EVERYONE is looking for a diamond in the rough to turn into something good; and that’s essentially what we do,” explains Joyce Veld of Silver Birch Stables in Athlone, Co Westmeath.

Joyce and Miley Dunning have plenty to keep them busy at the moment, having welcomed their first child, Jacob Patrick Dunning, into the world just two weeks ago. Last weekend, the pair celebrated their horse Luxtapose (Lux Z x Cruising) winning his first 1.35m Grand Prix in Barnadown, with Francis Connors in the saddle.

“We were so delighted to see Luxtapose doing so well, and no better man than Fra to guide him,” Joyce told The Irish Field. “We bought him from John Murphy as a three-year-old at the Goresbridge Sales. He was a raw horse to begin with but there was just something about him I liked. I have a bit of a gut feeling with some horses, and with him I just liked him straight away.

“We broke him in and I jumped him as a four-year-old. He won the four-year-olds in Galway and then went on to win the Dublin qualifier in The Meadows. He jumped two double clears in Dublin and went on to do very well in Millstreet and Cavan. The following year, he qualified for Dublin once again as a five-year-old. He had a fence down in the final in the main arena but jumped really well and then went on to win the Cavan Classic that September.

“He went to Dublin as a six-year-old and then went on to get into the Boomerang final in Millstreet. He has been really consistent; he is always there or thereabouts every year.”

After a little break, Joyce decided to ask for a second opinion on the horse and who better to ask than the brilliant Francis Connors.

“I backed off him a little bit in his seven-year-old year; he had done so much I decided to take the foot off the throttle a little bit and just give him a bit of time. He is a horse that was always growing, he’s a good 16.2hh and has a big frame and he was very weak to begin with.

“Last year, with Covid-19, we were at home a lot and one day I was riding him and I just thought I’ll ring Fra and ask him to take him for a couple of weeks and see what he thinks of him. I always thought the horse was top class, but I was the only one that had ever ridden him, so I wanted someone else’s opinion. I have a special bond with the horse so if I was ever going to send him to anyone, it was a no brainer that it would be Fra.

“He took him last June and, after a couple of weeks, he rang me and said, ‘I’m really happy with him and think he has potential.’ So I left him with him and said, ‘Do whatever you think is best with him’. They ended up jumping a National Grand Prix at the end of last year.

“We took him home for a break in the winter and sent him back about five or six weeks ago and they have been going great together.

“Winning the class at the weekend was a real boost for him starting off the season so that was fantastic. Whatever level he progresses to now we have the best man on board and he will give him every chance.”

Humble beginnings

Joyce didn’t come from a horsey background but she grafted to get to where she is today. “None of my family were involved in horses but when I was a child I used to get up on my bike and cycle up the road to Tom Feeney’s riding school and get stuck in.

“We eventually bought a couple of ponies off him and I competed them up through the ranks, but these would have been green ponies which I would have broken; I’ve never had the luxury of having a graded pony, I would have been in the E’s and C’s and D’s and then I would have been over-age and had to sell them.

“I did have a couple of ponies that went on to do well; I sold a 13.2hh pony Lucky Guess to Enda Carroll and they did very well. He was probably the best pony I ever had and Enda ended up reaping the rewards from him, but that’s the way it goes, I suppose.

“I also had a 14.2hh, Moy Glen George, who went on to be sold to Joanna Morgan’s daughter who rode him in Dublin. He then went on to a Grand Prix rider in Sweden.

“When I left school I went down to Francis Connors for a year and I learnt a lot there and that’s how I got to know Fra. I did the business and equine course in Gurteen. During our second year we were up in Athlone so on the side I’d go up and ride and compete horses for Jim Derwin. That was great experience because you would ride all sorts of a horse in Jim’s, and you just got on with it.

“After that I went to France for a few months and jumped horses for French Olympian Frédéric Cottier.

“When I came home myself and Miley started from there. We began buying a couple of horses. Miley is a farrier full-time - he qualified with Cathal Gallagher in Wexford - so that takes up most of his time. Horses have always been in his family, he enjoys the show jumping and we are adding to the yard, bit by bit.

“I’m from Galway and Miley is from Athlone originally. We bought a place a number of years ago not too far from Miley’s home place and we have 11 stables, a barn, an arena and plenty of paddocks.”

Business model

“We buy horses unbroken and produce them to compete. Some we hold on to and others we sell on. I take on horses for other people, both to break and produce, and also to compete.

“Sometimes a horse may not be good enough to go down the professional show jumping or eventing route, but if he’s a nice type and produced well there’s always a market for them.

“We have sold a good few that have gone on to do well in England. Making Waves was produced by us and is currently competing at three-star level with British rider Christopher Makin. Corraghoe Steel (Mermus R x Cruising) is doing very well in the seven-year-olds at the moment with Diarmuid Ryan. We produced him up to the end of his five-year-old year.

“We’ve got some nice horses at the moment. Curraghoe Bounce is one that we bought as a three-year-old, I jumped him myself and he stepped up to the 1.40m at the end of last year and I hope to get back competing at that level with him in the not too distant future.

“We have a nice I’m Special de Muze/Kings Master five-year-old gelding (I’ve Got de Muze) which I’m looking forward to getting stuck back into. Ultimately I’ll be aiming for the Cavan Classic class in September; he’s big so I’m not going to rush him. He has a big jump and loads of scope so we will take our time and be tipping around some 1.10m during the summer.

“We also have a couple of promising seven-year-old mares - CFS Trendy Lady (Future Trend x Cavalier Royale) and Leonesse (OBOS Quality x Cruising) who is a half-sister to Luxtapose.”

New venture

“I have produced them slowly. They were doing 1.20m and then, with Covid-19 delays and my pregnancy, we didn’t get a huge amount done last year so I’m excited to move forward with them. The plan with those two mares going forward would be to breed from them, which is a new venture for us.

“We normally buy our youngsters at the sales, but we are finding it harder and harder to find good young stock at a reasonable price these days. With the quarantine situation many of the sales were cancelled and people were selling privately. Everyone is looking for the same thing really so prices just went up. We will dip our toe into the breeding side of things and see how we get on.

“My passion is to be out show jumping but, for the moment, I’m enjoying the new baby. It’s a big change, but he’s a gorgeous little thing so he’s well worth it. For the moment we are happy taking each day as it comes.”