ONE very well chosen mare is what it took to start Bernard Jordan on the road to breeding and owning a string of successful Irish show jumping horses. The most notable of these, McGuinness, has proved to be an outstanding ambassador for Irish-bred horses around the world.

Bernard was born and reared on a farm in Ballymahon in Co Longford where his father always had a broodmare or two. “I remember we always had foals around the place and when I was seven years old I remember jumping up on one of these youngsters. That is probably the closest I ever came to being a rider,” said Bernard with a laugh on his 82nd birthday this week.