THERE was much talk about the quality of the three-year-olds on offer at this year’s Goresbridge Go For Gold select event horse sale but three of the four highest-priced lots, all registered Irish Sport Horse geldings, were foaled in 2022.
The sale topper, Jodie and Emma Skelton’s Borris Donny Darling (Lot 12), on whom bidding opened at €20,000, was purchased for €52,000 by American visitors Jamie and Glen Santos for their 13-year-old daughter Sydney. They attended the sale on the advice of trainer Courtney Swartz who was also in attendance with her cousin Sasha Hargreaves.
A thrilled Swartz said she only had eyes for the bay son of HHS Cornet after she tried him. “When I first saw him I thought he was so floaty and beautiful and such a good jumper,” she said. “And then I rode him and he has so much scope, but he’s the calmest horse ever and was so sweet in the barn. He is the perfect horse.”
“We actually we came over before the sale and reached out to Jodie and Emma Skelton and they let us come over to their barn where Sydney tried Donny Darling and we got to really feel like we knew him,” explained Jamie Santos. “Ever since then, he was the one that she had her eye on, she just felt it.”
Sydney, who recently outgrew her pony, aims to bring her new ride through the eventing ranks with the help of Swartz and “take him mas far as he can go”.
The family, from Maryland, said the Go For Gold experience had been hugely enjoyable and educational. “This is an incredible experience,” said Jamie. “Even if we hadn’t ended up purchasing a horse, we have learned enough to last a lifetime.”
We spoke to Jodie Skelton following Borris Donny Darling’s win in the four-year-old division of the DAFM/HSI autumn eventing development series at Wexford Equestrian last month. The Co Carlow farrier then paid tribute to his veterinary surgeon wife Emma for her production of the gelding they had purchased as a three-year-old in Old Loughlin from Niall and Samantha Smyth who they know well on a personal as well as professional basis.
“Emma (who showcased the sale topper at Barnadown) has done all the work with his fellow. He did some of the Young Eventhorse Series qualifiers and recently, at Cavan, he jumped in four competitions, going double clear each time... He won nicely today and is that rare mixture of a horse who is good enough to be top-class in the future while also kind enough to be suitable for an amateur.”
The news that Borris Donny Darling had topped the sale was a great boost for his Cushinstown, Co Wexford breeder Simon McCarthy. The four-year-old is the fourth of eight produce on the Irish Horse Register out of the Cavalier Royale mare Cavalier Cushinstown Cruis. All have been sold including this year’s foal, Cushinstown Something Special, a filly by Another Pleasure. The dam is now in foal to Castlefield Kingston.
McCarthy, who was delighted when Goresbridge began including the name of breeders in the Go For Gold catalogue in 2024, has only three other broodmares at present. One of these is Cushinstown Cavalier Royale (also by Cavalier Royale) whose three-year-old filly by Another Pleasure, Solsboro Kelpie, was sold as Lot 81 by Jerry Skelton on Wednesday evening when she was knocked down for €28,000 to Britain’s Emma Hyslop-Webb. This was a slow process as bidding opened at €5,000 and went up in €1,000 increments each time.
Rock Sunrise
The second highest-priced horse in the sale, Rock Sunrise (Lot 11), won’t be travelling so far for the immediate future at least as the Moonlite Cavalier gelding has been purchased by Morgan Sheehy’s Dundaniel Stud for Godfrey Gibbons to ride.
Bred in Co Armagh by Terry O’Hanlon, the chesnut was the first ridden horse consigned to the sale by Co Down’s Hugh Douglas whose daughter Ellen showcased Rock Sunrise who had nothing on his page but, with 70% thoroughbred blood, looked very much a top-class event horse in his performance.
“I was at Cavan and saw Peter McEneaney, who stands Moonlite Cavalier, talking to this guy with a mare and foal in his hand,” Douglas told The Irish Field. “The foal caught my eye and I ended up buying him in partnership with my wife Elaine’s father John Perry. I think he could be quite an exciting horse. Goresbridge did a great job promoting the sale.”
