THE year 2023 – a year of extremes, from the highlights and golden moments for breeders of top-ranked horses and medal winners to the frustration of facing passport delays and price hikes at the feedstore and diesel pumps.
From professional to grassroots breeders, the entire sector keeps Irish horse and pony breeding aloft and alive, as does the hope that one day they could breed that 1.60m or five-star winner.
The year started off on a positive note with the Hippomundo rankings round-up. Pacino Amiro was the second-highest ranked show jumping horse of 2022, second only to Killer Queen. Vanir Kamira’s swansong year included her number one-ranked event horse title. The Irish Sport Horse (ISH) studbook placed first and ninth in eventing and show jumping.
John Hoolan, Pride of Shaunlara’s breeder, passed away in January, the same month that a registration costs feature by Isabel Hurley, compared HSI and Leisure Horse Ireland fees.
Applications opened for the €850,000 Equine Technical and Equine Breeding Schemes and in a follow-up passports feature, breeders slammed the hike in HSI registration fees.
Dondante, bred by Francis Brennan, was announced as the United States Eventing Association (USEA) Horse of the Year. In more Monaghan news, Clem McMahon unveiled Pacino II, a clone of his famous stallion, Dondante’s sire.
February was also the month when the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) and Global Champions Tour Studbook Trophy was launched and the horse world lost the 2010 Burghley winner and dual Olympian, Lenamore (Sea Crest. Breeder: Ted and Helen Walsh) and three-time World Cup winner, Shutterfly.
In March, Martin Heydon, the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) pledged his support for the sport horse industry and its 15,000 breeders at The Irish Field awards. Breeders Heather Dean-Wright, Kate Stevens and Sean Jones were amongst the Gain Equine Nutrition Star of the Month award winners.
Vanir Kamira, bred by Stevens, retired after a glittering five-star career and the 14th annual Horse Sport Ireland stallion inspections took place at Cavan. Successful Class 1 stallion breeders then featured in the Breeders’ 10 series.
TAMS III applications opened and the Connemara Pony Breeders’ Society centenary celebrations began in the west. Pacino II graced the cover of the 2023 Stallion Guide, which included features by Dr Sonja Egan on the roll out of the Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) process and 101 years of the Hanoverian studbook.
In April, Alison Corbally was announced as the Director General of the Irish Horse Board, which had won the DAFM marketing tender in 2022. The Board’s first marketing presence overseas was at the Kentucky Horse Trials. At Badminton, Ballaghmor Class and Colorado Blue finished second and third.
Oliver Townend with Ballaghmor Class for GBR, winners of the Defender Burghley Horse Trials \ Nixon Photo
Summertime
A 2022 breeding statistics article showed that Horse Sport Ireland registered 7,686 foals, 40.15% of the 2022 sport horse foal crop were by foreign-bred stallions, Entry (non-inspected) sires were the most popular, Galway breeders topped the By County poll and use of thoroughbred stallions dropped to 7.34%.
HHS Calais flew the ISH flag when he and Mikey Pender sealed Ireland’s historic first win in the Rome Nations Cup later in May.
Both HSI and the Traditional Irish Horse Association (TIHA) launched breeder schemes. The HSI range (budget of up to €2.9 million), included Embryo Transfer, Mare upgrade, Mare and Colt Retention, plus High Performance Stallion X-ray schemes, while the TIHA DNA Equine Genetics project was aimed at identifying horses as TIH. TIHA chairman Kevin Noone disclosed that only 9% of the TIH mare herd was foaled between 2015 and 2019.
June’s headlines included world show jumping champion DSP Alice retiring from the sport and Horse Sport Ireland embarked on four nationwide roadshows.
The thorny issue of passport delays was raised with HSI representatives, CEO Denis Duggan and Dr Sonja Egan when they appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Agriculture Committee. The CEO stated there was no disagreement between HSI and the IHB.
Tributes poured in for the late Noel Cawley, a pioneer in sport horse breeding, who passed away in June. The Irish Sport Horse stallion Jackaroo, a full-brother to Olympic event horses Mandiba and High Kingdom and Easy Game, the Trakehner sire of dressage sensation TSF Dalera BB were two stallion losses last summer.
