THANKS in particular to being shared on its Facebook page by Tattersalls International Horse Trials late last week, a video of the Cooley Farm team schooling at home in Glenealy, Co Wicklow was brought to the attention of the eventing world.

Nothing really surprising about that one would think except this unique footage not only showed Katie O’Sullivan doing some nice flat work in the sand arena on a smart-looking Pacino six-year-old but also displayed the hitherto unheralded driving skills of Richard Sheane.

In the company of son Arthur (six) and daughter Ellie (four), Richard can be seen driving the eight-year-old coloured gelding Chris who had only been at Cooley Farm for a week when captured on video. In charge of both the camera and the couple’s youngest child Hopey (one) at the time, Georgina Sheane takes up the story.

“Arthur has wanted a pony and trap for the last two years having seen them at the Dublin Horse Show. Richard, who drove Arab horses as a child, has been looking for one ever since as he is keen for the kids to follow in his footsteps. Larry Murphy in Rathvilly called us to say he had a quiet pony and trap and Richard purchased them over the phone.”

We expect to see the pony named Cooley Chris should he appear in public but we don’t think this fellow will be turned over anytime soon. Richard has been offered profit on him already but, while Cooley Farm has had a busy start to 2017 with a lot of horses being sold worldwide, Ellie and Arthur are refusing to part with Chris!

This season, Cooley Farm’s stable jockeys, Katie O’Sullivan and Beth Burton, will be kept busy with a large number of top-class horses to compete on the national circuit, while Katie will have Cooley Blue Flame to ride at three and four star level.

The Sheanes are once again sponsoring the Cooley Farm young horse CCI* at Tattersalls International as May turns into June and, in addition, there will be a Cooley Farm young horse class at Rosanna horse trials on Sunday, April 30th.

The team is shortly to move from its present location to a purpose-built facility on a new farm across the road in Glenealy.