“WE all depend on them to make us look good. These are the people who blaze a trail for all of us,” said Jim Beecher announcing the Horse Sport Ireland breeder awards, which perhaps would benefit as a separate event at a more central location. This year’s ceremony followed on after what one observer later described as ‘an angst-filled AGM’, which was also addressed by outgoing chairman Prof Pat Wall.

In a humourous speech, Wall showed how he has set the bar high for his successor. His main regret during his four-year term was that he was unable to bring the Irish Draught factions together and he also spoke about the hopes he has for young breeders and their role model Bertram Allen. He referred to his own sport horse breeding attempts, mentioning how he had bred 19 foals and describing them in his self-deprecating style as ’19 donkeys!’ even though he used some of the leading performance stallions.

Not since the late Michael Osborne has there been a personality or grafter like Wall, who combined a heavy ‘Day Job’ workload with attending many grassroots events.

* William Kells was double-handed with awards having received two for the highest-ranked Irish-bred eventer and Rio bronze medal winner, Mighty Nice.

* Paula Cullen won her second Breeders Award for Paulank Brockagh. The mare obliged in 2014 with a Badminton win with Sam Griffiths and this year, her bronze team medal win for Australia saw her secure another. With Paula unavoidably absent, Chris Ryan picked up this award on her behalf.

* Two other Wicklow breeders honoured on the night were Don Hadden, who bred Business Class, the highest-placed Irish Sport Horse at Le Lion d’Angers this year, and Irish Draught stalwart breeder Noel C. Hamilton, who bred Uibh Fhaile Duchess, the leading Irish Draught show mare, now owned by John Bracken.

* Another native breed won the performance pony award as it was earned by the Connemara show jumping mare Ballyowen Maybelle Molly, bred by Jennifer Richardson in Bagenalstown. A previous European gold medallist winner with Kellie Allen, Molly won the RDS 148cms championship with Sean Monaghan in July.

* Marion Hughes, elected to the Horse Board this summer, received her second successive Breeders Award. This year, it was the turn of Z Seven Caretina and Z Seven Can Ya Dance, who, with brilliant young stable jockey Mikey Pender, brought home medals from Lanaken.

* Lanaken gold medal winner Killossery Kaiden completed his Dublin breeders Frank & Laura Glynn’s memorable year by winning the highest-placed Irish-bred award at the Belgian-hosted championships.

* Limerick breeder David Moran’s award for Limestone Grey, the top-ranked Irish show jumper in the WBFSH rankings with Lorenzo de Luca, led Michael Slavin to hope that this could mark a return to the halcyon days of Italian riders, such as the D’Inzeo brothers and Graziano Mancinelli competing on Irish-breds.

* Ghareeb once again produced the leading ISH show mare in Slatequarry Sasha, following Kilkeany Mystic’s success last year. Dr Moira McKelvey bred the Paula Howard-owned winning dam in this year’s The Irish Field Breeders Championship and Coote Cup champion.

* The Young Breeders awards went to Christine O’Donnell (junior) and Becky Grimes (senior), while the Outstanding Contribution award went this year to Carrick Diamond Lad’s breeder Tom Jones, who was described to Michael Slavin as the ‘quiet man’ of Irish breeding.

Due to pressure of space, pictures from the awards will appear in next week’s issue.