MUCH has been written recently about the proud history of the Army Equitation School, its connection to the Dublin Horse Show and Ireland’s successful record in contesting the Aga Khan. A common denominator in these stories is the Hayes family, four generations of whom have been attending the Horse Show and who have been involved with the Equitation School since its inception.

Major General Liam Hayes was a veteran of the War of Independence and was later elected twice as TD for East Limerick, but he was also a horseman. “My father’s family had a dealing yard in Tipperary,” says Will Hayes. “After the Treaty was signed, my grandfather became the go-to person in the Irish Army regarding horses. When the Equitation School was given the go-ahead, he was the officer selected to pick the riders and horses and he was a member of the purchase board throughout his career, even when he retired. He also became a director of the Irish National Stud when he retired from the Army.”