THE best weekend of the year” - that’s how the Kentucky Horse Trials, North America’s first five-star event at Lexington’s Kentucky Horse Park, are known to thousands of eventing fans. For Irish-born veterinary surgeon Brendan Furlong, the famous event has special significance.

“I personally can’t ever think of Kentucky without thinking about Happy Talk winning. It was long format, it was the top end of the game and that was the last time Bruce [Davidson] won Kentucky. He won it six times and Happy Talk was his last winner,” said Furlong.

Interlinking stories abound in the horse world and Happy Talk (Hard Boy x Mon Capitaine) is a prime example. He was found for Brendan by that talent spotter supremo and “lovely lady” Clare Ryan, who also sourced three Irish-bred event horses at the London Olympics: Canadian rider Peter Barry’s Kilrodan Abbott (Clover Brigade), bred by John Craig and Ireland’s Master Crusoe, competed by Aoife Clark.

The third - another of four Master Imps at those Olympics - was Ringwood Magister with US rider Tiana Coudray and under the care of Furlong, their team vet. London was one of five Olympic Games, as well as world championships and Pan-American Games, where he carried out that role.

His is a remarkable story of how a schoolboy, who once opened gates during their rounds and cleaned the cars of his vet idols Barthy Hickey and Shemmy Berry, went on to build up one of the most successful veterinary practices in North America.

A proud Wexford man - one of his sons Adam is named after Brendan’s native Adamstown - it’s fitting how, due to the five-hour time difference, Joe Biden’s visit to Ballina is in progress during this interview.

Ballina, where Ringwood Magister was bred by Adrian Bourke, is a reminder of another successful US presidential visit of 1963 when John F. Kennedy - an icon whose picture was proudly displayed in Irish households galore - visited his Model County roots.

Whilst much has changed in Ireland during that 60-year timespan, one constant is how Irish-American success stories, of the Irish who “have done well for themselves” across the Atlantic, are admired. That particular Friday was the end of another busy day for Furlong and the start of a new exciting phase for his business.

“Our primary location is in New Jersey and then we have a wintertime base in Wellington, during which we have five or six vets and MRI and imaging facilities down there. We have a year-round practice in Ocala and a base in Middleburg, Virginia, for the summer and fall season.

“Right now, our practice in New Jersey is in several different locations. We have a reproductive centre where we do state-of-the-art embryo transfer and ICSI; two surgical centres: one for orthopaedic surgery and one for colic and soft tissue surgeries; we have an imaging place where we do CTs, MRIs, bone scans and then we have one of the very first equine veterinary-supervised rehabilitation centres in the United States. But, they’re all in different locations.

“So I’ve just contracted to buy about 60 acres of land close to our present location, put everything there in one place and sell off the other locations. I’ve been fighting with local regulations and authorities for three and a half to four years and last week, literally, we got all the approvals.

“Hopefully, we close on the property on May 9th and that night, Wendy and I fly to England to see ‘Percy’, our Watermill Swatch horse, in the hunters at the Royal Windsor Show. We’ll go to Royal Windsor, which is one of the huge horse shows in the world I’ve never been to, see Percy and begin digging up the new property in New Jersey. Then come back for Bannow and Rathangan show and again for Dublin. I’m looking forward to it all.”

Annual pinnacle

Transatlantic shuttling is nothing new. Brendan met his future wife when both young vets were working stateside. After British-born Wendy returned home, the long-distance romance continued, thanks to Ryanair forerunner Freddie Laker and his $99 transatlantic fares.

Percy? That’s Daphne Tierney’s home-bred All Ireland three-year-old and Dublin supreme champion young horse of last summer: Bloomfield Watergate. Currently produced in England by David Tatlow’s granddaughter Alice, his new owner got a tip-off about last summer’s Bannow champion.

“A friend and client of mine Eamon Hughes, he’s from Co Longford and imported a lot of horses from Ireland, said, ‘There’s a horse down at a show in Wexford. I think you might like him.’

“He sent me a video. I looked at the video on the phone... I’ve never bought a horse off a video ever before and I wouldn’t recommend anyone to do it.. and thought, ‘I have to have this horse’.”

Having contacted Daphne, a price was agreed upon. “She’s a lady. Daphne, her husband Stephen, Jane Bradbury [who produces Daphne’s show horses], have all become very good friends.”

Returning in July to the south-east show, where Percy won his All Ireland crown, has extra significance for the Wexford expat. “We get into Dublin at seven o’clock in the morning, drive down to Wexford and meet up with Daphne. I want to see Herbie Deacon too and so many other people I haven’t seen in years, I’m really, really looking forward to it.”

