SO, where do I start? I have always had a love of horses and ponies, although with parents who weren’t involved in the industry I had to rely on friends to begin with.

‘Uncle Robin’ hunted an Irish Draught mare and there started the passion for the breed. As a teenager I showed her at the IDHS GB Breed Show. She was second in her class and I was hooked!

After college I went to work on an Arabian stud in Switzerland, which is where I met Pat Koechlin Smythe for the first time. Pat was a British show jumper who competed at the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics, winning a team bronze medal in 1956 with the Irish-bred Flanagan.

Returning to Britain, I went to work with her in Gloucestershire where I also met my Irish husband, Christopher, who was studying at the Royal Agricultural College (RAC) in Cirencester. Christopher and I married in 1993, settling in his home county of Westmeath on our return to Ireland.

Having completely renovated a derelict house, we opened Lough Bishop House B&B in 2001. We have welcomed guests from near and far, and won our first Tourism Award in 2004, Georgina Campbell Awards 2011 and 2019, and inclusion in the Bridgestone/McKennas Guides since 2008.

1. Why did you start breeding Irish Draughts?

My first venture into breeding was with a half-bred mare that I took to an Irish Draught stallion, Kilmore Heather. My interest in the breed was growing all the time.

After settling in Westmeath, I already had the mare that I had brought across from the UK; Banks Fee Annabel (Snowford Stoker) and her yearling filly Laragh (Parnell), plus in utero Derrynagarra Dochas (Ballinrobe Boy).

I had decided that this was the breed for me and it seemed all the more appropriate as it was the native horse of the country I was making my home in.

2. Proudest moment as a breeder?

Reserve champion at the RDS with Derrynagarra Clorin (Crosstown Dancer - Banks Fee Annabel) and then champion foal the following year with her colt foal by Blue Rajah were both proud moments. But I think perhaps my proudest moment was the first time we went to our local show in Mullingar with Laragh.

Not because she won her class, but because so many people came and talked to us afterwards - interested in her breeding and wanting to know how she had ended up in Westmeath as her sire stood in the UK. Laragh eventually went to Canada and we are still in touch with the family that bought her.

3. How many broodmares do you currently have?

We have one broodmare Derrynagarra Celeste (Star Kingdom - Derrynagarra Dochas) but we have virtually stopped breeding. Foals are just too expensive to produce and rear to a saleable age and the returns just aren’t there. Also, the years move on and it was time to cut back, but, believe me, it’s hard to be sensible!

4. The phrase ‘true to type’ is often bandied about. What’s your template of a ‘true to type’ Irish Draught?

The Irish Draught has a lot of variation within the breed, and the modern horse is better fed, works less and is therefore generally slightly bigger than its predecessor. I don’t mind the height of the horse as long it has a proportionate amount of bone and girth.

The short cannon bone, and clean flat bone remain crucial and for me these days an Irish Draught around 16hh sounds about perfect - it’s not so far to fall!

5. Restoring Lough Bishop House/Irish Draught lines – a similar labour of love?

Lough Bishop House was derelict when we took on the project and it took us 10 years to bring it back to life, now it’s a case of maintaining and tweaking for future generations.

Much like the Irish Draught you have to love the past but look to the future.

6. What do you think are the greatest challenges facing Irish Draught breeders?

If Irish Draught breeders could all work together they would be a force to be reckoned with, I believe there is enough room within the breed to accommodate all of us.

As long as we are breeding veterinary sound horses, they will be saleable.

7. Are there any incentives you’d like to see introduced for Irish Draught breeders?

I think financial incentives to put foals on the ground are a disaster. Incentives should be geared towards education and production so the horses get a chance to show the world what they can do. ‘Lawn ornaments’ are not useful, the horses need to do something and show themselves off to the greater equine community.

8. Breeding Irish Draughts – would you do it all over again?

Yes! I’ve met wonderful people, and wonderful horses

9. Describe Christmas at Lough Bishop House.

Following the closure of the B&B because of Covid restrictions, we set about selling our artisan produce and home baking at our local Farmer’s Market in Collinstown, so the run up to Christmas has been very busy.

On Christmas Day, I can only settle down to enjoy the day once I am sure all the animals have been checked - we breed Irish Moiled cattle, using the same Derrynagarra prefix as the horses and have a commercial flock of sheep – and all is well. Then it’s time to join the extended family and raise a toast to those no longer with us.

10. Do you have any unusual hobbies?

We’ve taken up what I am told is called ‘wild swimming’. We swim regularly in a local lake and there’s no good reason for it but in 2020 we decided to swim in every week of the year!

We are now in our second year and have swam in temperatures as high as 22C in summer and as low as 2C in winter having first broken two inches of ice to get in. Today it was six degrees!