MADAM,

One of the biggest problems facing the traditional Irish horse is the lack of diversity in pedigree. We are very close to backing ourselves into a corner.

A Traditional Irish Horse (TIH) without King of Diamonds, Clover Hill or Cruising breeding is near impossible to come by.

This is one of the reasons TIH mare owners are turning to continental sires, their mares already possess the above lineage and stallions without the above in there pedigree simply are not available.

Are people forgetting the thoroughbred stallion as a viable option? They bring much needed blood to the TIH without having to break traditional breeding. People seem to forget that with the right mares - those with plenty of bone and power - that a thoroughbred stallion can throw a jumper as good as any.

One of the most influential sires in Irish pedigree is a thoroughbred. I am, of course, talking about Coevers.

Coevers was by Nantallah who was by Nasrullah. Here lies the key. Nasrullah (by Nearco) was not only Coevers sire, he also sired Nordlys.

Nordlys was dam sire to the world renowned Cruising, who in turn sired too many notable Grand Prix horses to mention. Coevers himself was also dam sire to Coevers Diamond Boy, same applies as above. Also worth noting is that Northern Dancer was by Nearco.

So if you are looking for the next big thing then look no further. Blueprint, standing in Cooraclare is your horse. He is by Generous out of a Shirley Heights dam. Now look further back. This horse is twice bred to Nasrullah. Northern Dancer, Nearco and Hyperion all feature in his pedigree. Need I say more?

I firmly believe that with the right TIH mares this horse will breed the next Loro Piana Tomboy (by Coevers, winner of a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics). Blueprint is a big imposing horse standing firmly at 16.2hh, has plenty of bone for a thoroughbred, a good deep rib, a prince’s head, is straight on the ground and when this horse moves, he floats.

So I urge you not to forget the thoroughbred. Blueprint, Barely A Moment, Elusive Emir, Desert Knight are just a few that spring to mind.

With the gene pool in TIH becoming so homogenous and small, we must consider this option to avoid having to break traditional breeding.

The reason continental sires are throwing such good foals here is down to our TIH mares. Let’s not waste the last of our true TIH mares. Let’s take action to breed tomorrow’s Grand Prix jumper and tomorrow’s TIH broodmare and stallion. It’s not too late yet.

A quote seems appropriate to finish: “If opportunity doesn’t knock, then build a door.” We must think long-term. Today’s quick fix profit from half foreign-bred foals will spoil tomorrow’s Irish horse. Because when these crucial few TIH mares are gone, they’re gone. An Irish man breeds an Irish horse.

Yours etc,

Aine Ni Bhuachalla

West Clare