GRAND Prix show jumper, event rider, national hunt pinhooker, point-to-point owner, sport horse producer and sale-topping vendor; all these mantles sit easily on the head of Co Wexford horseman Jason Higgins.
At just 28-years-old, Higgins has made his mark in all the above but is probably best known in the sport horse world, where as an owner/producer, he dominated the auction trade last year. He was not only responsible for the sale of the country’s overall sale-topper, but also consigned the highest priced lots from both the three and four-year-old sectors and had a big impact on the older divisions.
By any standards, this is a notable achievement, and in Higgins’ case is the result of an overriding sense of professionalism, a good eye and attention to detail. His ability to source, present and produce is his strength, as is the business acumen that accompanies it.
Although not directly hailing from a horsey family, his parents Kathleen and Jim had strong agricultural connections. Based near New Ross in Co Wexford, Jim worked for many years for the well-known equestrian vet Andy Doyle, while Kathleen’s father and uncle were prominent cattle dealers.
Ponies first featured in young Higgins’ life at the age of 10 when he acquired a three-year-old pony which he subsequently broke and produced. He had the occasional riding lesson at Oldcourt Stables under Paddy Kent and was a member of the Wexford Pony Club.
“From the start, ponies were always number one,” he recalled. “I was a keen hurler and footballer, but in the end, the ponies took over and horses were all I wanted to do.”
On leaving school, Higgins learnt his trade from among the best when taking a job in the mixed yard of Mary and Muriel Kehoe.
Remaining here for eight years, these were valuable times for Higgins, who, under the mentorship of the Kehoe sisters, Johnny Howard, as well as top show jumping trainer Michael Condon, absorbed knowledge like a sponge.
“It was a big livery yard at the time, with anything up to about 30 horses in work,” he explained. “We had breakers, sales horses as well as competition horses.
“Mary was also doing a fair bit of competing herself at the time, so we were always out and about at shows and events. I can’t single out anyone in particular for the enormous amount I learnt there,” he added. “They all played their part.”
KILCANNON CONNECTION
It was during this time that Higgins met local breeders and enthusiasts Mary Bolger and Philip Murphy who were to provide him with a base and to become an important part in his future career.
“Mary and Philip approached me to produce a few young horses for them, and in time this developed and continued into a successful business.
“To this day they have continued to be good supporters, for which I am very grateful.”
Most horses from this period were sold as youngsters under Bolger’s now recognisable Kilcannon prefix. The smart CCI3* event horse Kilcannon Harley Cruise was just one successful graduate for the team, winning the FEHL league under Higgins in his four-year-old year.
Other prominent sales included the event horses Kilcannon Watervalley Wizard, the American-based SBT Good Guy (formerly Kilcannon Good Guy), while competition highlights were headed by Kilcannon High Society and My Kilcannon Annie. The latter duo gave Higgins two of his most memorable moments as a rider when landing back-to-back young event horse titles at the RDS in 2015 and 2016.
Grasping further opportunities to compete at the higher levels, Higgins was also turning heads in the show jumping arena. He teamed up with the good show jumping mare and subsequent broodmare Kilcannon Cappoquin, and later with the Ballywalter Farms-owned Hadine Van’t Zorgvliet on whom he was placed in the Land Rover Puissance at the RDS and clocked up three similar wins in the now defunct Jumping in the City series.
This coming year he has an exciting Grand Prix ride in the form of Ger O’Neill’s Go For It, while he will continue his campaign of the young event horse series.
YOUNG HORSE PRODUCTION
Although a natural, versatile and obviously talented competition rider, Higgins’ main passion has always centred around the production of the young horses, and it is in this quarter, as well as a seller/producer, that he has really made his mark.
“To be honest as much as I get a kick out of competing, I probably get a greater one out of producing the young horses and seeing them coming through successfully,” he revealed.
A measured and astute individual, he has enjoyed phenomenal success, consigning his own three-year-old gelding by OBOS Quality to head the overall sales figures in 2018 at €59,000 and also Master Class Ramiro who, at €49,000, returned the highest price for a four-year-old.
“The year was a very good one. We are probably getting better stock each year and hitting the right market just at the right time.”
Finding these sale-topping gems is not easy and Higgins spends much time on the road.
“You have to spend as much time as it takes to find what you want. Sometimes you find one when you are not really looking, and if you do stumble across one, then you just have to buy them.”
Radiographs are now an accepted if universally unpopular element of the top end sales market, but refreshingly, Higgins is measured in his approach.
“With the way the market has gone, X-rays are very important, but they are not the be all and end all,” he remarked.
“There are circumstances when it is not possible to X-ray and, in that case, if you like the horse and have a good feeling about him, you still have to buy him.
“If you were to live by X-rays all the time, you will leave too many horses behind.”
While Higgins buys many horses privately, he is a great supporter of the sales.
“The sales have been lucky for me – both selling and buying. I’ve bought some lovely horses and some very good horses through the sales. You’re not going to get it right all the time but if you don’t try, you don’t know.
“You can’t sit on the fence forever or else you will never buy a horse. On the selling side, I think the specialist sales are on their way up, people are putting more trust and belief in them. Buyers are happy to come and to buy – and they are a credit to the people who run them.”
Higgins will buy a horse at any age, but with the four and five-year-olds increasingly hard to source, he ideally prefers to buy them aged between two and three years of age.
