ORIGINALLY from Annaghmore, just outside Tullamore in Co Offaly, I now reside in Garristown, north County Dublin, with my husband Gary and our children, Michael and Grace.

My passion for breeding originates from my upbringing on a suckler farm, where we always had ponies, giving me an early introduction to breeding and selling. Although I didn’t compete extensively, we owned some exceptional ponies, including the 138cm stallion Annaghmore Boomerang. Regrettably, I don’t currently have a mare by Boomerang, but I hope to acquire one in the future for our children.

Gary and I have complementary roles in our family business: he dedicates himself full-time to buying and selling horses for HQ Sporthorses and I work as a secondary schoolteacher.

Gary has had notable success in show jumping, representing Ireland at Lanaken for two years, and now focuses on developing young horses. We break in our stock and also break and sell horses for other prominent breeders.

1. Congratulations on breeding Annaghmore Dunkirk, the recent All-Ireland three-year-old champion at Bannow and Rathangan Show. Tell us more about him.

Annaghmore Dunkirk was bought by Sharon Kelly Murphy, who had bought his older half-brother and other young horses from me. I sent her some photos of him, as he was the most spectacular foal.

She called him Michael after my son (and his grandad, Michael Quinn). Knowing he was going to be good, I was pleased that Sharon named him Michael. Dunkirk’s dam HHS Flo Echo was a traditional Irish mare that I bought from Marion Hughes.

Having ridden Flo Echo’s first progeny, I was always interested in her. I liked Dunkirk’s sire HHS Cornet, as his dam HHS Geneva was a very good mare, I had HHS Paris, a half-sister to her, so knew that they had good temperaments.

2. Your aim as a breeder?

I want to breed horses that people like: good-looking horses that move well, are sound and have a very good temperament, as exemplified by Annaghmore Dunkirk and Annaghmore Flo Pleasure.

We mainly breed for the show jumping and eventing markets, although some of our horses will show, hunt, pony club, et cetera.

While I’d hope each horse reaches top performance levels, I recognise the multitude of variables that influence this outcome and take great pleasure in seeing our young horses thrive with well-matched, new owners and hearing about their experiences and successes.

Whatever role my horses are destined for, I aspire for them to excel.

3. How many broodmares do you have?

We keep on average 10 mares. Sometimes I would cover a three-year-old that I particularly like and will then sell later as a five-year-old, but I get to retain the line.

4. What age do you sell stock?

We sell at any age, whenever there is a suitable client. It’s not possible for us to produce all the horses and help them to reach their potential, so if a suitable client comes along, then we’re happy to sell at any age. We’re passionate about matching horses with the right riders and watching their progress.

Annaghmore Dunkirk, bred by Aoife, after winning the All-Ireland three-year-old final at Bannow and Rathangan Show \ Susan Finnerty

5. Favourite bloodlines?

I’m very aware of the significance of damlines in successful breeding and tend to focus more of my attention on the dam’s pedigree. I’ve a lot of mares that came from Marion Hughes’ breeding programme, as I believe she has some of the best dams.

I’ve had good success using Beach Ball (whose dam is Echo Beach), HHS Cornet and I really like Luidam and find they have amazing temperaments. We’re using Madgeslane Luidam quite a lot this year; I think that he’s a very promising young horse.

6. Your view on prefixes?

My sister Sinead and I breed, produce and compete horses under the Annaghmore prefix, named after the townland where we grew up. We take great pride in this prefix, as it allows us to track the progress of our horses.

While I understand that buyers have the right to name their horses, I strongly encourage them to retain the Annaghmore prefix. I’m willing to change the name or accommodate the buyer’s naming preferences, as we did with Annaghmore Dunkirk, as long as the prefix remains to acknowledge the breeder.

7. Paris Olympics – predictions?

We have very good horses and riders going to the Olympics and a medal is inevitable. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to the Partners In Paris podcast, produced by the Horse Sport Ireland, which gave a great insight into all of our Olympic athletes.

8. Best advice you ever got?

A friend and fellow breeder often jokes during hard times that we should take up tennis. Luckily, the good days outnumber the bad, especially when you see them doing well. Believe in your own brand and believe in your own horses. Not everyone wants to or will breed an Olympic horse, and that is not the only measure of success. Every day is a school day, if you are open to learning. Surround yourself with good, knowledgeable honest people.

9. It takes a team – who’s on yours?

Gary is the other half of the team, bringing exceptional expertise and insight. Despite his initial reservations about breeding, he has come to appreciate its significance and now takes immense pride in our collective achievements. Everything is for sale, he regularly reminds me.

It’s a huge effort to get mares in foal and then, youngstock to a competitive age. My vet Donal Lynch of Slieve Bloom Veterinary in Tullamore is amazing. He’s also a part-owner in some of the mares. We have had a phenomenal year this year with foals and getting mares back in foal. We couldn’t function without him.

We breed a few mares in part-ownership with some very good friends of ours. It’s lovely to share this interest with friends, John Maguire, Patrick and Sarah-Jane Kirwan. We all celebrate the achievements and are a support to each other in bad times.

10. Favourite non-horsey pastime?

Being from the Faithful County, we enjoy nothing more than a good hurling match and thoroughly enjoyed supporting the Offaly under 20s, as they won the All-Ireland final this year. Uíbh Fhailí abú.