THE Army Equitation School is owned by the Irish state, so in reality, every Irish citizen is a part owner of the horses living there.

McKee barracks in the Phoenix Park, close to the Zoo, is home to the equitation school, and by all accounts you can hear the lions roar while riding in the grass arena.

The Minister for Defence is listed as the owner of all the horses when they compete. The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is our Minister for Defence and as head of the Defences Forces, which include the Army Equitation School, his title is used.

Lt Col Tom Freyne is the Commanding Officer of the school and he spoke through some of the top horses currently competing under the school’s banner.

“We currently have 37 horses. During the year a total of 28 of those would have competed nationally or internationally for the school. The most notable of these include Hallowberry Cruz. He’s a 12-year-old fully approved Traditional Irish Sport Horse Stallion leased from his breeder, Caroline Byrne,” Freyne explained.

“The school commenced a lease on him this season and we are delighted with the arrangement. He has had a great first season with Captain Geoff Curran winning the TRM/HSI New Heights Champion Series Grand Prix in Ballinasloe and finished of the year by winning a Longines World Ranking Class in Carmona CSI2* a couple of weeks ago.

“The opportunity to lease a horse like Hallowberry Cruz is very much in keeping with our efforts to promote the Irish horse and support the Irish breeder.”

Another big winner on the national circuit this season under Captain Curran was Ringwood Glen.

“Ringwood Glen, bred by Ray O’Reilly in Co Cavan, is a 14-year-old gelding by Arkansas. He had a successful season domestically winning two TRM/HSI New Heights Champion Series Grands Prix in Mullingar and Barnadown.

“Drumillier Lough is a seasoned campaigner for the school. Like Ringwood Glen, he was purchased by the Army 10 years ago and in his 10th consecutive season won three international classes, in addition to winning the National Grand Prix in Barnadown.

“Carnlea is an eight-year-old gelding by Ards Vivendi who has competed with Capt Geoff Curran. He started the year jumping in the young horse classes and finished up jumping a couple of ranking classes and two-star Grand Prix.”

The majority of Army horses are purchased as youngsters and produced up through the ranks here in Ireland.

“The majority of the horses here are fully owned by the Army, there is one in joint ownership and two which are leased,” Lt Col Freyne said.

“We mostly purchase young horses, between four and six years of age. The younger horses that we think most of at the moment include MHS Gabhran, a seven-year-old by Cardento. Bred by Tom Brennan in Kilkenny, he has show a lot of promise this year, he’s particularly scopey and is very athletic.

“HHS Clintstown, bred by Marion Hughes is another seven-year-old, a very competitive horse. He won an international young horse class at the three-star show in Vittel this year.

“Kilrue, bred by Dan Walsh, is a five-year-old old gelding by Balou du Rouet out of a Beachball mare; he has great conformation and is showing great potential. He competed in the young horse classes this year and hopefully this experience will bring him on for next season. He will jump in a few of the Horse Board classes and it would be nice to see him in Dublin next season.

“Glengarra Wood is an older horse that has really come into himself at the end of this season. He finished the year winning two international 1.40m classes and jumping nicely around a world ranking class. We really look forward to next season with him, he has tremendous scope and really shone at the end of this season.

BUYING BUDGET

One third (approximately €300,000) of the school’s annual budget is spent on buying horses. Over the years the criteria for horses owned by the Minister For Defence has shifted slightly from being completely traditionally Irish-bred to just having to be born in Ireland.

That shift is due to the shrinking pool of top horses being produced in the country and it is an effort to continue to support the Irish breeders. However, Lt Col Freyne feels Irish breeding is on the up.

“We have made a couple of purchases recently and hope to be able to introduce them soon. We are really excited about them and believe they will strengthen the team going forward.

“While everyone will acknowledge that top horses are very difficult to find, it is definitely our experience that Irish breeding is on the up. We are seeing more well-bred, good conformation, jumping types that have the potential to become top horses.

“Every year approximately a third of our annual budget goes on horse purchase and leases. Unfortunately not all horses reach their anticipated potential, but there is always requirement for those horses to educate and train the young riding officers.

“Within the school there are two development pathways – one is for the horses, where each horse’s progress is planned and mapped to ensure it gets every opportunity to reach its potential and perform its best and be able to maintain that for as long a career as possible.

“Ringwood Glen and Drummiller Lough are great examples of this; both are still winning at 14 years of age.

“Separately, we have a rider development pathway, where we train and educate the young officers that come into the Equitation School. In addition to horses that can compete at the highest level, we need riders to be capable of producing and competing those horses.

“Those other horses are an integral part of the training system within the school, they provide the young riders with the opportunity to learn and develop their skills,” the OC said.

SUPPORTING THE BREEDER

“The purpose of the Equitation School is to promote the Irish horse by competing successfully at the highest level, and in doing that support the Irish breeder.

“Therefore we require horses of the highest calibre to properly represent the Irish horse. The reputation of the Irish horse is world renowned and when someone sees an Irish Army rider in uniform they know they are riding talented, quality Irish-bred horses. Then we are playing our part in supporting the sport horse industry.

“2018 has been another busy year in the Army Equitation School, with five riders and 28 horses competing over 105 competition days both nationally and internationally.

“In addition to the horses, we have a dedicated team that look after and care for those horses, we are extremely fortunate to have great support team of young soldiers who ensure that every horse is cared for correctly.

“The success in the ring would not be possible without the skilled efforts of all the team. The successes of Ringwood Glen and Drumiller Lough at 14 years of age is testament to their professionalism and dedication.

“The school recorded three TRM/HSI New Heights Champions Series wins, one National Grand Prix and nine international wins in Belgium, France and Spain during the season and we are all really looking forward to seeing what 2019 will bring.”