MHS GOING GLOBAL

AGE: 10

SIRE: Quidam Junior

DAM: Gowran Lady (by Cavalier Royale)

BREEDER: Ita Brennan

MHS Going Global was bred by the late Ita Brennan in 2006 at Mill House Stud in Co Kilkenny. Brennan sadly passed away in 2015, but not before she enjoyed watching her homebred jump a double clear round in the Aga Khan Nations Cup at the Dublin Horse Show and proudly hold the famous trophy, as well as receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Showjumpers Club.

Greg Broderick first tried to buy the Quidam Junior-sired gelding from Ita’s son Tom as a three-year-old but Brennan was keen to hold on to the horse until he was under saddle. Brennan sent Junior, as he is fondly known as, to Francis Connors’ Waterford yard as a four-year-old and the pair qualified for the four-year-old class at the Dublin Horse Show in 2010.

Junior was a handful as a youngster, his strong character often coming through.

Irish international and niece of Ita Brennan, Marion Hughes, competed him once at the beginning of his five-year-old campaign before he was sent to Ballypatrick Stables. Now owned by Broderick and Canadian Lee Kruger, Junior was slowly and carefully produced on the national circuit over the following years.

Broderick and Junior burst on to the international scene in 2015, quickly becoming one of the most successful Irish partnerships in recent years. The pair jumped a double clear two years in a row in the Aga Khan at the Dublin Horse Show, an achievement Broderick described as “a dream come true.”

They went on to represent Ireland at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and came agonisingly close to the third round of the individual final, but ultimately finished in 50th place.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

MHS Going Global has qualified for the Dublin Horse Show every year since he was four. He finished fourth in the six-year-old final in 2012 and third in the seven and eight-year-old international final in 2013. He went on to place seventh at the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken.

2014

As an eight-year-old, Junior jumped in the international classes and ended the week with a fourth place finish in the 1.50m JLT Dublin Stakes. He also won the Horseware/TRM Premier Series.

A successful season on the national circuit meant the combination made their Nations Cup debut at the three-star show in Arezzo, Italy, jumping a clear first round followed by four faults in round two.

2015

2015 picked up where 2014 left off and the nine-year-old travelled to Lummen, Belgium, to compete in his first five-star division one Nations Cup. The pair had four faults in round one followed by a clear second round.

Their next outing was the five-star show in La Baule, France, where Ireland finished third, and Junior again completed with four faults and a clear.

A month later, they jumped their first double clear in St Gallen, where the Irish team won the Nations Cup.

The excellent run of form earned the pair a wildcard ticket to the Global Champions Tour in Estoril. Considered wide outsiders, they went on to jump three clear rounds and finish in third place, announcing themselves on the world stage. It was at that show in Estoril that Onassis first saw the Irish-bred gelding.

Broderick’s dreams came true at the Dublin Horse Show when he was selected to jump on the Irish team for the Aga Khan Trophy. The only Irish rider to jump double clear, Ireland won the Nations Cup, the highlight of his career so far.

They went on to make their team championship debut at the European Championships in Aachen, where things didn’t go to plan as Ireland failed to qualify a team for the Olympic Games in an incident-filled episode.

2016

Early 2016 saw the pair take second place in the two-star Grand Prix at Balmoral in May.

Later that month the pair returned to St Gallen, where Junior jumped another double clear round in the Nations Cup and a double clear in the five-star Grand Prix to finish fourth. He was the only horse at the show to jump double clear in both the Nations Cup and the Grand Prix. Robert Splaine announced the pair as his Olympic selection shortly afterwards.

In a tough warm-up for the Rio Olympics, Broderick was selected to jump on the team for the Aga Khan and two foot-perfect rounds gave the pair the perfect send off for Rio.

Following the disappointment of Rio, MHS Going Global travelled to the Masters at Spruce Meadows, Calgary, in September and finished sixth in the $1 million Grand Prix.

Less than two weeks later, MHS Going Global jumped a crucial clear in the first round of the Nations Cup final in Barcelona to secure Ireland’s place in the top tier final. He finished his show on a high by taking second in the five-star Barcelona Grand Prix.