PETER Curling has made Skehanagh in that particularly sporting part of Tipperary his home, his hunting and racing yard and above all, his inspiration. For all that he might have settled in Limerick as the Curlings have strong family links with Newcastlewest where his forebearer was the well regarded land agent for the Earl of Devon.

Peter Curling is rightly looked on as one of the leading equestrian artists in these islands following in the great tradition of Munnings, Lionel Edwards, Snaffles and so many more. His work is to be found anywhere horses are appreciated and form a significant part of any worthwhile sporting collection. His wife Louise is also a gifted and highly regarded artist, working in sculpture.

Curling admits that it is from the back of a horse, perhaps as hounds are drawing, that he gets his inspiration which allows him to capture the atmosphere and the ambience of a day’s hunting and the physique of the horse. Much of his work portrays racing including his latest work from his favourite point-to-point, ‘The Paddock at Kilfeacle’ (pictured above).

Curling’s work is highly sought after and a cartoon, especially commissioned for the JP MacManus Pro Am played in Adare Manor and auctioned for charity, made a jaw-dropping €2 million, a record for any living Irish artist. Peter’s son Sam runs a very successful racing and point-to-point yard at Skehanagh and is second in the handlers’ list scoring 32 wins in the 2019 season.

Peter is a man of many parts, a highly entertaining mimic and raconteur, a cartoonist, poet, and most recently, an author. A keen hunting man, he has also enjoyed some decent racing success mostly on his own horses but even his admirers would describe him as being more a gentleman than a jockey!

Those lucky enough to entertained in Skehanagh enter an Aladdin’s Cave of art and while the fare and the company are always excellent, it is the art – both Louise’s and Peter’s – that is spellbinding.

Early days

“I was born in 1955 in Waterford where my father worked in the bank. We moved shortly after that to Co Clare, first to Kilrush and then Kilkee. In January 1963, we moved to England where I went to school. I was always interested in drawing. Both my parents were artistic; my father was very musical and had acted in the Abbey and Gate theatres. My mother was creative and dealt in paintings, particularly sporting ones, Lionel Edwards, Snaffles, Michael Lyne, and that was where my interest started. I remember the pony racing on the beach in Kilkee and I started riding when I was about seven or eight,” recalls Peter Curling.

“I got an art scholarship to Millfield and they had a very good riding stable there, with all the various disciplines including polo and point-to-pointing.

"When I was 17, I went to study drawing in Florence and I alternated my time between there and Newmarket, where I rode out for Michael Stoute who had just started training. I had had my first exhibition in Lambourn when I was 14 and a couple in Dublin at Combridge’s and one at the opening of the new Goffs’ complex. They went well and I decided to move back to Ireland. I lived for a couple of years at Emo in Co Laois and then moved down to Tipperary.

Hunting and racing

“I started hunting more seriously there and I rode out for Edward O’Grady. In 1982/83 I had finished a big mural at Coolmore and I bought a horse called Caddy from Andy Kennedy, just up the road from Edward. Three weeks later, I found myself riding him at Limerick Junction in a bumper. Although I didn’t have much say in the matter, we made all the running and won by a neck.

“He was a marvellous horse and I had a lot of fun with him. He had an interesting life. He was struck into at Leopardstown and severed a back tendon. We rested him and he came back and won the Kerry National. In all he won nine races. On one occasion, he was doped. They were trying to get the favourite in a three-horse race but they got the wrong horse and ended up doping Caddy who was running in a different race. He survived and won again after that.

Peter Curling takes on a big double at Ballydine with the Tipperary Foxhounds.on his lovely coloured horse \ Catherine Power

I was very lucky to find myself in Tipperary at just the right time. It was a golden age for hunting. Michael Higgens was master and huntsman of the Tipperary Foxhounds and we had some great days. The bar was set pretty high with Timmy Hyde, Demi O’Byrne and Mouse Morris all hunting, and for a very inexperienced and moderate rider like myself, it was an invaluable education. My neighbours were Pat and Michael Ryan, the legendary Ryans of Bawnmore who produced the best hunters in the country. I was able to travel down to Scarteen where the charismatic Thady Ryan was hunting his hounds and also to Limerick where riders were queuing up to hunt with Hugh Robarts. To be able to watch P.P. Hogan, Alan Lillingston and Mikey Reardon crossing the country was a privilege. I didn’t know how fortunate I was.

“For me, the whole experience of hunting was fantastic for my painting. To be on a horse and surrounded by horses from 11am until 3-4pm and to see the landscape unfold in front of me was an inspiration.

"I have been a very lucky owner as well. We had shares in two great horses with Edward: Ventana Canyon and Kerry Orchid. They were really exciting horses. Kerry Orchid was champion hunter chaser and Ventana Canyon was a top novice who won the Arkle at Cheltenham by 18 lengths. Sadly, he was killed and we never got to see what he might have done.

Lifelong fascination

“I have painted lots of very good horses over the years and painting has taken me to many places. From a very early age, I was fascinated by horses. They are the most beautiful animals and the relationship that can form between horse and rider is unique. To capture the action and excitement of horses jumping or racing at speed is a challenge and one I still relish.

“Hunting provides so many different aspects and the variety of compositions is never ending. I like to try to get a painting to have atmosphere and movement. I have been surrounded by horses all my life. My children grew up in the pony club and hunting and now with Sam running a busy yard, there are more horses here than ever.

I am very fortunate to have my wife Louise as my toughest critic. She has painted all her life and is now producing some excellent pieces of sculpture. She has a very good eye and doesn’t let too many mistakes go unnoticed!

“Whatever it is that any artist wants to paint, they must know their subject. It must generate that excitement in them and that must come across in the work. I am very lucky to live in a beautiful part of the world and to be able to do something that I get so much out of.

“It is challenging and at times it is frustrating when it doesn’t go right, but when it does work, it is very rewarding,” concluded Peter Curling.