Q. Growing up in Mayo, did you come from a horsey and/or farming family?

A. No. My Mum Jeannie was from Ballyclare in Co Antrim, and my Dad was from Surrey in England. They met at Art College in Belfast, and moved to Mayo in the early 1970s. The bought an old schoolhouse about three miles from Ballindine. I was born in January 1974, and my brother Jay in April 1975. We were surrounded by farms. I remember sitting on the back of a neighbour’s old work horse, and loving the grassy, outdoor smell of him.

Q. What brought you into the world of horses and ponies?

A. I took a pony ride at the Claremorris show when I was about 11 and loved it. Very shortly afterwards, I started taking riding lessons every Saturday at the Hanley’s.

Q. At what level did you compete?

A. I really had quite a short career, probably about three or four years. One of the proudest moments was winning the 148cm Winter League at Hanley’s in 1990. I won a saddle. We were all so thrilled. It was always a dream to get the Dublin Horse Show, and it nearly came true when I attended one of the qualifiers for the B/C 148cm ponies. I remember the course was very fair looking, and my pony (Cloghan Lad) was in great jumping form.

During the warm-up, he tripped up over the smallest of crosspoles and went down, bringing me with him and breaking my collarbone, and off I went to the hospital. I was heartbroken. The pony continued to jump well, and we sold him later that summer for the princely sum of £4,500 and I believe he ended up in Sweden. After that we bought an ex-racehorse called Fast N’Fabulous and I jumped him for my final year before I started college in September 1991.

Q. Were you the only member of your family to ride?

A. My brother Jay, who very sadly passed away last year, also took up riding around the same time, and was fairly handy at it. He also competed.

Q. Why did you choose Aberystwyth University and Ag Science? Was it there you met your husband Mark?

A. I really wanted to do the Equine Science degree at UL but the course did not begin until the year after my leaving certificate in 1991, so I had to look elsewhere. There was an Equine Science course in Aberystwyth in Wales at the Welsh Agricultural College, so I decided to go for that. I was only 17 at the time, probably quite naïve, and I remember having a bit of a cry to myself as my Dad drove off after bringing me for the induction weekend. Still, I loved it, and loved the course, and the independence, and of course figured out the perils of running out of money too soon! It was a three-year Higher National Diploma course, and the middle year was a work placement year.

Still mad about show jumping, I ended up doing over a year with Di Lampard (now MBE) in Leicestershire. The mighty Abbervail Dream was still only a youngster, but his talent was so very apparent.

It was hard work, but I learnt much about the show circuit, and how to put studs into hind shoes of horses in the lorry without getting kicked or trampled on!

My riding standard improved significantly during that year, and while I never got to compete, I was very much part of the team and still keep in touch with Di and her partner Dietmar to this day. Di was very much an inspirational figure to me. Tough as nails and hard working, and went onto to great things in show jumping - representing Great Britain on more that 50 occasions - as well as in coaching and team selection and management – she was the first ever female chef d’equipe of the (senior) British show jumping team.

I met Mark in my final year at college in Aberystwyth. He was studying Agriculture. I hadn’t known nor noticed him in first year, but he said he knew me! We both went on to Writtle Agricultural College (University of Essex) together to get our BSc in Agriculture.

Pippa Hackett riding out during her days at Di Lampard's yard

Q. Take readers on a short academic tour of your studies at varying universities leading to your PhD in the University of Limerick?

A. After getting our degrees in Agriculture, Mark returned to his home farm near Geashill in Co Offaly, and I did a postgraduate diploma in Equine Science at UCD. It was a cross departmental diploma, between veterinary and agriculture, and we were mainly based at the old Vet College building in Ballsbridge. Towards the end of that course, I saw an ad for a Walsh Fellowship in Equine Biomechanics at the University of Limerick. I had no idea what it was about, but sent in an application anyway. I was thrilled when I was offered the scholarship and embarked on just over three years of research on the kinematics of jumping horses. It was in conjunction with Kildalton College, and we did much video recording and data collection there. I looked at loose jumping horses and the effects of the rider.