The 2023 Breeding Grant Allocation was launched by Charlie McConologue in July. Over €520,000 was allocated to over 60 equestrian organisations with Dublin Horse Show receiving €200,000. Leading Irish breeders in the WBFSH rankings were to receive a €5,000 windfall.
Bertram Allen celebrates after jumping double clear with Pacino Amiro (ISH) and securing victory for Ireland at the CSIO5* Spruce Meadows Masters \ Spruce Meadows
Pacino Amiro’s La Coruña Grand Prix win catapulted the Donegal-bred back amongst the Hippomundo top-10 show jumping horses.
Two individual gold medals were won at the European young riders and pony championships by ESI Ali (Stakkato Gold. Breeder: Andrew Hughes) with Seamus Hughes Kennedy at Gorla Minore and Fernando (Contendro. Sean Judge) with Paddy Reape in Le Mans.
HHS Calais and James Kann Cruz were on the Irish team, runners-up in their year’s Aga Khan Nations Cup at Dublin. The Irish Field Breeders’ Championship was won by Waterford dairy farmer Richard Drohan (eventing) and Bridget Devaney (show jumping), while the Noel Cawley-bred Laurina won both the Broodmare Futurity and Cruising six-year-old championship, named after her grandsire.
Terence Sweeney’s home-bred stallion Dunloughan Troy (Currachmore Cashel) and Marie Price’s Lough Derg Star (Glencarrig Joe. Marie Collins) were the supreme in-hand and ridden champions at the Connemara breeders ‘Olympics’: Clifden Pony Show.
Disappointingly, there was no Irish-bred on any medal teams at the European eventing championships in Haras du Pin, but James Kann Cruz lined out in the Irish silver medal-winning show jumping team at the Euros in Milan.
Mikey Pender and HHS Calais jumped treble clear in the CSIO5* Rolex Nations Cup of Rome \ Helen Cruden
Castleforbes Libertina (Libero H), Jessica Kürten’s winner of the 2008 Dublin Grand Prix, was another equine loss, as was Mr Medicott (Cruising) the following month. Bred by the late Dr Donal Geaney, his son Donie described the dual Olympian eventer as a “horse of a lifetime”.
Lanaken history
The evergreen Ballaghmor Class lived up to his name by becoming the fifth consecutive Irish Sport Horse to win Burghley. Pacino Amiro’s clear round in the Langley Nations Cup, won by Ireland, was another big ticket performance needed in the closing stages of the WBFSH rankings.
Details of a genetic test to determine if a traditionally-bred animal with incomplete pedigree details can be classified as a TIH, was announced in a collaboration between the TIHA, Plusvital’s lead scientist Dr Emmeline Hill and HSI.
“The Irish Are Back” read the headline on the WBFSH show jumping young horse championships breeding report. Four medals, including an unprecedented clean sweep in the five-year-old final by ISH-breds: HHS Ocala (Urano de Curtigny. Breeder: Bravo Hughes Ltd), Boleybawn Alvaro (Dominator Z. Ronan Rothwell) and Ballyshan B F Super Hero (Celtic Hero B Z. Gary Doherty), were won at Lanaken. Laurina (Stakkato Gold. Noel Cawley), the six-year-old final silver medallist, was sold to McLain Ward the following month.
Although the ISH Studbook was out of the medals at the WBFSH Studbook Global Champions Tour Trophy in Valkenswaard, there was a brilliant individual performance from DHF Alliance (Ard VDL Douglas. Breeder: Paul Douglas) and Comdt. Geoff Curran. This combination won all three eight-year-old classes at these inaugural championships.
A €250,000 increase, announced in this year’s Budget, brought DAFM’s allocation to the Irish Sport Horse sector up to €5.45 million, split between Horse Sport Ireland (€4.4 million) and the Irish Horse Board (€800,000).
The Babingtons’ ‘family horse’ Mark Q (O.B.O.S Quality 004), bred by John and Barbara Walshe, retired at the age of 21.