Lot 11, Rock Sunrise, sold for €50,000 at the 2026 Goresbridge Go For Gold sale \ Tadhg Ryan Bit-Media
The bidding on Rock Sunrise, who is out of a Diamond Roller mare, also opened at €20,000 and he was put on the market at €38,000, but Gibbons, who was acting on behalf of Sheehy, held off until making a successful late bid of €50,000.
“We were delighted to come away with him,” said Gibbons. “We thought he was a really nice talented horse that suits the eventing game so we’re very excited about him. Morgan came on board with me and was looking to put a horse underneath me so we are all really looking forward to getting him up and running and seeing what the future holds.
He’s a nice big horse, although he’s got a bit to furnish into yet, so we’ll take him slow in the beginning. I think he’s a horse that we can aim towards the likes of Le Lion d’Angers.”
Another supporter of both Gibbons and Sian Coleman (who is married to his nephew Patrick), Maurice Coleman, was the purchaser of Brandon View Stud’s Lot 39, an unnamed three-year-old grey gelding by Castlefield Kingston out of Mariko Miss Blue (by Phil VD Wezelse Heihoeve), for whom he paid €39,000.
“The pedigrees don’t mean as much to me,” said Coleman. “I watch the horses all day going through to jump, and wait to see a nice one that jumps the way I like, wait to see a star. I started supporting Sian three years ago and we’ve had an amazing time and I always have a horse with Godfrey. I love supporting good riders and buying the best horses in the world. I have a lovely four-star horse at home with Sian and a few other three-year-olds, so I’m living the dream!”
Sold for €50,000 to the USA’s Mia Peterson, who was bidding over the ‘phone, Cello Diro (Lot 24) didn’t have to travel to Barnadown as he was consigned by his breeder Maurice Cousins who, with his wife Felicity, owns the multi-purpose Co Wexford facility. Bidding on the grey son of Jacadello opened at €20,000 and quickly went up in €5,000 increments until the hammer came down.
Cello Diro came into the sale with an excellent performance record. Ridden by Barnadown stable jockey Sophie Richards, he jumped clear both days at the Gallagher Dublin Horse, he has 27 Showjumping Ireland points and was placed at the Irish Breeders Classic. With his dam being the Ramiro B mare Diro, he is a half-brother to the Dignified van’t Zorgvliet mare SRS Dignity (1.40m) among others.
No intention
The top-priced five-year-old in the sale was Linky M (Lot 4), an ISH gelding by Vivant van de Heffinck who was sold for €40,000 by Andrew Cox and his breeder Susanne Macken. The bay, who competed in young event horse classes, working hunter and showing classes, is out of the Quidam de Revel mare Ravissante du Reverdy (1.40m), a half-sister to Vanhouten de Vains (1.45m) and Callaho Vidaro (1.40).
Linky M was purchased by British event horse owners Nicky and Victor Lay who, after a long drawn-out bidding process, also gave €38,000 for Higgins Sporthorses’ four-year-old Dutch Warmbood gelding Silvertip JS (Lot 20) who was placed at the Irish Breeders’ Classic. The VDL Mattias grey is a half-brother to the A La Carte mare Jacoba Stud Nirvana Jolly JS (1.45m).
“We had no intention of buying two horses when we arrived here, we didn’t buy the horse we thought we would but we were also very interested in Linky M and then we also fell in love with Jason’s grey horse this morning so we spent a bit more money than expected! Lot 4 was just a really nice horse that we feel might be good for working hunter which would be something new for us.
“The other one was so quiet, sensible and easy and jumped really nicely. They will both go to our rider Ben Way to be assessed and we’ll go from there. We bought Gun Law here, he was our best horse, but sadly we lost him about a month ago, just as he was about to go five star.”