OLIVE Broderick, proprietor of Kylemore Stud and The Stallion Shop, believes that breeders should do their research properly. “Breeders shouldn’t just watch the flashy Instagram promos; they might spike your interest, but they’re not informative. Follow that interest up by calling the stud, ask them when he will next be out at a show and you can see him. Watch him in the warm-up and in the class. If he isn’t competing when he’s not breeding, find out why.”

To benefit both breeders and stud owners, she suggests: “Maybe the powers that be could see that running a league for young stallions, similar to the Blom Cup in Holland, would give breeders more of an opportunity to assess these horses in the flesh. Then maybe the sales complexes could do special sections in their select sales, for the foals of the graduates of this competition. It would give young stallions some prestige, and it would reward breeders by giving them a shop window and stallion owners by potentially increasing their mare numbers.