AS Ireland’s only five-star show, the Dublin Horse Show is not only one of the most prestigious events in the world but also a shop window for Irish horse producers.

Kilkenny-based Ger O’Neill has a special connection with the show, having competed there from his childhood pony classes right up to international level.

“I have competed at Dublin for 20 consecutive years and it has never lost its appeal,” he says. “Now the show is important to me as a business, as we meet clients there and we buy and sell horses at the show. There are a lot of international buyers and even the international riders use the young horse classes to spot new talent.”

The 2016 show will be a busy one for O’Neill and his team at Castlefield Sporthorses in Bennettsbridge, having claimed no less than eight RDS places in the qualifiers.

In Barnadown, O’Neill and Easter Monday won the seven/eight year-old division, while Castlefield Gucci took the runner-up place and Eamonn Murphy’s stallion Dondoctro Ryal K finished fourth.

At Mullingar, he won the six-year-old qualifier with Killossery Kaiden and was ninth with Martin Egan’s stallion Castlefield Wizard, while stable rider Eric Glynn qualified Paul O’Byrne Fiero in the six-year-old class and O’Neill also qualified Cameron Hanley’s ESI Toulouse in the five-year-old division.

O’Neill won’t be fazed by competition in the RDS as he already boasts an impressive record at the Show, which includes victory in the Four-Year-Old Mo Chroi National Championship with CSF Mr Kroon (2013), second with Ard Ginger Pop in the Flexible National Championship and sixth place in the four-year-old championship with Castlefield Cass in 2014. Last year he finished fifth in the Five-Year-Old Flexible National Championship with MHS Tamara.

The 31-year-old has competed at Nations Cup level for Ireland and is a former back-to-back National Speed Champion, adding the Balmoral speed class and leading international rider title at the 2016 show title to his list of accolades.

But jumping in the ring is only part of O’Neill’s work.

“This is a business and you need to pay bills and you do this by producing and selling horses. Don’t get me wrong, I am a true competitor and my plan is compete at the very highest level on the international circuit,” he says. “I take pride however in the fact that many of the horses sold are now competing at Nation Cup shows, World Cup shows, the World Equestrian games and Olympic Games.

“It is important to find a happy medium between competing and selling horses. This year I have fortunate to have a good team of horses along with producing the younger horses.”

Rising stars

For the 2016 Grand Prix and Premier Series he competes with Eamonn Murphy’s Dondoctro Ryal K, with the 11-year-old Ever For Pleasure-sired stallion Perfect Pleasure, and Jonathan Andrew’s The Hurricane.

So far this season, the Horse Sport Ireland–approved Dondoctro Ryal K has recorded two Grand Prix wins at Barnadown and Galway County Show and fifth place in the Premier Series in Ballinasloe.

In the young horse ranks, Castlefield Cass, who is jointly owned by his father Jim, and Paul O’Byrne, features alongside other rising stars such as Ali Faraj Bin Hamoodah’s Amity FBH, Eamonn Murphy’s five-year-old Toulon mare Columbcille Gipsy and the Dondoctro Ryal K four-year-old mare Castlefield Sapphire.

Castlefield Sport Horses is also a name associated with success, with horses going on to the very highest level. Among O’Neill’s horses to achieve major success on the world stage are Castlefield Eclipse and Zigali PS (see Factfile)

Other success stories include Castlefield Confident of Victory (campaigned by Shane Breen), Castlefield Cristobal and Z Wellie 72.

“At Castlefield Sport Horses we have all types of horses for sale from amateurs to young riders right up to the very top level. We also have horses for eventing,” says O’Neill.

Having evented himself, he knows what makes a good event horse and regularly sells horses to this market. Although the majority of horses are sold to Europe and America, there are quite a few that are sold to the Irish market.

hard work and good luck

With over 100 horses at Castlefield Sporthorses, O’Neill is the first to admit that good staff and the support of family is a must.

“My parents, Jim and Deirdre, have helped me throughout my career and my wife Ali is a huge support. I am lucky to have great staff who are there to run the business with me. My stable rider Eric Glynn has been with me for over two years and he is great with the young horses. I can really rely on him and he is a talented rider,” he says.

“The yard staff play an important role and the place runs like clockwork because of them. The yard manager Sanna Nousiainen, along with Jason Fitzpatrick and Aoife Doyle, keep everything running smoothly.”

O’Neill is planning for further development at his base, explaining: “At the moment we are building a new barn, which will add an extra 20 stables. Along with this, the new and facilities will include a 200m x 80m indoor, a walker and outdoor arena. This new yard will run in conjunction with my father’s property.”

The rider credits the support of his owners, as well as hard work and good luck, for the success of his yard.

“I have been fortunate to have the support of many good owners, such as Eamonn Murphy, Paul O’ Byrne, Martin Egan and Peig Van Amerongen,” he says.

Although extremely busy, he also finds time to train students, an aspect of the business that he particularly enjoys.

“I think as a senior rider it is important to help young riders succeed. When I was younger, I spent three weeks in the Army Equitation School after winning a bursary. It was a great experience and under Comdt Gerry Mullins instruction it was an invaluable experience.

“Between myself and my father, we have trained over 10 children to reach the top level in the pony arena. It is a particularly busy job for my dad as he rushes between arenas to help children in different classes.

“I also train Susan Fitzpatrick – for me she is a great example of one of our next top international riders. She has all that it takes to get there and hopefully she will ride some of my horses at Grand Prix level.”

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O’Neill is well settled in Ireland and he is one of a handful of riders that plans to keep his base in Ireland, despite the lure of Europe.

“I really feel that Ireland is up there in terms of producing horses and riders, but unfortunately there are better opportunities outside the country. It’s hard to blame riders for leaving and many now choose to base themselves in Europe as there are much better facilities. We are losing our top young riders for better opportunities,” he says. “Venues try their best here but the industry needs more investment. If the industry is worth €680 million, it’s about time that they start helping it.”

O’Neill continues: “The likes of the Premier Series was a great initiative at home and a lot of horses moved up to international level after competing in the series. It is a great stepping stone. It is possible to produce horses at home. Just look at MHS Going Global, he went through the aged classes here, then the Grand Prix league and finally the Premier Series.”

Encouraging new spectators and participants is key to driving interest and investment in the Irish show jumping sector, he believes.

“We need to get people back interested in the sport and initiatives such as Jumping in the City is the way to do this. We need to open it up to a wider audience.”