SEVENTY of the 75 pre-selected and catalogued foals for Edition 8 of the Breeders’ Select Foal Sale Ireland appeared at Glenamaddy Equestrian Centre in Co Galway on Saturday, October 4th. The now well-established event, organised under the umbrella of The Irish Horse Centre, is a marketing initiative powered by the Mayo Roscommon Breeders’ Group.

In a somewhat suppressed market globally, the group continues to fine-tune their strategy for a clear and transparent foal selection to meet the market demands for quality, to continue international marketing efforts and sustain a loyal customer base to deliver the breeders a return on investment in their equine farming enterprises.

Upgrading the group’s mare herd over the previous eight to 10 years is now paying dividends, while also meeting market requirements in an ever-changing equine sporting sphere.

Edition 8 reached 39 lots sold under the hammer (56% clearance rate), rewarding the committed, goal-orientated and focused breeder at the Glenamaddy venue and achieving an average foal price of €4,876.

Top lot

Lot 62, Drumhowan Stud’s grey filly by Zapatero VDL, a prominent stallion on their own roster, from the dam of a well-performing family of show jumpers and eventers, set the benchmark as the top-priced foal on the day, purchased by Lauren Painter for €10,600. Eamon McArdle, always a character to be reckoned with, did not set a reserve prior to the sale and, in his own words, said: “I let the sales ring put the reserves on them and I let the foals do the talking when they are in there.”

Wise words of wisdom and the adage rings clear - ‘old stock are the best stock’ - and this was testament to all five well-produced foals from Team Drumhowan selling on the day and being rewarded for their stallion/mare pairing and meticulous production of these young equines. The MRBG committee commented that Drumhowan have been consistent supporters of the sale and that they were a great example to all breeders on how to breed, produce and sell foals at select sales, with group member Joan Fallon Walsh purchasing Drumhowan’s Lot 58, a Caracas x Diarado filly for €6,400.

Headliners

Other headliners on the day saw the all-round sound man Niall Barrett, owner of Barrett Engineering and regular supporter of the sale, sell his Lot 74, a bay filly by Untouchable out of a Cornet Obolensky mare, make €9,300. This filly filled the sales ring with presence and movement at the latter end of the sale and the delighted new buyers were Jane and Gary Earls from Co Galway.

Earlier in the sale, the adverse storm conditions, intermittent power and internet did not deter Lauren Painter from securing Lot 9, bred by Margaret Gallagher from Donegal. This colt is by the 1.60m stallion Caracas, out of the 1.50m dam Any Questions (previously ridden by Clem McMahon).

The popular young Carthago Z sire Verbier De Muze, standing with Greg Broderick at Ballypatrick Stud, was the sire of James Meade’s filly from a Cristian 25 dam, who is a half-sister to Seatop Blue (1.60m with Andrew Bourns) who made €8,000 and was sold to Damien Griffin on behalf of Rachel Heald in the UK.

To complete the headliners, MRBG committee member John Murphy bred Lot 66, the striking and athletic filly by Emerald from the well-related Flexible dam Galwaybay Felicity. She sold for €6,800 to Kate Lynch.

A special mention to Jarlath Smyth, fellow Roscommon breeder, and John Murphy, MRBG committee member, along with Sean Winstanley, who restored electrical and internet services to their full to allow the sale to proceed in the midst of Storm Amy. Again, a great example of the ‘can do’ attitude of the MRBG and, in this case, putting the group’s needs before their own.

DAFM/HSI event foal class

The second running of the MRBG’S group event foal class, in collaboration with DAFM/Horse Sport Ireland, aimed to identify and reward breeders of potential eventing colts and fillies.

Winner of the eventing colt class was Lot 40, Heathermore Rassiboy (WSI), the bay colt by the 5* eventing sire Sligo Candy Boy x Cassino and from the family of recent dual 4* eventing winner HMR Rolan (WSI). He was sold later to Paul Douglas for €4,800 as the highest-priced event foal.

The filly class was won by Lot 71, by Creevagh Ferro from a well-related OBOS Quality dam with 3* and 4* eventers in the blacktype event damline, bred by James McDonald. Both Mayo breeders were rewarded with €750 each for their breeding endeavours.

An existing loyal customer base, along with new purchasers from Italy and the UK, accounted for a significant share of the turnover - which further cements the trust that is developing within the sale, as well as the links emerging within the supply chain. A strong contingent of graduates appearing at national select young horse events and sales is yet another reflection on the sale’s transparent and successful foal selection process.

Strategy 2025-2030

Plans are now underway in-house within MRBG and IHC to further meet the demands of the market and the sport over the coming years, with a significant drive towards the development of the Irish horse marketplace, with aims to ‘meet the market and sport demands of the international equestrian community from leading Irish breeders and producers’. The Irish Horse Centre will launch its ‘Breeders and Producers’ online auction via the PWEB platform in mid-November, with the auction going live on the weekend of November 29th to 30th, 2025.

A number of the graduates from previous foal sales, along with a diverse range of sport horses, will become available and the group will be marketed internationally. This exciting initiative will bring to a close a very successful year, which was well supported by the group’s strong ties to the stallion owners’ community. A full range of images, pedigrees, videos and x- rays will be available on the IHC platform in mid-November.

Aside from the relentless drive of the key founders Noel Kilroy (chairperson), Patrick Hester (marketing/PRO), Mark Hester (operations and sales), John Murphy (operations and auctions), it is without doubt that the initiatives by the Mayo Roscommon Breeders’ Group would be unachievable without the support of the following individuals who worked tirelessly on compiling the information for the catalogue, which was printed by the marketing division of the Irish Horse Board.

They are: online platform and operations Leo Larkin (Flatout Media Video Editing); Peter Van de Bulck at PWEB Solutions (website); team members Joseph O’Brien and Anna Bobel (PWEB platform/admin and catalogue commentary); Hannah, Ami and Sean Winstanley (social media, photographer and livestreaming); Sinéad Mallee (graphic design); Liz Murphy (operations and hospitality) and all the team at Glenamaddy Equestrian Centre; MRBG’s ground team of Shane Donohoe, Niall Walsh, Ruari Kilroy and Yasmine Atherton Wilson, and the office team of Mary Cahill, Emer Kilroy and Catherine Dunne.