NOW-redundant posters of general election candidates lined the south Galway and north Clare roads last Sunday and the radio airwaves were full of election result news on the way to Banner Equestrian Centre.

Both the political landscape and horse world have changed since 1996, when Noel and his Swiss-born wife Simone Barry first opened the centre, just north of Ennis.

Their background story - including how the couple first met when working in Max Hauri’s yard - was part of the West of the Shannon series that ran during the pandemic.

Lockdown for the Barrys was spent painting and upgrading the already-immaculate centre and, back then, Simone was optimistic about resuming lessons. Although, like West Clare Equestrian Centre’s Martin and Lisa O’Dea, featured last week, adapting to market changes turned out to be crucial.

And again, there’s a Philip McGuane connection, as Simone explains: “He grew up five minutes from our centre and was introduced to the sport by his brother Josie, who brought him to us for lessons.

“He started with me, as most kids did, but progressed very quickly to the advanced classes with Noel. Josie brought Philip to the shows and supported him all throughout his childhood in the sport. He rode ponies and horses for us and travelled to shows with us regularly.

“Many children started off at ‘Banner’. Some progressed into the racing scene too and it is always fantastic to see the results of these young adults now. Even Rhys [Williams] started on the lovely Sunny at Banner. Time just flies,” she said, mentioning another local rider, who contributed a recent Breeders’ 10 feature.

Schooling of another variety was provided for the Evergate Stables rider, as it turned out that Eileen and Mairéad, Noel’s mother and sister, taught Philip in nearby Toonagh National School.

“A very bright pupil,” recalled Mairéad. “Lots of families have a few generations that have connections with Banner. That’s a lovely feeling, very homely. Lots of people travel from other counties and regions, and they too feel the warmth and welcome from the ‘Banner Crew’.”

That homely atmosphere was apparent last Sunday at the autumn league show. Horse and pony classes were run simultaneously in the adjacent rings; the indoor arena was busy with riders warming up and parents, coffee mugs in hand, watched on in a scene replayed at centres around the country.

Banner family: Noel and his sister Mairéad Barry Carroll at Sunday’s autumn league show \ Susan Finnerty

Green fields

Amongst them are Lisa Hartley O’Dea and daughter Daisy, who is bringing on the 138cm pony Krushen Sundance with their trademark patience.

Martin, Lisa’s husband, mentioned in last week’s feature how he availed of a Leader grant to build his indoor arena at West Clare Equestrian Centre in Kilrush.

“Yeah, we got a Leader grant as well,” said Noel, in between course building duties. “It didn’t cover everything, but still went a long way. We’ve built on different things over the years, more stables, walkers, extended the arena and new surfaces. It’s the same surface as what was originally in Simmonscourt.”

With the support of his parents, Tom and Eileen, Noel had a successful show jumping career, clocking up results at Dublin, the Spring Show and Millstreet at pony and senior level.

The family’s own ‘Fountain’ prefixed horses and Jimmy Flynn’s Heather Honey, Heather Blaze (ranked as his all-time favourite) and Heather Drum were amongst the horses he rode.

With the latter, he was a member of the Irish team for the European junior championships, alongside Eamon Hickey, Tom Moloney, Stuart Clarke and Mary McLeigh. As the Golden Saddle award scheme’s youngest recipient, (David Moran was another of the Golden Saddle winners that year in 1986), his bursary was spent with Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, Peter Robeson.

Noel grew up competing on grass surfaces and, regretfully, feels their popularity is waning. “The days of the green field is nearly gone for jumping. People don’t want it any more. There’s still a lot of green field shows, but they are finding it hard [to attract competitors]. The weather goes against them at times, nothing you can do about that.

“People are investing an awful lot more money in horses now and buying more expensive foals. They don’t want to be going around jumping in a lot of mud, whereas we grew up with it.”

One Plan B solution for agricultural shows and gymkhanas is to host their show jumping classes at a local centre. “Corofin Show have come to us for the last two years for the show jumping and their numbers have tripled. It could be the way things will be.