Bloomfield Watergate, the All Ireland three-year-old champion with producer Jane Bradbury, handler Michael Lyons and owner Daphne Tierney at Bannow and Rathangan. The gelding is now owned by Brendan Furlong and being produced in Britain by Alice Tatlow \ Susan Finnerty

As a youngster, his local show in Adamstown was “the pinnacle of the year. We lived for it, we would walk mares and foals, yearlings, two-year-olds, three-year-olds from Brocurrow to Adamstown. I found a history of Adamstown Show 1946-1996 and in 1973, there’s a picture of ‘Brendan, Aidan and Nicholas Furlong’, my father, with a horse called Valentine.

“It was the first time ever a yearling had won the young horse championship at Adamstown. Valentine was never beaten, we showed him all over Ireland and he won the three-year-old championship in Dublin. It was such a matter of pride. We had non-horsey farmer cousins who would come just to watch the show.

“Growing up in Adamstown, from the youngest age all I can ever remember was I wanted to be around horses. When the vets Barty Hickey and Shemmy Berry came to Brocurrow, our family farm, I would ask my father, ‘Daddy can they come on Saturday so I can be there to help them?’ It was a mystique about veterinary that I wanted to pursue.”

Was veterinary, like politics for some, a calling? “I never looked upon it that way. I was the youngest of five sons, probably a bit of a favourite of my father but you know in Ireland, the oldest son gets the farm.

“There was only two of the five sons that had any interest in horses, my older brother Aidan and myself. So my father, Aidan and I were very bonded because of the horses, going to horse shows, going to look at foals, going to the sales, buying privately. There was a tremendous bond there.

“I wanted to be involved with horses and that was through veterinary practice. I certainly have no regrets.”

Rolex win

Although Brendan was the first veterinary surgeon in the Furlong family, there’s yet more links to Model County veterinary and showing world legends.

“Interestingly enough my oldest brother Pat, who’s since passed away, was married to Kathleen Doyle and Kathleen had two brothers who were vets. One of them was Andy, who passed away recently. He loved equine work, his practice was in New Ross and the other brother Padge was a farm animal practitioner and worked out of Dungarvan.

“Michael Roche was married to another Doyle sister, Mary Margaret, I would have known that family very well. Michael had an unbelievable run of success with his broodmare Assagart Kit, then there was another fellow near us, Luke Cummins. He had a mare that won at Dublin several times.

“Leslie Leech, who bred a great horse that went to the Army Equitation School, was another farmer with such pride in his horses. These Wexford farmers and their horses! A lot of them would say: ‘If you could win in Adamstown, you’d have a good chance in Dublin.’”

Brendan had high hopes of Happy Talk’s Dublin chances. “I sent him down to Michael Hickey to show and produce and Michael would say, ‘Brendan, this horse will go a long way.’ He had enough thoroughbred blood in him and won in Dungarvan, Cork and Clonmel.

“I flew over to Dublin to see him and when I got there, the horse is not there. He couldn’t go because he got ringworm and wouldn’t be allowed in the showgrounds. That was a huge disappointment for me and Mr Hickey (as we used to call him!) said, ‘Leave him another year and we’ll go back’.

“I thought and thought about it and brought him back to America. Wendy started to compete him in eventing and he had a huge flair for it. He ended up being too much horse for her and I contacted Bruce, Bruce took the horse on and the rest is history.

“He won at Rolex Kentucky in 1993, went to Badminton and Burghley, every major competition in the world.”

Happy Talk spent his retirement at Brendan’s Pittstown farm where another Kentucky crowd favourite, competed by Allison Springer, was foaled.

“Arthur was always a special horse to see compete in Kentucky. We didn’t actually breed him, Michael Godfrey dabbled in breeding and sent mares to our farm, he was the rider for the Mars family before the O’Connors were. Michael would have ridden those great mares of Jacqui Mars when Jacqui had a farm in New Jersey.

“Allison would be signing autographs at Rolex with pictures of her and Arthur jumping into the water. There’d be throngs of people, kids and grown ups all wanting to get their picture because Arthur was American-bred.

“And other memories... just seeing your clients and horses getting around Kentucky safely, knowing there’s no injuries to horse or rider. By the Sunday morning jog [final horse inspection], I felt my job was done and the gods would line up who’s going to win or be second or third.”