“Inspiration All Round” read the editorial by new acting editor Lesley Hunter-Nolan when the WBFSH rankings delivered impressive results for the ISH studbook, followed up by a two-part special about past and present top-ranked horses, studbooks and stallions.
Another nationwide series of four HSI roadshows were held in Galway, Down, Charleville and Kildare during October and November.
Colorado Blue, bred by Kate Jarvey, won the Maryland International five-star with Austin O’Connor. While the WBFSH young event horse championships at Le Lion d’Angers drew an unusual blank for Irish Sport Horses, there was better news from Santiago in Chile, venue for the 2023 Pan-Am Games. HSH Blake (Tolan R. Justin Burke) and Castle Howard Casanova (Womanizer. Susan Fitzpatrick) won individual gold and silver medals for Caroline Pamakcu (USA) and Marcio Carvalho Jorge (BRA).
Conference success
James Kann Cruz and Shane Sweetnam were the November 11th issue cover stars after their Lexington World Cup qualifier win, which boosted the Galway-bred’s earnings into the millionaire bracket. One of the lead news stories involved Wexford TD Paul Kehoe raising the delay in HSI-issued passports in the Oireachtas and HSI Head of Operations Paul O’Connor defending the delays.
Shane Sweetnam and Gizmo Partner’s, James Kann Cruz (Kannan x Cruising) claim victory in the $226,000 Longines FEI World Cup ™ at the 2023 National Horse Show at Lexington, Kentucky \ FEI Shawn McMillen Photography
The Irish-bred Macs Silver (Fast Silver. Pairic McNeill) was the sole Class 1 stallion at the IDHS(GB) autumn inspections, joining The Scarlet Hero (Crannagh Hero. Eddie Murphy), successful at the springtime inspections.
Johnson TN (dressage), Diarado (eventing) and Diamant de Semilly (show jumping) were the top stallions in the WBFSH sire rankings. O.B.O.S Quality (second) and Puissance (eighth) were the highest-placed Irish-based eventing stallions. Pacino leapt 40 places up the show jumping sires rankings to 41st.
Breeders frustration at passport delays was high on the agenda when CEO Denis Duggan and HSI colleagues appeared before the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The changeover to the new SNP system and high turnover rates amongst staff, attributed in exit interviews to higher salaries elsewhere and abuse from clients, were cited by Duggan as factors.
A highly-successful marketing and promotion conference was hosted by the IHB where guest speakers included breeders Patrick Connolly, Kate Jarvey and Paul Hendrix.
The rocky transition to SNP testing was again referred to when the CPBS issued an update about passport delays in the December 1st issue, which also highlighted the DAFM’s latest equine census deadline that week.
11 new stallions were added to HSI’s approved and recognised ranks, while in the Hippomundo rankings final stretch, Ballaghmor Class and the ISH studbook held unassailable leads in the 2023 countdown.
At the time of writing, the latest good news for the Irish Sport Horse was GRS Lady Amaro’s runner-up place in the prestigious Grand Prix at five-star Geneva. This promoted her to second amongst the Irish-breds in the Hippomundo rankings.
Pluses: An outstanding year in terms of five-star, rankings success, dedicated breeders, Pacino, Cruising mammies and a golden Burghley for Puissance offspring. Minuses: Passports, passports and passports.
Seamus Hughes Kennedy winning the Balmoral Grand Prix with ESIi Ali in May 2023 \ Anne Hughes
2023 Highlights
LANAKEN CLEAN SWEEP: HHS Ocala brought the number of gold medals won by Irish Sport Horses over the past dozen years to 10. And there was that unprecedented podium clean sweep by Irish Sport Horses and Irish riders in the five-year-old final.
CLASS BY NAME: Six years after his first Burghley win, Ballaghmor Class lived up to his name with another Burghley title. Plus, he is ranked first and second in Hippomundo and the WBFSH individual event horse rankings this year. Surely one of the all-time most successful Irish-bred event horses.
Not even a sniffer dog could find a trace of Irish bloodlines in Colorado Blue, but his historic Maryland win for Austin O’Connor is sweet reward for Kate Jarvey’s mission to breed event horses. And the two Limerick greys were bred just 35 kilometres apart.
