LOOKING at the Traditional Irish Horse Association (TIHA) activities throughout 2024, you’d hope Santa Claus delivered a handsome cheque for projects or that future Ministers in the next government note this voluntary committee’s budget-stretching abilities.

Promoting traditional breeding - a combination of thoroughbred, Irish Draught and Connemara bloodlines - on a minuscule budget, understood to be under €20,000 per annum, surely ranks as a labour of love. If not an outright uphill battle.

Some would argue that the work of ringfencing traditional bloodlines should have been significantly ramped up with the arrival of the first warmblood stallion in Ireland.

Some will say that traditional breeding has had its time in the sun and markets have moved on; others believe there is still a substantial market loyal to traditional-breds.

The number of traditional foals in the 2024 crop is guesswork at this point; another issue with some foal passports is the absence of a TIH designation.

Performance-wise, there are no significant TIH performers found in the 2024 top show jumper rankings. 20 years beforehand, Carling King and Mr Springfield finished joint-fourth at the Athens Olympics. Flexible, another TIH, finished individual eighth at the London 2012 Games and won the World Cup final that same year.

There just hasn’t been any other pure-bred TIH performer of that 1.60m calibre since. Although Francis Derwin had an outstanding year with the Flexible-sired Flexi K (out of a Luidam dam), bred at Knightfield Stud.

The Balmoral Grand Prix, individual silver and team gold at the European young riders championship and selection for the Irish Nations Cup team, runners-up at the Longines EEF final in Warsaw.

Another Nations Cup appearance (Rabat) and 1.50m class win (El Jadida) on the Moroccan Tour wrapped up Flexi K’s good season.

TIHA award recipients at 2024 Dublin Horse Show last August \ Susan Finnerty

TIH dams

There’s no better ambassador right now than James Kann Cruz (Kannan) for promoting TIH dams. He looks like an Irish horse, due to his Cruising dam CSF Telly Cruz and made his breeders - the Connolly family - and connections proud with his and Shane Sweetnam’s Paris Olympics call-up.

As we’ll see in next week’s Hippomundo show jumping rankings feature, James Kann Cruz won €334,731 throughout 2024 and was 56th in their rankings. He was sixth in the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) rankings last year, just 25 points behind the mighty King Edward.

So, a good advertisement for those increasingly scarce TIH/Cruising dams, as the Pat Kehoe-bred ABC Cortana (Cornet Obolensky) and Rincoola Milsean (Aldatus Z) are out of Cruising mares too. Kehoe’s Ardnehue Diamond is the dam of Trevor Breen’s two-star Grand Prix winner in Dubai last January, while the ex-Army Equitation School recruit Rincoola Abu produced Rincoola Milsean.

Bred by the late Harold McGahern, Rincoola Milsean won €233,174 for US rider Charlotte Jacobs last year and was the seventh highest-ranked ISH in the 2024 Hippomundo rankings.

Two places above, in fifth place, is GRS Lady Amaro (Amaretto D’Arco), bred by Denis Hickey and out of the thoroughbred dam Legal Lady, by Garryrichard Stud’s in-house sire Over The River.

Moving to eventing, the longtime forte of the TIH, one example of the longevity of the Irish horse in Hippomundo’s 2023 rankings was the Brian McDonnell-bred Boleybawn Prince. At 20 years of age, the Tokyo Olympics veteran featured in 36th place that year.

Points-earners

The highest-placed TIH in the 2023 rankings (21st) was Oughterard Sky Boy (Puissance), bred by Gerry Lynch. This Burghley specialist was missing in action last year, but is reported to be back in training for 2025.

Best-ranked TIH in the 2024 Hippomundo rankings? The identically-bred Arklow Puissance (62nd), as both are out of... yet again... Cruising dams. Arklow Puissance was bred by Michael Byrne.

The Caroline Widger-bred Grantstown Jackson (Clover Brigade) and Sarah Ennis were the third-fastest cross-country combination at Badminton in May. Another cross-country specialist combination is Ballyneety Rocketman (Diamond Discovery) and Sam Watson, this horse finished the year as the top TIH points earner of the Eventing Ireland (EI) season.

