ACCORDING to Norse mythology, the Vanir are a group of gods linked with fertility, wisdom and ability to see the future. Yet even the wisest soothsayer could not have predicted eight Irish-breds out of this year’s top-10 Badminton horses or the remarkable achievements recorded by Monaghan breeders.

Ringwood Cockatoo and Mighty Nice, bred by Robert Greer and William Kells, are two Olympic medal-winning event horses from the Border Counties. Just across the Leitrim border, the Tighe family are the proud breeders of Kiltubrid Rhapsody, sixth at Badminton last year with Mark Todd.