“It’s the way it already is in Switzerland. You have a centre or riding club, they’ve invested in surfaces and other shows use that place to run their show too. And it seems to work.

“Even when I worked there, it was totally different, and that’s over 40 years ago.”

Changing lanes

Noel, like a host of Irish riders, went to Seon to work for ex-Swiss cavalry officer and dual Olympian, Max Hauri.

“Max was a lovely man. He was a strict man, even on himself, the way he did things. He was always there in the mornings and probably one of the last to leave in the evening.”

Hauri, a regular buyer here, was renowned amongst Irish farmer-breeders and producers. “I was only there a few weeks when Michael Burke brought over the first load of Irish horses. I think 16 came in that load and that was regular enough. Every six weeks or two months… another load.

“He also bought in different countries. Maybe not as many, but with the expense of hauling horses, it was easier for Max to get in the car and drive to France and Holland without having to go on a plane. You go to a big farm in Holland, then maybe 10 minutes away, there’s another one.

“I think the standard of breeding also improved in Holland, France and Germany and they just had a bigger amount of more promising horses than we had, but now we’re catching up again.”

Noel, who rates Royal Athlete as his pick from the Hauri yard, was tempted to stay on in Switzerland. “I loved every minute I was there, but I wouldn’t have my own place if I had stayed. You cannot buy land. The price of what they pay for a few metres of a field is massive. You couldn’t. You’d have to rent.”

Instead, he moved home in 1994 and two years later, he and Simone opened Banner Equestrian Centre.

Simone also trained with August Fuchs, a cousin of Marcus and Thomas and the couple has earned a range of qualifications, from coaching, course building, Child Protection and First Aid to Simone’s Therapeutic Horse Riding instructor credentials.

Business plans change though and the Barrys have changed lanes.

“Since 2020, during Covid, we had to give up our riding school. Since then, we haven’t offered beginner lessons, treks and pony camps any more, as we only teach clients with their own horses and ponies. We don’t have any riding school horses and ponies. I still travel back and forth to Switzerland for work and I cannot see us going back to the riding school any more.

“There is just nothing out of it, as in financial,” Simone continued, candidly. “But, on a personal level, we are very proud of how many youngsters we were able to give the ‘horse bug’ to and to see them doing exceptionally all over the world.”

Simone already had a background in office management and accountancy before her spell at Hauris. She was back in Switzerland, where daughter Noelle now lives, last Sunday and was due home before this weekend’s Banner league finals.

Noelle’s brother Kieran was another successful pony competitor, bringing home leading rider awards at branch level and has completed several stages of the SJI/Mackey Bar training system. He’s another key player at the family enterprise.

Elitism risk

Among the framed Centre of the Year awards in the coffee shop are several photos of Noelle competing, including one of her at the 2014 European junior championships with Yvonne and Laurence Meaney’s Norway Venture. Taking the silver medal that year was Belgium’s Gilles Thomas, now competing Ermitage Kalone, nominated last week as Martin O’Dea’s ‘must-watch’ combination.

And like the O’Dea daughters - Lily and Daisy - Noelle also competed at the Children on Horses European championships, before switching back to her studies.

“That was at the Europeans in Arezzo. Jessica Mendoza was another one in that year’s championship, as well as Gilles Thomas. Noelle has gone back to college in Switzerland, doing primary school teaching and, when she’s finished, she hopes to do a few horses part-time, as well as have a proper job,” said Noel.

“We were hoping that she’d do college first, but she just did it the other way around!”

Noel produces another photo: a glimpse of Clover Hill, held by Simone, outside his stable door. Although “The Boy” is old at the time the photo was taken, there’s no mistaking the Golden Beaker son.

