all the way.

So it wasn’t surprising that on leaving Glenstal, the boys would join the vet college and go on to become veterinary surgeons. After a brief dalliance with large animals, David became a small animal vet, first in the UK and now runs a practice in Spain.

As the Dad was moving on in years, John, both as a student and a young vet, came back to the family practice and he would act as chauffeur and veterinary assistant on call. They would counter diagnose until they came to a conclusion, Sean always acting as mentor to young John.

The young Hydes were regulars with the Duhallow riding horses provided by Neil O’Connor, grandfather to event rider Austin O’Connor. As John or one of his sisters were legged up, it often came with a health warning ‘Take him handy, he could have a bit of a buck in him’. They had marvellous days with the Duhallow, then hunted by Harry Clayton and later by Dan Coleman.

Hunting is a passion of veterinary surgeon John Hyde

Equine specialists

In due course, John took over the practice and in the early 1970s, moved to their present location in Glanmire just on the outskirts of the city. They specialised in equine practice only. They now have a full operating theatre with a hydraulic table where their surgery included upper respiratory (wind) surgery, inguinal/umbilical hernias, orthopaedic and much more.

In the meantime, romance came his way and he married Yasmin Allen from Ballymaloe. Yasmin was the first of the Ballymaloe family to take an interest in horses and went into racing in Richard Annesley’s yard in the Curragh where she rode several winners on the flat. She then moved to France where she bought a horse with a doubtful CV as he was a bleeder but the money was handy. That horse turned out to be Irian who went on to win the Sweeps Hurdle, trained by Arthur Moore and ridden by Anne Ferris. In due course, Yasmin, true to her roots, founded her own food business.

The Hydes have four children. Maxine and Sean both work in the family food business, while Rosaleen is a specialist equine surgeon and works in the practice. Paul Callaghan, to whom she is married, and Dave Canty are also vets in the practice. Rosaleen did her specialist training in Florida in one of America’s leading veterinary hospitals. Meanwhile, Corinne the eldest, has a natural affinity with horses and often features in the pages of The Irish Field. She runs the livery and teaching yard at home and hunts with her Dad every opportunity she can. She was instrumental in getting him back into hunting which he had given up due to practice work-load, often putting in 70/80 hours a week.

Another key member of the team is Ann Abernethy who runs the office and has been with them since their move to Glanmire. In a reflective mood, John spoke of the difficulties of such a practice saying: “Finance is often a terrible strain when the treatment required may be long, difficult and expensive to get the patient back to full health. Very often the owner may have a strong emotional connection with the horse but not the financial means to finance the treatment.” And then what do you do? “Well, we do the best we can,” came the answer.

John was joint-master with Robert Fell of the neighbouring United Foxhounds for several seasons and hunts every day he possibly can during the season. While his early season fall cramped his style slightly, the previous season he got in 27 days hunting generally accompanied by Corinne, with packs ranging from the Muskerry, Scarteen, Limerick Harriers, especially the Duhallow and The Tipps where he is always made welcome by his cousins. Corinne is a stickler for turnout and the Hyde horses are always turned out to show standard.

Special days

Great days? Many, but he recalls with particular pleasure his last two days with Duhallow, first from Castlemagner and finishing with an ‘old-fashioned day’ from a meet at Moneymusk Stud where they were guests of Kate Jarvey MFH, Duhallow, where all and sundry were well entertained both before and after. They hunted almost until dark and it was a fitting end to the season.

But for a really special day, it has to be a day with the Tipps from Ballydine two seasons ago. The meet is just around the corner from Camas Park where he was the guest of his cousins. From flag-fall to finish around 5pm, hounds rarely raised their heads but hunted almost non-stop over the biggest and best Tipperary had to offer. This day was covered in the pages of The Irish Field at the time and was one of the best days we had ever covered.

When he eventually got to wash his horse in the cooling waters of the Suir River, he didn’t think he could have ridden one field further without falling off from sheer exhaustion.

And his standout horse? Definitely Harry his mount on the day; not a big horse, but then John isn’t a big man. This horse has ability to burn and an everlasting engine. Not the easiest ride, he will regularly stand on his hind legs before taking a fence at speed but is always foot perfect. Not from a smart hunting yard, this horse came his way as a rescue with bad wind problems but after surgery is now sound as a bell.

He continues to work as hard as ever, undaunted by Covid 19, but when you mention hunting, John’s eyes light up and it won’t be too long before Harry is brought back from grass for the up-coming season.