Model County heritage

Then there was Ballynoecastle RM (Ramiro B x Blue Laser), bred in Blackwater, Co Wexford, by the late Sylvester Cullen. Six years ago, ‘Reggie’ retired at Kentucky after a stellar career with Buck Davidson, Bruce’s son, one that included four Rolex Kentucky starts, two World Equestrian Games appearances and ending up as the highest points earner in United States Eventing Association (USEA) history.

“Reggie’s retirement party, I remember it well! I’ve been very friendly with Buck and had been taking care of his horses forever, he loves, genuinely loves, that horse.”

Brendan is responsible for Buck’s partnership with many Irish-breds as longstanding owner Carl Segal explained back in the 2017 Rolex Kentucky feature in The Irish Field: “It was Brendan who influenced us. When we bought My Boy Bobby (Touchdown), he said, ‘All the best eventing horses come from Ireland.’ They’re so resilient and strong and that’s exactly what Reggie is too.”

Although Reggie almost didn’t make it over to America. Buck told the story then of how Patricia Nicholson found Ballynoecastle RM but the horse failed his initial vetting.

“Patricia called up Brendan, my vet, and said, “Look, I’ve seen this horse for a long time, he’s beautifully put together and never put a lame step in his life.”

Brendan recalls what happened next. “I’d stopped travelling to Europe to vet horses but I called up a young vet from Wexford who’d spent a year working for me in America, and said, ‘Dave, would you be up for vetting a horse for me?’ He agreed and said, ‘Can I send the x-rays to you?’ ‘Absolutely but I want your impression of the clinical examination of the horse.’

“So he went and vetted the horse. He said, ‘Brendan, there’s nothing wrong with the horse, he’s perfectly sound.’ I said, ‘Perfect!’ The horse came over, he never, ever had a lame step and I never had to treat the horse for lameness.”

Bred in Blackwater, Co. Wexford, Ballynoecastle RM and Buck Davidson at the horse’s retirement ceremony at the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Horse Trials \ Susan Finnerty

Master Crusoe, the third of Clare Ryan’s London Olympics finds, was another Model County-bred for Phyllis and Michael Doyle in Oylegate. Then there’s mentions of Wexford greats like Barty Hickey, Shemmy Berry, Michael Hickey, the many farmer-breeders who bred champions and Army Equitation recruits. What is it about the Model County that it has produced so many great horsemen/women and horses?

“I asked my brother Aidan this. He lives and loves everything Irish. He said there was always good, strong farmers in Wexford with good land. Going back a few generations, every farmer had a mare, it was part of the whole ethos of being a farmer in Wexford. Then the Kents in Adamstown, Michael Hickey down in Garryrichard, Barty Hickey in Wexford town, started to stand good thoroughbred stallions and they were crossing them with these half-Draught mares that worked on the land and would take the family to town at the weekend.

“It started out too with local gymkhanas, point-to-pointing, show jumping. Look at the families that have come from Wexford: Con Power, Michael Hickey riding on the Aga Khan team on a horse called Lydican, Bertram Allen. Then the fellows names that I’m absolutely filled with memories of: Jack Deacon, Herbie Deacon, many more.

“Jack produced Slaney Valley to win at Dublin. I remember it so well. I was a kid at the time, we’d all go up to Dublin together and stay in a hotel not too far from the RDS. Over pints of Guinness after Slaney Valley won, Jack would say, ‘I put Wexford on the map! Now everybody knows where the Slaney river is.’

“They were farmers, they were stockmen. Aidan said, I’ll never forget Tim Vigors, the forerunner of Coolmore at the time and he said something like, you can’t make a horseman but you can make a stockman and a good stockman will make a good horseman.

“Hunting is a huge part of the Wexford psyche,” Brendan continued. “There was so many packs of foxhounds: the Wexford packs and then the packs that crossed over into Wexford country because when I hunted as a kid with the Wexford and the Kilkennys, Major Victor McCalmont was the master and they hunted two days a week in Wexford and three days a week in Kilkenny.

“We had the Bree Harriers, Killinick Harriers, the Wexford hounds, you had George Chapman up in the north of the county with the Island Hunt. So that was a huge part too and the pride in breeding a horse that would hunt across that country was really important to the farming community.”

You can move a man from Wexford to New Jersey but you can’t eliminate that farming instinct. Unlike recent rained-off fixtures here and cross-channel, New Jersey has the opposite problem.

“Here’s the Irish farmer in me coming out, we need rain badly. I farm about 350 acres of land as well as being a vet and I need grass and hay to grow. We’ve been dry for the entire month of April here.”

Another challenge but Brendan Furlong thrives on challenges.

Next week: Backing brave and x-rays.