THE horses have been a fantastic distraction in these strange times.” Tom Hennessy’s profession as a cafe owner has been hugely affected by the pandemic, but he is managing to stay positive with the help of his wonderful horses.

“I don’t come from a farming background but my father always kept one or two horses about the place so horses have always been in my life,” said Hennessy who operates two cafes in Carlow and Kilkenny and hopes to open three more this year.

“We live on the Carlow, Laois, Kilkenny border; it’s officially Laois but we are very near the other two counties. It started really with me buying and selling a couple of thoroughbreds. When the kids (Darragh, Cian and Sorcha) came along, they began riding so we got involved in the Pony Club and then later progressed onto show jumping and eventing,”

“I first met Derek (McConnell) when Sorcha took her pony to Longfield for lessons with him. I was impressed with his operation from the start and as I got to know him liked the way he worked.

“He doesn’t rush the youngsters. He takes his time and lets them learn at their own pace. One day I went to him and said, ‘if you find a nice one I might take a chance on it’. He did and our first horse together was Dothraki Warlord.

“We bought him from his breeder PJ Kearns here in Laois. He is a big horse and Derek didn’t ask too much of him in his four-year-old year. He looked okay back then but was still weak.

“We put him out and then brought him back in as a five-year-old and he was a completely different horse. He qualified for Dublin that year. I had always dreamt about having a horse for the Dublin show so it was fantastic.

“My eyes were really opened up that year; watching all the qualifiers I got to see just how many talented horses and riders lined out; all trying to earn those few places on offer for the show.

“He ended up as one of only two double clear rounds in the final, finishing second to Darragh Ryan riding BP First Editions. We were delighted with how he went and the result meant he qualified for the young horse world championships in Lanaken, Belgium.

“During his six-year-old year, he continued producing excellent results including taking second place in the prestigious Hankook six and seven-year-olds at Cavan.

“I was so impressed I went back to PJ and bought his mother Tiamo Diamant (by Diamant De Semilly) and we have a few youngsters out of her which I am excited to watch progress.

“Included are a five-year-old gelding by OBOS Quality who is coming along very nicely at the moment; a four-year-old gelding by Tyson who Thomas Quigley is working with for me and a three-year-old Balou de Rouet mare who is with Feaha Moore.

“I send the youngsters to Feaha, Thomas or John Phelan in Stradbally to get them started and find that all three of them do a great job,” he said.

Busy yard

“We have a total of 30 horses at the moment, eight are with Derek and a few of the younger ones are in the other yards I’ve mentioned. The very young ones which are not ready to start yet remain at home.

“We had planned to build an American-style stable block last year but the pandemic has halted that for a while, hopefully we can start back again soon.

“My two sons, Darragh and Cian, own four thoroughbreds between them which they buy and sell and Sorcha show jumps and events, so we are all involved and help out with the horses. Our prefix MTH comes from my name Matthew Thomas Hennessy.

“MTH Shannondale Khaleesi (Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan - Maltstriker) is a nine-year-old mare who we sold to event rider Sarah Ennis a couple of years ago, they produced decent results together and Sarah went on to sell her to the United States where Leslie Law competes her.

“All our horses are for sale, but we are not in a rush. We are fortunate that we have several nice ones and have had a lot of interest in them; we will know when the time is right to sell.

“Derek has a very nice regime and I leave a lot of it up to him. There is a lovely rhythm to the way he works the youngsters and he really brings out the best in them.

“Looking forward to the year ahead, I’m excited to see how our eight-year-old Dutch-bred mare Izzy (I’m Special de Muze - Larino) goes. We think she is special, she won the four-year-olds in Millstreet and finished second in Cavan the same year.

“She did qualify for Lanaken the next year but she got an insect bite enroute to Belgium and she couldn’t have a saddle on so we had to withdraw her unfortunately. As she isn’t Irish-bred, she can’t do the sport horse classes so she hasn’t really got a huge amount of mileage.

“She has moved up to 1.40m and is very quick so we can’t wait to see what the future has in store for her.

“I like her so much that I got in touch with her breeder and bought her three-year-old half-brother by the Dutch sire Glenfiddich, as well as a two-year-old and yearling out of her dam.

“Another two which are exciting are, the five-year-old Furyan Warrior, by Cornet Obolensky, and the five-year-old stallion Chupa Chup (Casall - Cassini ii). I also have the four-year-old stallion Heritage Cartel who came from Anne-Marie O’Gorman’s Lissava Stud. We are hoping to get him approved this year,” he added.

Warm welcome

“We are relatively new to the scene but we have found the show jumping community to be very welcoming. We have made a lot of friends just by going to shows and sitting down to have a cup of tea and chatting.

“I’ve come to realise that there are so many talented horses and riders in this country that the government should provide more funding for the sport.

“The recent Masters showed just how popular the sport is. It is important to keep good riders and horses in the country. It is essential that we look after the grassroots of the sport and ensure they can make a decent living,” Hennessy concluded.