CO Tipperary owner and breeder Rory Costigan has had much success in the sport horse game in Ireland, with many of his home-breds going on to represent Ireland at the young horse world breeding championship in both eventing and show jumping.

Costigan explained how he got involved in the sport: “I’ve been around horses since birth really. Our dad, Matty Costigan from Roscrea, was a well-respected horse breeder, dealer and also kept stallions.

“We all rode from an early age. We show jumped in the summer and hunted in the winter. At times we had up to 75 ponies and horses on the farm growing up.

“I currently have about 45 horses, between broodmares, foals, youngstock and horses in work, both at home and away with professional riders. Five are in full-time work and 15 are in light work.

“I’m officially a farmer; but with so many horses at the moment it’s really full-time thing now. As a child I show jumped and hunted. As an adult I left horses for 20 years to concentrate ‘regular’ farming.

“I came back to horses gradually; I got back into hunting with just one horse and it grew from there. I’m now back full time. I still ride, in particular breaking and schooling the youngstock, but I stay off the circuit!”

A big supporter of Irish-bred horses, he prefers to breed at home rather than buying in.

“Occasionally I do , but I mainly breed my own. If I do buy a foal it will be because of the mother, the family connections, the mind, and of course his or her conformation.

So when choosing a mare to breed from what does he consider the most important qualities to look for?

“At this stage my mares go back up to three generations of my own breeding. I believe over time I’ve developed a very strong herd of excellent broodmares. I normally breed from them at three years of age, doing my best to match the temperament and conformation requirements to the correct stallion.”

home-bred success

And his successes speak from themselves. “I’ve been lucky to have had four of my young horses represent Ireland at both the World Championships for Young Horses in Lion D’angers and the FEI/WBFSH World Breeding Jumping Championships for young horses over the last few years.

“They include Loughnavatta Papillion, a seven-year-old gelding by Condios out of Ballinclover Penny (Clover Hill). He was ridden by Katie O’Sullivan and went to the eventing championships in Lion D’angers. He went on to be sold to USA and is doing well there.

“The home-bred GRC Tadmus, a gelding by Tadmus x Clover Brigade, was ridden by Gemma Phelan at the Young Horse Championships in Lanaken. He went to China and last year Olivier Guillion placed third with him in the Guangzhou CSI3* as well as winning the 1.45m Table A.”

Another of his top horses was Loughnavatta Indigo (Luidam x VDl Arkansas), who is now winning in America.

“He (Loughnavatta Indigo) also went to Lanaken with Gemma Phelan on board. He was a National league winner as a seven-year-old and went on to win a 1.50m New Heights Grand Prix. He is currently in the USA where Jonathan Corrigan is enjoying great results with him.

“Camilla Speirs rode Loughnavatta Cedar (Luidam – Ballydoolagh Aimee Sunrise by Aldato) for me and they too went to the Championships in Lyon. He was sold to the UK at the 2016 Go for Gold auction and is now show jumping at Grand Prix, level like his younger brother, GRC Acapella (Luidam – Ballydoolagh Aimee Sunrise by Aldato) who is already qualified for the seven and eight-year-olds championships in Dublin this year with Gemma Phelan and will hopefully be sold after the show.”

With a wealth of experience and a proven track record, is there anything which he feels the governing bodies of the sport could do to improve things for owners, or something that could be done to attract new owners to the sport?

“I think that Horse Sport Ireland has done a lot of good work to improve the environment for owners and breeders. In particular the young horse classes, the National Grand Prix and more recently the New Heights Series.

“These competitions provide experience and proof of progress for young horses at various levels. They allow me to keep my younger horses for longer which allows the better ones to progress to a very high-value product.

“I have been very fortunate with the horses I have had, but it would not have been possible without a lot of other people. I want to acknowledge all the back up from riders, team, friends and family that have allowed me to achieve some success in this most challenging, but exhilarating, endeavour.”