OVER the years, show jumpers such as Flexible and Mo Chroí and eventers such as Lenamore and Master Frisky have flown the Irish Sport Horse and Traditional Irish Horse flags across the globe with great success.

In what is now believed to be the first of its kind, a study into the value of TIH bloodlines in the high-performance sector of Irish Sport Horse breeding has been completed by the Traditional Irish Horse Association.

The study, which was undertaken by Mary Molloy, examines the pedigrees of the most successful ISHs in the three main disciplines of show jumping, eventing and dressage within the studbook section of the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses rankings over 17 years between 2004 and 2020.

The full study shows a detailed analysis of the pedigree type of the top six ISH horses as set out by the WBFSH. Each year the performance of these horses is scored and their scores added together give the ISH breed code its international ranking value across the three disciplines.

Given the depth of the research, it makes for fascinating reading and unearths some very interesting information.

Main findings

Show Jumping

  • Flexible (ISH TIH) is not only our most highly ranked ISH (sixth place in 2012), he is also our most frequently ranked show jumper featuring in no less than six of the 17 years covered.
  • Over the 17-year period covered in the study, four horses ranked inside the top 30 and three of these four horses were full TIH. The fourth horse had a strong presence of TIH within her pedigree with her second and third dam being full TIH.
  • Eleven ISH horses were ranked on three or more occasions. Three of these 11 horses were full TIH and out of the remaining eight horses, four of these had significant TIH presence in their dam lines.

    • Eventing

  • Lenamore (ISH TIH) is our most frequently ranked ISH, appearing in five of the 17 years ranked.
  • Ringwood Cockatoo (ISH) has been one of our highest-placed eventers, ranking in first place in 2006. He was ranked on four separate occasions in total. He has a full TB sire line and although his dam line is largely unrecorded, it is highly likely given his first dam’s year of birth being 1984 that he has a fully traditional/native dam line.
  • Ten ISH horses were ranked on three or more occasions. Two of these 10 horses were full TIH and out of the remaining eight horses four of these had full TIH dam lines.

    • Background of the TIH

    THE Traditional Irish Horse (TIH) is the original indigenous Irish Sport Horse (ISH) breed which was developed in Ireland 200-300 years ago using the Irish Draught, the Thoroughbred and to a lesser extent, the Connemara Pony.

    The Irish Sport Horse (ISH) studbook was established in 1974. The ISH population was comprised only of TIHs until 1982 when foreign breeds and crosses were first registered as ISHs. TIHs are now a subset of the ISH population. They are registered as ISH and designated as Traditional Irish Horses using the designatory letters (ISH) (TIH) in their passports.

    The importation of foreign bred stallions in 1982 and their use has given rise to a significant dilution of the original TIH herd. The offspring of foreign stallions crossed with TIH mares were also registered using the ISH breed code. The original TIH herd were no longer recognised independently or managed as such by successive governing bodies.

    It wasn’t until 2012 when the Traditional Irish Horse Association (TIHA) campaigned heavily to have them recognised as our original indigenous Irish Sport Horse that they were given independent recognition and awarded the designatory letters TIH. They are now recognised as a subset in the wider ISH population and TIH herd numbers are at a very worrying all-time low.

    Note: The pedigree information listed throughout this study reflects the information recorded on IHR online as of January 30th, 2021

    DID YOU KNOW?

    Show jumper MHS Going Global (ISH) – ridden by Greg Broderick and sold to Greek shipping heiress Athina Onassis for a figure believed to be €10 million, has a strong traditional presence in his pedigree with his second and third dam being fully TIH.

    Eventing mare Rioghan Rua (ISH) – an individual medallist at Junior and Senior European level with Cathal Daniels – has a full TIH dam line. In addition to this, her sire Jack of Diamonds (SWB) and grandsire Irco Mena (SWB) have full TIH dam lines. Rioghan Rua is Ireland’s top championship medal winning horse and she was crowned EquiRatings 2019 Horse of the Year, as voted by the international public.

    READ ABOUT THE RESEARCHER OF THIS PROJECT

    Part 2 next week: A look into the pedigrees of some of these horses in greater detail and share the aims and goals of the Traditional Irish Horse Association as part of a 2021-2025 five-year strategic plan