KIERAN Kennedy has just spent the day with a large group of around 40 small and hobby breeders, focused on the leisure/amateur market.

“Lovely people, plenty of questions about foaling and breeding basics. We were happy to help, I hope they all got something out of it anyway,” he says.

The opening of TAMS III grant-aid for facilities is something that Kieran welcomes and hopes will do much to improve yard facilities. “It’s fantastic for the horse sector to be included in TAMS. The sector has been very slack over the years getting money, compared to others. It’s been tough to get facilities built. I hope TAMS will be a great help to people, big or small in the industry. I hope it will be well availed of.”

Based in Adare, Co Limerick, there’s little the team at Coolballyshan Stud could not impart to anyone coming through the gates looking for advice. Their sport horse breeding season is just kicking off now with about 30 mares covered so far.

Legacy

It is the stud’s first season without OBOS Quality OO4 who passed away last June at the ripe old age of 30 and sadly, they have just recently lost Barely A Moment (TB) to a broken hip sustained when he got cast in his stable.

“OBOS came along at an important time in my life. He was a great horse for us. Most of our mares are by him so we have a lot of his blood still and frozen semen available which is particularly popular with the Germans. OBOS was a great servant, a very brave horse which made him such a good cross with the Irish mares.

“It was a sad day when we had to say goodbye. A lot of people were lucky with him and he was very lucky for me. A great breeding stallion, he was very fertile, he was the horse of a lifetime for me. You need a horse to put you on the road and he was the right man for me there. Some studs never get one.

“OBOS lived the last two years of his life retired out in the field in front of the house here and he loved life to the end,” said Kieran.

Strong addition

Introduced last year on the stud’s roster, the tall elegant Belgian Warmblood that is 1.60m five-star international show jumper Grand Cru vd Vijf Eiken (Contact van de Heffinck x Heartbreaker) is proving a great addition. He was formerly campaigned at the top level by both Conor Swail (IRL) and former owner Vanessa Mannix (CAN) before the Kennedys bought him.

Winner of a five-star class at Spruce Meadows under Swail, Irish audiences saw him in action placing third in the 2015 Longines Grand Prix of Ireland at Dublin Horse Show. Under Mannix, he won the four-star Grand Prix at Coapexpan, Mexico and helped the Canadian team to a runner-up finish in the Nations Cup.

“Grand Cru is a very beautiful horse with very correct limbs. He should suit a lot of Irish mares. He has unbelievable scope and rideability with a phenomenal canter. He has a big striding canter. A very genuine and kind horse, crossed with a 16 or 16.1-16.2hh mare he breeds nice quality flashy young horses.”

Dual purpose

Well established at the stud now is Vivant van de Heffinck (Fuego du Prelet x Landino) who is in his fifth season at Coolballyshan. “He is very well supported both here and abroad. We sell a lot of semen by him abroad. The older horses by him are jumping very well so he’s well established. A very fertile horse, he’s a real character about the place,” added Kieran.

Back from competing abroad with Willem Greeve is Lagans OBOS Quality. “His last three shows were five-star shows which is very good for a nine-year-old. He has a lot of blood and has great movement. He’s a real dual purpose horse. His stock are all great sellers, they are sound and train on. The OBOS Quality line has great soundness and durability. If a four-year-old is sold into a yard, they need them to be sound at seven and eight and the OBOS line has that,” explained Kennedy.

Lagans OBOS Quality in action with Willem Greve - the stallion is now home and standing at Coolballyshan Stud, Adare, Co Limerick \ Moises Basallote

Conticco Chacco Blue x Continue) suits the smaller 15.2hh type mare. “He’s more of a nice show jumping type and we also now have Fast And Furious Second Life Z (Flamenco de Semilly x Papillon Rouge). He is bred to be a horse but is small. A fantastic French-bred horse with a great pedigree, he can cover ponies or horses,” was Kieran’s verdict.

Chacoa, who sired a lot of event horses, is now 28. “He has his own customers too and he’s on his last year breeding before retirement.” Lancelot is available by frozen semen while there is plenty of fans among the amateur market for the popular Future Trend. “He’s very popular with the amateur - 1.30m market. A lovely gentle horse, anyone can ride his progeny, they are very sound, rideability horses.”

Coolballyshan Stud ultimately aims to breed blood, quality horses. “Blood/event horse types that can move is the market people come here for and if we get a show jumper great. I advise people to breed for the blood horses.”