I graduated in 2000, and continued at UL for a number of years afterwards as experimental officer in the Dept. of PE and Sports Sciences. I did some lecturing in equine anatomy and physiology and also continued with my kinematics research. I was very lucky during my time in UL to present my research at international conferences in Europe, Australia and the USA.

Mark and I married in 2001, and our eldest boy Charlie was born in 2003. Poppy came along in 2005, at which time I took a career break and never went back. Two more children, Heidi (now 12) and George (now 8), kept us both busy, as well as converting our beef and sheep farm into organic production about eight years ago.

Q. When you settled in Moat House, what kind of farming did you do?

A. Mark had bought the field in which we build Moat House a few years before we were married. It is named that because there is a motte and bailey in the field which is identified as the “Moat of Down” on ordnance survey maps. We started to think about building the house soon after Charlie was born in 2003, but we did not get moved in until after our third child Heidi was born in 2008. It was a bit of a long haul, but we are happy there.

Q. Do you carry your weanlings on to finish or sell at weaning?

A. We tend to finish everything – cattle and sheep. As organic producers, this is really the only way to maximise the farm income, and for the past two years, have finished all the cattle from grass. Before we converted to organic, we changed the stock bull from Charolais to a new composite breed called Stabiliser.

It’s an unfortunate name for a lovely looking animal - a mix of Angus, Hereford, Simmental and Gelbvieh. They all calf unassisted, they are polled, and on the whole fairly docile, so the animal welfare is high with this breed, and that is important to us. Because of their native breed influence, they are quick to finish, this can be done from grass. We also changed our rams to Romney, which again are easy lambers, good mothers, and they all lamb outdoors in April.

We farm about 200 acres. We have about 30 suckler cows and 200 sheep, and some forestry. We dabble with hens from time to time too and of course, the horses. We used to have 50 cows and 600 sheep at one stage, and yet we are making more from the farm now than we did then. There has to be a message in there somewhere.

Farming for me should be simple and safe. Time is wealth, and if we can create more time for our families, and less hassle in our lives by choosing the right breed, or a different production method, then what’s not to like?

Q. Tell us about your bloodstock operation and some of the better horses you have bred or produced?

A. My interested in bloodstock began with a summer job at Gay O’Callaghan’s Yeomanstown Stud in 1994. It was a baptism of fire! All these flighty yearlings, mostly bay, all looking much the same to me. It was actually quite terrifying, totally different from the relatively laid back show jumpers I was used to working with. However, I learnt a great deal.

The following couple of summers I worked for Eimear Mulhern at Meadow Court Stud, and very much honed my skills, knowledge and interest in breeding and sales preparation there. I met my good friend Beverley O’Keeffe there, who is still with Eimear, and is also a successful and competitive show jumper. I am only just a little bit jealous…!

Mark’s parents were Cyril and Monica Hackett of Hackett’s Bookmakers, and they had always had a horse or two in training. Incidentally, they had bought a farm beside Meadow Court Stud long before I met Mark, so it was something of a coincidence that I ended up working next door to them. They were big fans of Offaly GAA, and I remember on a few Sundays, starting extra early at Meadow Court, so I could get collected by them on their way to a match in Croke Park – back when Offaly were in top form. Cyril sadly passed away in 2015, however Monica is still living in Maddenstown.

We eventually decided to try our hand at buying and selling in the bloodstock world. I remember our first foal we bought was a filly by Bigstone. I think we gave about 1,200 for her and sold her for 1,400! Hardly hitting the big time.

The next one was something similar, and again and again. After we were married, we decided to try our hand with mares, so in 2003 we bought a mare called Gladstone Street (in foal to Iron Mask) and a mare called Hollow Haze (in foal to Daggers Drawn).

They both foaled down two colts the following spring, and that autumn we bought a Dr Fong colt foal for €9,000. These were bigger investments for us, but we decided to give it a try. So, in 2005 we sold our first horses under Moat House Farm, and we were very lucky. In 2005, I was eight months pregnant with Poppy at the time, so had to take a bit of a back-seat role, but still did what I could.

We took the Daggers Drawn to Doncaster, where we got £17,000 from Jamie Osborne, the Iron Mask went to Fairyhouse and realised €13,000 to Ken Condon, and the Dr Fong made €92,000 at the Goffs Million sale to John Warren. We used most of the proceeds to build six stables at the back of our house, as well as putting up a walker and a lunge ring. So that was really the start and it has been something of a roller coaster since.