The pair were also on the Irish team at the Aachen Nations Cup, while on the winning team at Boekelo in October were Aoife Clark and Susie Berry with Sportsfield Freelance (SBS Da Vinci) and Clever Trick (Financial Reward). Brian Hallahan and Kilcandra Stud are the breeders of this pair of horses, bred on mainly traditional lines.

Inquisitor and Master Point’s breeder Bridget McGing provides a timely Breeders’ 10 (see page 64) about this pair and rider Ian Cassells’ achievements at five-star and Le Lion d’Angers level.

She also raises the valid point about the shortage of proven performance TIH stallions. 2024 saw the loss of Joe Flynn’s home-bred stallion Ardcolum Duke. However, his son Carrabeg The Full Irish, owned and bred by Susan Malee, competed with Kathrina Wildling at the WBFSH studbook finals in Valkenswaard in September.

One addition to dwindling TIH approved stallion ranks is Tom Jones’ Carrick Diamond Royale. By his owner’s late Carrick Diamond Lad and bred by Tom’s brother Laurence, the four-year-old passed Stage 1 at the HSI selections at Cavan.

Go For Gold boost

Stillbrook Lizzie (Sirillio), bred by David Wallis, won the traditional working hunter class with Tom Hayden aboard at Dublin Horse Show. Another consistent Working Hunter prize winner last year was the four-year-old Cois Farraige (Killountain Cross), bred by Noel Loughnane and produced by Sarah Lang.

Maura Rooney bred and produced Aidan Flanagan’s supreme champion at the TIHA performance championships at Mullingar EC in September: RSH Strings Attached (Gortfree Hero). Another of this Irish Draught sire’s winning offspring was Margaret Jeffares’ Ballykelly Jasmine, back-to-back winner of the Limerick Matron championship. She also won the HSI broodmare championship at Charleville.

Her Gibeon colt Ballykelly Take Five, a beneficiary of the TIHA mare scheme, was the foal champion. The other TIH flagship event at Limerick Show is the Limerick Lady two-year-old championship for future broodmares. The 2024 champion was Charles Dullea’s Killountain Cruise (Killountain Cross).

Another home-bred showring champion was Darragh Glynn and Niamh Varley’s Elusive Knight (Elusive Emir), the ISA All-Ireland yearling colt/gelding champion at Barryroe.

Danielle Cusack’s Brittas Monte Cristo (Clonaslee Captain Cristo) won both the ISA All-Ireland colt foal final at Clarecastle and the Dublin colt foal class. The traditional champion of the HSI foal championships at Emerald Equestrian Centre was Maria Melvin’s Glenkeeran Time To Dance (KMS Timeless).

Another sign of the times is a handful of contenders forward for the Dublin traditional young horse championship. Last year’s champion was Serendipity Kerins’ three-year-old filly: Ouachita Diamond Lady (Cloonacauneen Grandpa).

TIHA presentations were made at Dublin Horse Show to John and Maura Gillivan for breeding Cash In Hand (Sayarshan), the sole TIH eventer at the Paris Olympics and connections of Ballyneety Rocketman, bred by James Hickey; Master Swatch (Watermill Swatch. Breeder: Olga Scully); Kennys Flight (Errigal Flight. Eamonn Kenny) and Cooley Bounce (Grange Bouncer. Thomas Duffin).

Cooley Bounce and Alannah Kelly won individual bronze at the European young riders’ championships the previous autumn.

The highest-placed TIH at the 2024 EI National Championships was Clonaslee Captain Hawk Wing (Inisfree The Holy Grail), winner too of the EI90 Amateur National Championship with Amy Salmon.

Cassanova’s Diamond (Cappa Cassanova) and Ballycreen Kings Mistress (Kings Master) picked up further TIHA awards at the championships, as the highest-placed and best youth-ridden TIH mares, with riders Lisa Doran and Lucy Keane. These award winners were bred by Michael Egan, Colin Flynn and David Cosby respectively.

A welcome boost was a traditionally-bred sales topper at the Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale in November. Trade Horse Ltd sold the unnamed Cruising For Diamonds four-year-old, bred by Michael Murphy, for €57,000.

Andrew Shinnick’s home-bred Asian Brandy (Asian Heights) closed out the year by winning the always-exciting North Tipperary Hunt Challenge in December.