WHEN the late Ned Donohoe sold a coloured donkey from the back of a trailer half a century ago, few would have predicted that even this entrepreneurial man would have started an enterprise that would develop into one of the largest sport horse auction houses in the world.

Nor would he have recognised the sheer extent of the current business, which over the past 50 years has encompassed almost every equestrian discipline. From Olympic event and jumping horses, to group and listed race winners; and from ponies, to hunters and show champions, an extraordinary number of horses will, at some stage of their careers, have passed through the sale ring at Goresbridge.