We bred mares for about 10 years, with seven mares at one stage, however as the kids grew bigger and time grew more precious, and the prices began to fall, it seemed right that we should back off, and focus on other things. We did bred a few decent winners, including Madame Trop Vite (by Invincible Spirit out of Gladstone Street) who won the Grade 2 Flying Childers Stakes and the Listed St Hugh’s Stakes as a two-year-old, and more recently Rocky Blue (by Society Rock out of Plumbago Blue) won a Grade 2 Juvenile Hurdle in Leopardstown.

We pinhooked Pearl of Africa who won a couple of Listed races and was placed in Group races also. That first foal for us out of Gladstone Street was named Patrickswell, and he won 10 races over an eight-year career. Now we are pinhooking a couple of foals a year, and I would like to get back into breeding again sometime.

Q. Tell us about your family life?

A. I count myself very fortunate to have be able to raise my kids in the countryside, and on a farm. The Covid crisis certainly made me more appreciative of this, and with all four at home for the extended summer break, I was welcome of the space to banish them outside for a few hours every day.

The youngest two, Heidi and George, love the lambing season and will get up at the crack of dawn to accompany Mark onto the farm to see if any new lambs were born overnight. Charlie and Poppy are older and can help more with the horses, and we brought them to the sales in Doncaster last year.

Q. What brought you and your husband into the fraught world of politics?

A. I had never been political, despite my long time as a student where many a politician is born. However, as one gets older, the importance of politics becomes more apparent, as it is what shapes the very world in which we live. Around the time of the last general election in 2016, I came across the Green Party election manifesto, and found that many aspects of it resonated with me. I joined, bringing Mark with me (unbeknown to him), and attended one of their policy council meetings soon after. I was very impressed with the broad level of knowledge that existed, across all subjects. They even had a very good policy on agriculture, most of which still exists today.

Q. On the face of it as livestock and bloodstock producers, you would seem most unlikely candidates for the Green Party?

A. Yes, it came as a bit of a surprise to many people.

I remember the looks I got from farmers and the like when I said I had joined the Green Party, and indeed from the other side of the fence when people wondered how the Greens could have a meat-eating farmer among their ranks!

We actually have quite a few farmer members, and this has grown in recent years. I think that urban centric view of the Green Party is slowly being eroded away. I believe it is important to listen to and understand different points of view. At the end of the day, most people are reasonable, and reasonable discussion is what moves us on. While polar opposite views might make for good radio or TV, it does little for progression, and that is what is important to me.

Many people still roll their eyes when they hear about climate change, about biodiversity decline. Perhaps they are still in denial. But caring about these things is not the preserve of urban dwellers. Those living in rural Ireland will bear the brunt of this the most from issues such as flooding, drought, failed crops, higher costs from longer housing, pollinator decline, etc.

I think the racing and sport horse sector have much to offer. With many beautiful stud farms around the countryside, there is huge scope for them to embrace nature on their farms. They are not so reliant on every blade of grass in the same way as an intensive farm might be, and they could certainly set the scene for biodiversity-rich land management. I think it would be a good look for this sector, and reducing synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use on these farms would certainly help in mitigating the decline in our biodiversity.

I have always had concerns about animal welfare. I could never stand cruelty in any form, and while in my mind there is wonderful scope for positive human and animal interaction, be that in farming, with horses, pets, or wildlife; cruelty and neglect must never be tolerated. The negative public response to the allegations in relation to the greyhound sector is testament to that. Every sector must play its role to enhance animal welfare, and that is something I feel very strongly about.

Q. Many families cannot get planning permission for their own children to build houses on their farm - is it your view that they should be forced to go and live in the nearest town or village?

Of course farmers should be allowed live on their farms. Unnecessary one-off housing is a problem, and not just for the Green Party. It is problematic for local authorities, for road maintenance, for broadband connection, for rural transport, and for the degeneration of rural towns and villages. One only has to look at the dereliction that plagues many of our once bustling rural towns and villages. Communities are built when people live close together, not far apart – and achieving that needs to be supported and incentivised.