AS part of this year’s Heritage Week, Ray and Noelle Yorke of Kimblewick Stables in Co Westmeath hosted a most enjoyable event celebrating the Irish Draught as Ireland’s Heritage Horse, a unique element of Ireland’s agricultural and cultural heritage.

The afternoon featured a social history lecture on the breed by Mary McGrath, one of Ireland’s leading authorities on the history of the Irish Draught. Mary is co-author of The Irish Draught Horse: A History, founder of the Irish Horse Museum, an Honorary Life Member of the Irish Draught Horse Society and has dedicated decades to breeding, judging and promoting the breed.

Mary’s illustrated lecture traced the evolution of equestrianism in Ireland from references in early Irish manuscripts through the Norman period right up to modern times. She focused on the development of the Irish Draught breed, which was once the backbone of Irish farming and rural life, and a highly-valued cavalry mount, through to the versatile, powerful and athletic animal with substance and quality that we have today.

Following the lecture, the capacity audience enjoyed a showcase of examples of the breed, highlighting their conformation, characteristics, uses and versatility. Of particular interest was the tracing of growth and development, using examples of the breed from foal through yearling, two- and three-year-old to a mature adult performance Draught horse.