THE Irish Sport Horse (ISH) studbook came so close to matching its best result in recent World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) rankings. That occured in 2023, when the ISH studbook finished first and sixth in eventing and show jumping respectively.

The highlights of the 2026 rankings, released last week, have to be the performances of HSH Blake and James Kann Cruz (the WBFSH’s leading eventing and second-ranked show jumping horses). Their Galwegian breeders - Justin Burke and Patrick Connolly - match those results in the breeders’ rankings.