A picture of Simone Barry and Clover Hill is proudly displayed at the Banner Equestrian Centre \ Susan Finnerty

“We were there down the years. Not just for Clover Hill, we had Ballinvellas and Leabegs too. We haven’t bred any for a few years, but this year, we’re kind of getting back into it and I’ve bought three or four foals.”

Swiss visitors had a good strike rate with the notoriously camera-shy Philip Heenan. Silvia Röösli-Merz recounted in her Irish Horse World feature two years ago: “The Book of Samantha” how she ended up with a photo album of Ringroe stallions and Simone was similarly lucky.

“Philip asked Simone if she had a camera with her. She did and he asked her how to work it. He took that picture with Simone and Clover Hill.”

“I was so lucky Philip Heenan chose me to be in it. Great pictures, unbelievable memories! I used to get so sick travelling in the car to Tipperary, as roads weren’t like now in those days in Ireland!” Simone said.

The rain is pelting down again and busy providing hot drinks and snacks in the cosy coffee shop area upstairs is Deirdre Howard. “My daughter Sabrina started here when she was five. That’s 24 years ago and she has two little kids now. I was at the swimming pool this morning with my nine-year-old grandson and raced from there to here,” said this cheerful character.

“It’s great craic and banter. You get to know the kids and their personalities; it becomes a bit like the Banner family. Simone is amazing, she’s running left, right and centre and is such a good instructor.

“You completely understand why riding centres have to stop lessons. It’s just that it’s making it an elite sport. There’s kids that would love to have a pony or lessons, but between the time, the petrol, the expense... parents can’t afford it. They would have made the compromise of lessons, if they were available, but they don’t want to buy the pony.”

“It’s a big commitment,” agreed Noel. It’s very easy to pick up a hurley and helmet, go training and that’s it until next week. But if you have a horse or pony, it’s every day.”

Community spirit

Evelyn Tighe, originally from Co Mayo, is another grateful for the centre’s riding lessons era.

“I had two children with special needs and, because they had dyspraxia, pony lessons were recommended, through Occupational Therapy, to help their core strength and balance. It didn’t really take off for my son, but my daughter [Mollie Russell] has excelled.

“She was third in the RDS two years ago in the six/seven-year-old class with Sugar Dolly and she’s just doing fantastic.

“And it all started with Simone. I’m about 20 minutes from here, so we were doing the little lessons and she just took to it like a duck to water. We did all the summer camps in the good old days, hacking up through the fields, the leagues, the whole lot.

“Those league rosettes, the lovely cups, absolutely treasured. We’re part of the furniture now at Banner. Then, I joined the Limerick/Clare SJI for the last two years to give a hand. I’m a member of the pony sub-committee and we organise the awards night, leagues throughout the year and different events.”

According to Evelyn, a major deterrent for the next generation of Philip McGuanes is the phasing out of lessons by riding centres, due to costs and red tape.

“A lot of the riding centres don’t have school ponies any more. So you just can’t come up now and do a lesson, you have to have your own pony. That’s across the board, because the insurance has absolutely crippled it.”

Changing times all round for politics, the condition of Irish roads and those Saturday morning lessons at local riding schools that often ignited successful careers.

The Barrys, however, are still forging ahead with developing their centre with no shortage of help.

This weekend sees their autumn league finals, they’ve hosted Pony Premier shows and then there’s a round of the TRM Spring Tour scheduled to take place on March 8th next year. “Its all stepping stones to building up the business,” Noel added.

“A lot of people come and help out at Banner - especially on the big days. Judges, starters, course builders, arena crew, people helping with parking, first aid. Those days are extra special,” said Mairéad.

“They say it takes a village. To be honest, it’s like one big family really. People really try to look out for one another and to help each other out. There’s a great community spirit and some firm lifelong friendships from Banner, but it’s also Noel and Simone, who are at the core of it all.”

It’s time for Noel to get back to building the course for the next competition and, even over 2,000 kilometres away, Simone is still busy. How? The first results to arrive into The Irish Field postbag on Monday morning are from Banner Equestrian Centre.