RANKINGS ALOFT: The continental challenge grows, however the ISH studbook retained its leading eventing title in both the Hippomundo and WBFSH rankings this year.
The ISH studbook rose to sixth place in the show jumping rankings and Pacino Amiro was ranked fourth - the best-ever result in the WBFSH results. The top six horses that achieved these results?
Ballaghmor Class (Second. Courage II. Noel Hickey), Rehy DJ (Fourth. Tinarana’s Inspector. Noel Russell), Black Ice (11th. Vechta. Judith McClelland), Cavalier Crystal (equal 17th. Jack of Diamonds. Thomas Horgan), Oughterard Cooley (equal 17th. Puissance. Gerard Lynch) and HSH Blake (20th. Tolan R. Justin Burke) in eventing.
In show jumping, it’s the near-household names of Pacino Amiro (Fourth. Pacino. Simon Scott), James Kann Cruz (12th. Kannan. Patrick Connolly), Up Too Jacco Blue (28th. Chacco-Blue. Mark Sherry), Rincoola Milsean (48th. Aldatus Z. Harold McGahern), GRS Lady Amaro (81st. Amaretto D’Arco. Denis Hickey) and BP Wakita (120th. Pacino. Greg Broderick).
What They Said
“Dad bred eight Lanaken competitors over the years: Laurina, Luisa, Go Lightly, Ballypatrick Flamenco, Hybernia, Rincarina, Golden Exchange and Castellar. He always aimed for good results and would be absolutely delighted to see the fantastic results achieved this week by our small breeding nation.”
Lisa Cawley.
“James Kann Cruz is a horse of a lifetime and a dream come true for us as breeders of show jumpers. All those years watching these 5* classes, hoping to breed a horse for the big days and thankfully, James Kann Cruz is doing this.”
Patrick Connolly.
“Europe has got very tight with their bloodlines and Ireland represents slightly different bloodlines, because we had the old traditional Irish Sport Horse and we’ve amalgamated the best of European genes. And there’s certainly more interest this year [from overseas markets] in what we’re doing in Ireland, because of the success of the horses in both jumping and eventing.”
Alison Corbally, Irish Horse Board Director General.
“Celebrations will be little, as we are busy with foals, but my father [Brendan] was overjoyed at the result and quite emotional when I showed him the [Lanaken] pictures and videos of the horse and presentation.”
Gary Doherty.
“Preparations for these championships embody a lifetime of dedication by Irish breeders, producers and riders to achieve such results on Irish-bred horses. I know the industry shares a huge sense of pride in our participation and success in Lanaken and it is great to see them get the recognition they deserve.”
Dr Sonja Egan, HSI Head of Breeding, Innovation and Development.
“You [Irish breeders] still have it all. Ireland has everything to be the best: climate, the connection with America which for me is always the biggest market.”
Paul Hendrix.
“A total fairytale for our champ! Oliver and Ballaghmor Class are the perfect partnership. My dad [Noel Hickey], like the Christy Moore song, was just an ordinary man. When I saw on Instagram that they had won [Burghley], I cried buckets! It’s so emotional, it’s so amazing. It’s class.”
Carol Hickey.
“The Irish were great at Lanaken and there’s a lot of enthusiasm about breeding. It was just wanting a few new bloodlines, like the Roosakker family. You have to keep looking at improving, mix them together with some Irish and maybe have a chance to improve the breed.”
Marion Hughes.
“If you get a five-star horse once in a lifetime, you’re very, very blessed.”
Kate Jarvey.
“It’s a great, great testament to the country to be able to get gold, silver and bronze in Lanaken. We need more places for Irish horses in Lanaken, like, to think that [Boleybawn] Alvaro wasn’t even one of the horses that was selected. It just shows you what the standard is in Ireland.”
Ronan Rothwell.
“It’s a privilege for everybody here. Something that might never happen again, but when it does, it just gives everybody the heart to go in the right direction. How lucky has he [Pacino Amiro] been? He is definitely a lucky one.”
Simon Scott.