ONE of Ireland’s best known Irish Draught horse breeders and master of hounds, Chantal Deon, sadly passed away last week. Chantal moved from her native France over 40 years ago, and put down roots in East Galway, endearing herself to the local and equestrian communities when she settled down at The Old Rectory in Tynagh. It was there that she bred traditional Irish horses and became a regular on the show circuit around the country, especially at the Dublin Horse Show where she had outstanding success.

A very decisive lady, she was highly organised, knew the type of horse she wanted to breed, kept her stud and facilities in pristine condition and was one of the most engaging and personable people one could meet. She had a huge interest in people and always welcomed them with a charming smile.

She picked up the local dialect and sayings quickly, and one could not but notice that everything, even the most mundane everyday happenings sounded that more sophisticated when Chantal spoke in her beautiful strong French accent.

She had a remarkable record in breeding, producing, showing horses, and showjumping with one of her mares winning 122 times in nine years, which included 11 championships.

BACKGROUND

Chantal was born in Paris and the family also had a home in Normandy. Before settling in Ireland, Chantal lived in many parts of the world. Her father, Renaudeau d’Arc, a very special name in France, was a general in the French Army, later to become Commander in Chief, so Chantal was riding cavalry horses from an early age.

Her grandfather on her father’s side was master of a wild boar pack in Normandy, and was an owner of racehorses, while her grandfather on her mother’s side rode in many races including the premier steeplechase in France, the Grand Steeplechase de Paris in Auteuil racecourse in the Bois de Boulogne, close to Longchamp Racecourse in Paris. Chantal competed in showjumping before she came to live in Ireland, in Rabat in Morocco, Estoril in Portugal and on the Spetsai Islands in Greece.

Her late husband Michael, who was a well-known French novelist , author of books like The Purple Taxi – later made into a film – Wild Ponies and The Wild Geese.

He was honoured in France in 1975 with the distinction of Prix du Achadamie which has less than elected 50 members.

BREEDING

When Chantal came to Ireland, while living at Kilcolgan Castle, she bought her first horse in Ireland from Willie Leahy. She was planning to set up a breeding farm but was not sure which way to go, so Willie convinced her that the best route was the Irish Draught Horse, for as he said: “You can sell them easily at any cross roads!”

He described Chantal as, “Always in a hurry, and very determined, and if she wanted to do something, she would always achieve it.”

They went on to sell large consignments of Connemara Ponies to France, and hunters and showjumpers to America.

Another person who helped Chantal was Larry Gohery who sourced the early Irish Draught breeding stock with her.

All her horses were versatile which was down to the fact that they were all hunted and showjumped, which gave her an opportunity to see what career would suit them best.

Chantal began campaigning her horses on the showjumping circuit with Kevin Moloney from Loughrea as her rider achieving considerable success at shows all around the country. Her best horses were Seman purchased from Willie Leahy that Maloney brought from novice to Grade B, and was sold to Jean Marc Nicolas to jump on the French National Team, and later sold to Italy. Others included Aillebird, Athenius, Daffney, and I Don’t Care, many of them sold abroad.

A believer in the importance of performance mares for breeding, she was ahead of her time as she began in the early years to buy mares like Leda, Forada and Sinomin that she and Moloney campaigned on the showjumping circuit before breeding. The Irish Draught mare Brehon Lass II by Legaun Prince out of Brehan Lass was to be her foundation Irish Draught mare. Ironically the mare did not pass the Irish Draught inspectors, but Chantal proved them wrong, as the mare not alone became a champion herself, but produced a string of 16 foals. Many of them became champions, like showjumpers Hermine and Bran Flake, successful in Portugal, the stallion Cradilo, who won the American Performance Championship and the North American Irish Draught Championship.

She produced Tynagh Gold who won the six and seven-year-old class at the Dublin Horse Show.

Brehon Lass II won 66 first prizes showing, and 22 championships, and her daughter Brehon’s Pride was in the ribbons 122 times of which 99 were first prizes and 11 championships including the Millstreet Kerrygold Championship and Championships also at the Dublin Horse Show and Balmoral Show.

The mare hunted and showjumped to Grade B, and was then put in foal to Pride of Toames, the offspring was to be Brehon Pride which produced Gurraun My Way by Grosvenor Lad who won 15 firsts and 6 championships as a foal.

She also won the Mare of the Future and the National Irish Draught Show as a four-year-old and went on to produce yet another champion Gurraun Broadway.

She stood Irish Draught stallions at her stud, such as Gurraun Zidane, the Irish Draught stallion that was campaigned to success by international rider Jessica Kurten, that could be seen in recent years in the parade of Irish Draught stallions at the Dublin Horses Show.

But the list of successes is even more extensive than that.

HUNTING

When Chantal came to Galway, she hunted with a number of packs including the Galway Blazers. In 1988 she was invited to become joint-master of the East Galway Foxhounds, a position she held with distinction for over 25 years. Some of her many hunters were Cloe, Elesgeria and a horse that looked after her in the latter years of her hunting career a strawberry roan named Butch.

Hunting was important to Chantal as not alone did it help her to integrate into the community around Tynagh, but she was a firm believer in hunting all her young stock as she knew that it would knock the edges off them, allow them to prove themselves in the natural countryside and provide a form of relaxation for them to be with other horses in the hunting field.

Chantal will be sadly missed by the community around Tynagh and East Galway, by Irish Draught breeders around the country, and her many hunting friends.

‘Gone Away’ was blown at Chantal’s home on the hunting horn by the huntsman Liam McAlinden with his two whippers-in Alan Briscoe and Neville Horseman before hunt staff and hounds escorted the cortege to her funeral service held at Saint Lawrence’s Church in Tynagh, where Ralph Conroy, who worked with Chantal for a time, recalled many of the highlights of her equestrian contribution to the Irish Draught horse, and the many unique records she achieved in the show ring.

The service was followed by private cremation. The internment of her ashes will take place later at her birth place in France.

She is survived by her daughter Alice and son Alex, and her grandchildren, family and friends.