“The first thing I look for is a good head and front – because it’s the first thing you see every morning and the first thing the customer sees. As regards to conformation and especially with my involvement with the thoroughbreds, I’m very particular about the front leg.”
Following the mantra, ‘the day you buy is the day you sell,’ Higgins wisely adds: “The big key is to try to have what the market wants.
“You must move with the times and consider what the customer wants. The horse you like yourself is not necessarily the one somebody else will like.”
THOROUGHBRED BLOOD
On the emotive and contemporary subject of the required amount of thoroughbred blood in event horses, Higgins is open-minded.
“Yes, the blood is very important and is a must at the top end level, but the only thing I would say is sometimes people get a little bit fixated on the blood and forget about the other bits.
“A top horse has to have a lot of blood, but personally – and dealing with a lot of young horses – I like them to be very clever mentally. It’s a massive thing with young horses – a horse that improves from stage to stage will figure things out.
“At the end of the day, if the horse hasn’t got the ability, no matter how much blood he has – it’s not going to be any good to him.
“If a horse has only limited ability and too much blood then he won’t fit a market either. That said, and from a selling point of view, you have to have what the customer wants.
“Buyers are certainly swaying a lot more towards blood – I just hope they don’t overdo it with too many percentages and stats and forget to look at the individual,” he added.
At the sales, the Higgins-consigned horses stand out in terms of turnout and presentation.
Having learnt this skill in the early days with Mary Kehoe, Higgins comments: “Presentation is a massive, massive part. Clipping, trimming – it doesn’t matter what time of the day or night you do it – it has to be done. You have to go out looking your best.”
At this stage he pays tribute to his staff, especially to Thomas O’Leary and English-born Alice Mairtin Jones, acknowledging the huge amount of work involved behind the scenes.
“I’m very lucky to have good staff and I think anyone with an operation to do what we do and produce this number of horses for the sales and through the year – if you don’t have the staff, it’s just not possible.”
MBF SPORT HORSES
Another ingredient into Higgins’ rise to success is his association with Co Waterford-based producers Brian Flynn and Meabh Bolger (MBF Sport Horses).
Although the couple are successful in their own right, their joint business ventures with Higgins have proved beneficial to both parties. “I was lucky enough to meet Brian and Meabh some four or five years ago and since then have become very good friends.
“We do a lot of business together and as a partnership we are able to produce horses very well and very successfully. Meabh is a top-class rider who does a brilliant job and Brian also is a brilliant horseman.
“He won’t mind me saying it – he doesn’t strive to be a top competition rider by any manner of means - but that doesn’t stop him being a top-class horseman and a very good judge of a horse.”
Both Higgins and the MBF team have enjoyed major success at the specialist sales, topping several of the annual tables.
“We’ve built up a good reputation and people have put a lot of belief in us.
“Sometimes you can have a horse that does not necessarily have all the flash but if we feel that he has the potential, people now will listen to us and trust us to still purchase them.
“It’s very important to be honest with the customers – it’s not all about today, it’s about tomorrow.”
THOROUGHBRED INTERESTS
Always the businessman, it comes as no surprise to learn that Higgins is also involved in the thoroughbred industry, more specifically in the point-to-point market and National Hunt stores.
“I started to do a bit of pinhooking four or five years ago – mainly as a hobby, but then it progressed. A good friend of mine is James W. Doyle, and we started to do it together. We had some nice success, and since then have started the Baltimore Stables syndicate which is run by James.
“It’s a good involvement and we’ve been lucky enough to have sold some that have gone on.”
Among the success stories is He’s No Molly who has won three on the bounce for Noel Meade, while another is the Jim Goldie-trained young winner Get Out The Gate.
“I‘m happy to leave it at the level I’m at. I have a good few – probably now eight or 10 involvements with the Baltimore syndicate – it’s nice to be part of it and to see the horses train on successfully.
“We also turn over a few National Hunt foals and yearlings, both with James and the agent Hamish McCauley.”
THE FUTURE
Looking to the future, Higgins is content to remain at his Kilcannon base “I never want to end up having more horses than we have time to do. That ends up short-cutting which is something I don’t like, I prefer to keep the numbers down and do as good a job as possible.”
There is no doubt he is doing that in spades, and with many exciting young graduates due to appear on the circuit this season, he has much to look forward to.
The extremely promising Ogue Special, owned by Bridget and Camilla Speirs, will certainly be one to watch this spring, as will the Tattersalls/Goresbridge sale-topper Master Class Ramiro under British international Alexander Bragg.
Young Irish international show jumper Jason Foley will campaign the impressive Poynstown Domino; Izzy Taylor will move up to advanced level with her Osberton champion MBF Harley Rebel, and, of course, all eyes will be on Sam Ecroyd who will aim for the young horse series with his yet unnamed 2018 sale-topper.
While there is obviously a grave shortage of these potentially top-drawer horses, it is encouraging to hear Higgins speak positively about the future.
“Personally, I think it’s on the way up. Good horses are scarce at the moment, but things are improving. People are really opening their eyes to breeding and there’s a lot more effort being put into it.
“Over the past 10 years and possibly due the recession, it was let go a bit and breeders probably couldn’t afford to do it as well as they would have liked.
“At the same time a lot of people criticise breeders but it’s not the easiest job in the world and Irish breeders must be credited with what they have done. Look where the Irish horses are in the world rankings and they are only there because of Irish breeders,” said Jason Higgins.