KEONAN Stables is a small family-run, private yard based in the North of Ireland with a keen interest in breeding, producing and competing sports horses.

Horses have always been a massive part of our family, Daddy always kept a horse about the farm but really it all stemmed from my sister Mandy getting her first pony at the age of 10 and we never looked back since that.

We have been lucky enough to own, breed and compete horses all over the world, up to international level, including Liscalgot, Garronturton Lady, Ginger Watt, Hallmark Elite and Valent.

1. Proudest moment as a breeder?

Lisa: When Miss Valent was selected to compete at the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) show jumping championships at Lanaken in 2018 as a six-year-old. This was particularly special to me, as not only was she was my first home-bred from the first crop of foals from my own stallion, Valent, but she was also out of a mare, Miss Siss, that I competed successfully both here and in Spain. She also went to Dublin with Mandy in the amateur class.

Woods: Breeding a mare – Bellaney Jewel – who produced two horses that went to the WBFSH championships for young event horses at Mondial du Lion. Jewelent (Valent) competed with Clare Abbot in two consecutive years, being placed as a six-year-old and finishing 12th as a seven-year-old. Then his six-year-old full-sister Rosalent finished second this year with Oliver Townend.

2.Tell us about breeding Cooley Rosalent, the six-year-old silver medallist at Le Lion d’Angers this year.

Her dam, Bellaney Jewel, was one of Woods’ first home-breds, by Roselier, and she raced quite successfully across the water as a National Hunt mare, with seven wins, including Aintree, Hexham and the Scottish Borders National at Carlisle. The year she retired from the track, we covered her with a thoroughbred stallion and her breeding career spanned from there.

In 2011 we collected some frozen straws from Valent. With his high percentage of blood, we thought it would be a good idea to cross him with a thoroughbred mare, with the hope of breeding an event horse. So in 2012, we welcomed Jewelent.

The racing people thought we were mad using a half-bred stallion on a successful racing mare, but Jewelent was such a lovely stamp of a foal that we used Valent for the second time and in 2014, Rosalent was born.

She won the young event horse class in Balmoral as a four-year-old with Colin Haliday, the same year she won the RDS young event horse qualifier at Tullylish and went on to become reserve champion in Dublin. We always knew she was destined to go places, so we’re delighted she’s now part of Oliver Townend’s team and look forward to seeing her career flourish.

3. You’ve always had great faith in Valent – tell us about finding him and his progeny.

Dermott Lennon was in Holland at the time and had seen Valent (Hors La Loi II) at a training show as a four-year-old. Knowing he was my type of a horse, Dermott phoned Woods to tell him to buy him.

It wasn’t until we went to collect him from Birmingham that I realised we had bought a stallion! I’d never even sat on a stallion before, never mind owning one, but he was so quiet to work with that gelding him never entered our heads. I’m very grateful we never had to make that call as he’s bred us horses we could only dream of buying.

I competed him up through the age classes to Grand Prix level, including jumping a Nations Cup in Drammen, Norway. Unfortunately, he picked up a few injuries cutting his career short.

He made a comeback with Dermott jumping a few international classes and picking up some ribbons along the way and finished his career winning the young rider class in Dublin in 2017 with Olivia Roulston.

Valent has been standing at Hartwell Stud from 2011 and his first crop of foals were on the floor in 2012, to include Miss Valent, Jewelent, Avalent and Novellent, all competing successfully in their respective classes and disciplines. He adds blood, step and scope to any mare.

There’s two more full-siblings to Jewelent and Rosalent: Govalent, a five-year-old gelding and then this year’s filly foal, Bellavent.

Of the four breeding mares we have, two are thoroughbreds and both are now in foal to Valent; Bellaney Jewel (Rosalier x The Parson) and Lady Doyen (Doyen x Un Desperado). We’re also hoping to include Miss Valent in our breeding programme for 2021.

4. Which would you prefer to breed – a Cheltenham Gold Cup horse; 1.60m show jumper or five-star event horse?

Woods: Cheltenham Gold Cup horse, I love the thrill of racing and the hospitality that comes with it.

Lisa: I’d rather breed a 1.60m horse as show jumping is my preferred discipline.

5. “It takes a team” – who is on yours?

It’s a massive team effort at Keonan Stables.We use a number of different vets, mainly Hugh Suffern and Ian Moore, but special mention must be given to Caroline Berry, who does all our repro work. She’s been very successful working with all our mares and is always at the end of the phone whenever needed.

Michael Lennon is our dentist and Sharon Kelly is out regularly doing physio. Rachael Thompson, our yard manager, keeps everything running smoothly at home during the week and my sister Barbara drives the truck to shows, sources all our gear and helps out whenever needed. Then there’s Caitriona Patterson, who looks after the PR end of things and finally lots of riders along the way, including Dermott, Olivia, Clare and Colin.

6. Best advice you ever got?

Not really had much advice re breeding, other than to breed from a well-bred, successful mare and use a stallion that will correct your mares flaws and/or enhance her good qualities.

7. Favourite stallion/mareline?

Lisa: I really like Heartbreaker as a sire and have a soft spot for a Cavalier mare.

Woods: I like the crosses with traditional Irish damlines, (such as Liscalgot’s sire Touchdown) and of course, the legendary Cruising. I used him on many mares over the years.

8. What do you think are the greatest challenges facing sport horse breeders?

I believe the market is becoming saturated. There’s lots of foals on the ground, as everyone is breeding whatever is standing in their stable, especially now that Covid-19 has grounded shows, events, etc.

Frozen semen, although a wonderful discovery, means that stallions from all over the world are so easily accessible, and talent from home is overlooked. With a combination of this, and other factors, it’s no wonder prices are poor.

9. You’ve won the Euromillions jackpot. Which stallion/mare/embryo would you buy?

An embryo out of Ludger Beerbaum’s Ratina Z by Diamant De Semilly.

10. Tell us about other horses that you’ve owned that hold a special place in your heart.

We couldn’t answer this question without mentioning the brilliant Hallmark Elite, A gelding by Lord Byron out of a Renville mare, he took us all over the world and gave us some fantastic memories.

Then, Garronturton Lady, a mare by Cavalier Royale that competed under Dermott Lennon at Nations Cup level. She bred us a lovely mare, Garronturton Beach, by Beachball who jumped up to 1.35m level and is now part of our current breeding programme.

She also produced Murlough Bay, again by Beachball, that competed up to 1.45m level. And of course Liscalgot, our world champion, who in her retirement bred a number of CSI4* horses including Calgot Pleasure, Calgot Hero and Class of Touch Hero.

Lisa and Woods Rosbotham pictured with their trailer prize after their stallion Valent (Hors La Loi II) won the Ulster Region Grand Prix League