AS a child, there were always horses and ponies. My father had a great love for horses, although I never really got involved until much more recently.

I remember Snowball, a white pony, and my brother’s pony Strawberry, who he hunted occasionally. I had great difficulty staying in Snowball’s saddle, so I don’t remember ever going on a hunt!

In my teenage years, I was not really involved with horses until I returned home from many years rambling around the globe.

I had a great interest in cooking and trained as a chef, which took me to many countries. A summer season in Jersey led to stays in New York, Sydney, St Helier in the Channel Islands and Auckland, New Zealand.

On my return, I was always drawn to the horses and became familiar with Horse Telex, Hippomundo and Capall Oir. This was a game-changer and pointed me towards the breeding route.

Slowly, I bought and sold some mares and built up a breeding programme. I was lucky in that I never hesitated in making contact with someone who had a particular mare or line that I was interested in.

With thorough research, it was easy to identify the better families who passed on performance. When you look more closely, you’ll see that a high percentage also comes from top motherlines that continue to produce quality, high-performance horses in each generation. This was described to me as compounding genetics, a valuable lesson to remember when considering stallions for your mare.

Doing all the research and choosing the stallion doesn’t always achieve the desired results, but the majority of the time you will get out what you put in. I quickly figured out it would make more sense to buy into a top motherline than to try to make my own; this would be a 15- to 20-year project, and you might not get it right.

1. Congratulations - you’ve had a great Dublin, including selling Kilbrackan Chacco (Chacco Blue) for €35,000 in the RDS Elite Foal Sale and breeding the Cruising six-year-old championship winner. Tell us about Kilbrackan Stakatto?

Kilbrackan Stakatto’s dam Chamberey de la Pomme was my first major purchase and it took all of that year’s foal sales to pay for her. I seem to have expensive taste!

I was shown 10 mares that day, but knew before I went that if she was the right type, I wasn’t coming home without her. As soon as I saw her, I knew where she was going.

Thankfully, we’re expecting a Stakkato Gold full-sibling to Kilbrackan Stakatto next year and a Mosito vh Hellehof foal too in May, via embryo transfer.

2. Proudest breeder moment?

Kilbrackan Stakatto winning the six-year-olds would be up there to date.

3. How many mares do you have?

I have five breeding mares and several yearlings to three-year-olds from very interesting, strong motherlines to breed from and produce.

  • Chamberey de la Pomme (Elvis Ter Putte x Kashmir van Schuttershof x For Pleasure). From a very successful Grand Prix jumpers’ and licensed stallions’ line, generation after generation. Her granddam is the mother of world champion Vagabond de la Pomme, and the family is regarded as one of the most successful and dominant breeding lines in modern international show jumping. She’s the dam of Kilbrackan Stakatto, and numerous siblings are coming of age, highly regarded by their owners.
  • Empire State Z (Emerald x For Pleasure x Nabab de Reve). With her grandmother being the influential Whirly Chin de Muze, this line is steeped in show jumping royalty. Empire State Z’s dam Derly Chin de Muze was ridden at the London Olympics by Eric Lamaze and is the dam of the legendary Killer Queen. I’ve retained an exciting Eldorado van de Zuuthoeve yearling filly, which makes her a 7/8 sister to Killer Queen.
  • Catokey III SR Z (Catoki x Bentley van de Heffinck x Kannan). A beautiful Catoki filly from the prized Roosakker damline and full-sister to Catokey II SR Z, winner of the Hendrix young horse competition and selected for Lanaken. She has a beautiful Dominator 2000 Z colt foal this year that will be available.
  • Miaxa du Seigneur (Eternity du Seigneur x Calvaro Z x Chellano Z). A full-sister to the approved 1.60m stallion Junior du Seigneur and her dam Diaxa du Seigneur is a sister to the highly-regarded sire of sires Aganix du Seigneur.
  • The One And Only Van’t Meulenhof (Vigo d’Arsouilles x Aktion Pur 3 x Diamant de Semilly). Her granddam L’Innocence competed herself and is a full-sister to the highly-regarded Emerald. I’ve bred a Chaqui Z filly, who is in a top UK yard.

    • 4. Biggest challenge for horse breeders?

    Cost, cost, cost! A stallion advertised in a glossy magazine at €1,500, for example, could easily be in excess of €3,000 with all the additions: VAT, health papers, shipping, veterinary work, transport costs etc. That’s hoping she holds first time. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to make breeding work as a business. Luckily for most people in Ireland, it’s a hobby or a sideline.

    5. Kilbrackan is yours - thoughts on prefixes?

    An absolute necessity. Mine comes from my business - the Kilbrackan Arms Hotel in Carrigallen. If you’re lucky enough to produce successful horses, it’s the only tool to maintain recognition. Breeders have to be recognised and rewarded for their efforts. Too many of the top stables are changing prefixes, this is very disappointing for the breeder. Luckily, it’s not allowed in Ireland without consent.

    6. Internet - good or bad servant?

    Yes, yes, yes! Total game changer. The internet is a very valuable tool used for [everything from] ordering semen to pedigree research and all parts in between.

    7. The standout stallion for you on the current international circuit?

    Can’t pass up United Touch S! He seems to have it all: mind, athleticism and scope. A winner and a sire of sires, United Touch LB competed against his father at the Stuttgart World Cup qualifier. Another notable stallion would be Impress-K Van’t Kattenheye Z ridden by Thibeau Spits and bred from the Donkhoeve family, a consistent line of top horses.

    8. It takes a team – who’s on yours?

    A good vet is crucial. I’m very fortunate that John Haughey, an accomplished reproductive vet, has a huge interest in sport horse breeding.

    Our many conversations and WhatsApp messages discuss all matters of equine reproduction. He has a keen interest in the show jumping world and is always up to date with what’s happening in the sport.

    Rider feedback is very important and, by engaging with riders, we can stay abreast of relevant breeding choices based on rideability, temperament, soundness, etc.

    9. Breeding horses - would you do it all over again?

    Yes, I think I would. I really do enjoy the early-morning and evening feeding before and after work at the hotel. You develop your favourites and look forward to seeing them each day.

    10. Advice to breeders?

    Breeding is a very expensive business and can be equally disappointing and rewarding. It’s not all about money, but when the pot runs dry, it’s often difficult or impossible to replenish it.

    Know what you have and what it’s worth within reason. I’ve been fortunate enough to sell the majority of my foals to professional yards, where the horses will get a proper education. That’s the single most important thing once you have a healthy foal on the ground.

    Don’t be afraid to compromise on price if the foal is going to a yard where it will be well treated and properly educated. You will reap the rewards tenfold down the line. Breeding is a slow process and achieving success is impossible if your horse gets into the wrong hands.

    It’s more advantageous to have one or two quality, well-related mares with strong sport performance across all generations than numerous average mares with little or no sport history. This increases the probability of success.