I ATTEND Coláiste na Trócaire Secondary School in Rathkeale and am going into second year this September. I’ve always been interested in horses and farming, as, growing up, they’ve been a big part of our lives.

I live at Dohyle House Stud with my parents, Liam and Caroline, and younger sister, Amy. We breed and produce young show jumpers, so there’s always horses around. My grandparents, Bill and Anna Kennedy, run Kennedy Equine Centre in Tralee, along with my two aunts, Oonagh and Sinead.

My uncle Kieran owns Coolballyshan Stud, where he stands several popular stallions, and another uncle Cormac is based in Boston, where he runs a show jumping training facility.

I started riding at a young age on a great starter pony called Shadow. Later, I moved on to a pony called Pepper, who taught me a lot and also helped Amy get started in jumping. One of my favourite things is watching the mares and foals and seeing how they develop from newborn foals, right through to three-year-olds and beyond.

I enjoy helping my dad with the young horses, especially the three-year-olds. Some of them are now attending sales selection days, and we have six horses aiming for the Millstreet Young Irelander.

Outside of horses, I play hurling and football. I’m a big supporter of Limerick hurling, and as a family we also enjoy travelling to Kerry football matches whenever we can. I really enjoy sport, spending time with my family, and being involved in the horse industry every day.

Amy: I attend St James’ National School in Cappagh and will be going into sixth class this September. I’ve always loved horses and ponies and enjoy spending as much time as possible around them.

I ride a lovely six-year-old pony called Bohola Buttercup. We’ve had a great season and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the RDS in the 128cms six/seven-year-olds. Even though we just missed out, I was delighted with her performance. She’s a fantastic jumper and is by my uncle’s pony stallion, Fast And Furious Second Life Z.

I also love helping out with the mares and foals. After the foals are weaned, I help Conor with leading and getting them used to being handled. It’s great to watch them grow and the work we do with them when they are young makes them much easier to manage when they’re older.

I play camogie and football during the spring and summer. In the winter, I play soccer and attend music classes with Ardagh Comhaltas, where I play the tin whistle. I’m a huge supporter of Limerick hurling, and my favourite player is Kyle Hayes.

I also have a big interest in Kerry football. My uncle, Paudie McQuinn, is the team physio, which gives us a great opportunity to meet the players. My favourite Kerry footballers are David Clifford, Paudie Clifford and Joe O’Connor. I really enjoy following their matches and cheering them on throughout the season.

1. Tell us about your big Millstreet win?

We had great success in Millstreet winning the Pony Young Irelander with Dohyle Cúinas, a homebred by Vivant Van De Heffinck who stood with our uncle Kieran. Her dam, Grennanstown OBOS Twilight, is a very good producer as Cúinas’s full- sister - KBS Silence The Hill - jumped in the RDS as a four-year-old and is now jumping in Holland. Cúinas was broken over the winter, myself and Amy got her driving and then Christopher Slattery rode her for the first few weeks. He does a super job and got her popping a course of jumps.

Out in the field now until Millstreet Summer Show, she has a great temperament and loves jumping. Dad says he wants to keep her for both of us to ride in the future. We hope she’ll go well as she takes everything in her stride. Millstreet was a great place to win as our family has a great connection with the Duggan family and the show.

2. What’s been your proudest breeder moment so far?

Breeding that Pony Young Irelander winner was pretty cool. We own the dam together so it was great excitement when our number was called out!

3. How many broodmares do you have?

We’ve one mare each and two together. We then have two pony mares together.

Conor: I got Dowdstown Royale (Cavalier Royale) for my first birthday. Dad bought her from John Joe Richardson. She was bred by the Brennans and is out of a Clover Hill Grand Prix mare. She is breeding great: two 1.50m jumpers and she has a good eight-year-old with the Army: Castle Desmond (OBOS Quality). She has a couple of young fillies on the ground, so we hope to keep them for breeding.

Amy: My first mare is Charade Z (Clinton), got by my dad for my first birthday. A Grand Prix mare, she breeds nice foals and we’ve a lovely Lagans OBOS Quality four-year-old, who jumps super.

We’ve two young mares together, the first of which is Grennanstown OBOS Twilight. She breeds super foals, her first foal jumped in Dublin as a four-year-old and is Dohyle Cúinas’s dam. She foaled late in 2025 so we left her for an early cover in 2026 and she’s now in foal to Der Senaat. KBS Hannah The Kiwi (OBOS Quality x Aldatus Z) is the other. Her eldest is a two-year-old, she has a Der Senaat colt foal and is covered by Grand Cru vd Vjif Eiken.

4. Tell us about your pony broodmares?

KBS Moana (OBOS Quality x Clover Hill) was placed in the Millstreet Pony Discovery. Unfortunately, she got injured, so we kept her as a broodmare. Moana’s sister, Thornhill Kate, jumped Nation Cups and 1.60m for Denmark and USA. Moana had a super filly in 2025 by Fast And Furious and another by him in 2026. She is back in foal to Grand Cru.

Then we have the miracle pony: Rathfreda Vinesse. A 12.2 Welsh-cross, she won a loose jumping class as a three-year-old. We bred her before we planned to compete her but during a complicated foaling, our local vet Derek Long (R.I.P) had to do a caesarean section. She lived and bred two colts: a Lansdown yearling called Dr. Derek and a Der Senaat foal, Little Derry. Not long after the operation, Derek sadly passed away and so she’s special to all of us.

5. Prefix?

We’ll use Dohyle as our prefix.

6. Favourite international horse?

Conor: Ermitage Kalone. A super flashy jumper, I love watching him jump. Someday, I hope to see him in the flesh.

7. Same question, Amy?

Good Star Du Bary. I watched Jessica Burke, my favourite rider, all winter on ClipMyHorse. He’s like a pony that might suit me!

8. Favourite show?

Conor: Dublin. We all go for a few days’ holiday and have a five-year-old Vivant mare, bred and part-owned by Andrew O’Connell, there this year with Kian Dore. I love Millstreet too.

9. Amy, your favourite show?

I love Dublin too. This year I’m going for the week. Well, that is if I behave myself between here and then.

10. It takes a team - who’s on yours?

Dad works on the farm and Mom works for the Windmill Healthcare Group. We help out during weekends and holidays, by helping feed in the mornings before school and mostly ride in the evenings.

We’re very lucky to have both sets of grandparents and love spending time with them. We’re also lucky to have lots of uncles and aunts on both sides of the Kennedy and McQuinn families - always happy to help, give us advice, and teach us new things. We really appreciate having such a close family around us and feel very lucky to have their support.