IF Utopia is possible for an owner then Joanne Sloan-Allen has probably achieved it. She is the proud owner of Suma’s Zorro, a mare that ticks three very important boxes - she is Irish-bred, she was produced at home, and is currently at the very top of her sport.

The mare’s biggest win of her career so far came last September when she won the $1 million Rolex Grand Prix at Spruce Meadows. Partnered by her rider for the past seven years, Egypt’s Sameh El Dahan, this win came just two months after the pair had claimed the €300,000 Global Champions Tour Grand Prix in Paris.

“That day in Spruce was like something you would have seen in a film. Sameh didn’t even want to compete there initially. It was the year of the World Equestrian Games and he felt that maybe we shouldn’t go there, but I was determined to,” Joanne explained.

“The mare (Zorro) always goes really well there, she loves the ring and I knew she had a big win in her there. I dreamt that she had won the Masters and I told Sameh that we just had to go. The day of the competition everything just fell into place. We walked the course and it really suited them. Zorro was in great form and felt fantastic, they had both worked so hard for so long that they really deserved this big win.

“The number of people that support and are fully behind that little chesnut mare is unbelievable. We really believe in her and she doesn’t let us down.

CHARACTER

“I bought her (Suma's Zorro) at a foal sale and I knew she was quite the character from the minute she arrived in the yard. She came off the truck, trotted down the lane and proceeded to jump over a five-bar gate!

“She has always been very strong willed and the trick with her is definitely to get her to work with you not against you.

“I sent her to Liam McKee to break her in and while there she was long- reined for a full month before she would do anything else.

“She was tricky but we always believed she could do anything. When she jumped 1.30m, people said, ‘oh she’s nice at this level’, then she moved up to 1.40m and they thought that was her limit but we always knew she was a superstar and in Spruce that day she proved us right!

“I love that she is Irish-bred. I am a very strong believer in the Irish horse. I think we need to be proud of what we have in the Irish-bred horse.

“I think what really makes the Irish horse special is how they are produced. We are unique in that we leave foals with their moms until they are eight or nine months and they learn from her in that time.

“Also we leave them living in the fields, out on grass with other youngsters until they are three years old. If you sit and watch them in the fields, you can actually pick out which are the clever ones and you can see how important this time is in their education.”

Joanne loves being based at home at Sycamore Stables in Co Antrim, where the horses grow up in beautiful surroundings, and she likes to take her time producing horses.

“For me, it’s all about production. We are a small yard in Co Antrim and are proud to say we are fulltime based in Ireland. So many people have moved out and based themselves in mainland Europe but I think they are missing the point. We do have to travel all the time to shows but we always come back home.

“We must also learn to be realistic about the price we are asking for horses. You must learn to know your market, if you sell the right horse to the right person, they will always come back to you again and again.

“I was always taught that when producing an Irish horse, slower is better. We are definitely producers rather than sellers. My outlook has always been not to push horses too hard. I’m not a great believer in the young horse classes, that’s just my way.

“I think it would be better if the governing bodies put more prize money into classes for eight and nine-year-olds rather than five and six-year-olds. I think Irish horses need to be produced slowly.”

A SLOW START

Sloan-Allen is making sure to keep her stock level up and breeds a couple of foals a year. In 2018, she added a Big Star foal to her programme.

“We have a small breeding programme here and we normally have about five foals on the ground each year. Some years we have bred them all; we have managed to build up a nice group of broodmares, for example Jennifer Gates gave me Pepperpot back to breed from.

“If we don’t have five or six born one year then I go out and buy one or two. This year I bought one by Big Star, I like to mix it up a little and introduce new lines into the breeding programme.

“It has taken a long time to build up the operation we have here now. I began riding at a local riding school aged four and Dad was determined that we wouldn’t be spoiled so I was 12 before I got my first pony.

“My family have always been involved in racing so my cousin was sent out to find me a pony and he came back with a 14.2hh racing pony. It was decided that I should do the show pony classes but all I ever wanted to do was jump.

“I got my first horse a few years later and accidently qualified for Millstreet in the Grade E at Antrim show. I don’t think we even knew where Millstreet was! We looked it up and I remember it was hilarious; Granny, Grandad, the whole crew set off for Cork and it probably took us about 24 hours to get there with all the stopping off for cups of tea, it was so funny.

“When we finally arrived, I think I got eliminated at the first fence and by day three I was only making it to the third fence! But it didn’t matter, I was hooked and I knew that this was the sport for me.”

After completing a business degree, Joanne headed for England and trained with David Broome before eventually making her way home to set up her business.

“I finished school and completed my business degree. I remember on the day I graduated the family wanted to celebrate but I said I couldn’t because I had a horse waiting in the car park ready to take to the Cavan Sales and I’ve never looked back since.

“I then spent four or five years with David Broome in England and I learned so much from him. I came back and set up my own business.

“I’ve had a lot of help along the way. I sometimes send young horses to different riders - I think choosing the right rider to match the horse you have is so important. Emily Corbutt in Tyrella does a great job with the four-year-olds for me and Liam McKee has always been a great help and Joanna Drain does a lovely job flat riding for me.

“I also have a great team that help me at home, without whom I couldn’t keep the whole show on the road. I’m very lucky my parents live next door and I have had the same child minder, Annetta, for the past 12 years since my daughters were babies. I travel a lot and I think that stability and routine at home is very important for the girls.”

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER

Joanne came into contact with Sameh El Dahan through a bad situation when she broke her leg just before the Sunshine tour in Spain and the Egyptian stepped in at the last minute.

“After the birth of my youngest daughter Ariel eight years ago ,I was just about to return to competition when I broke my leg. The horses were all ready to head to the Sunshine tour in Spain and I needed a plan.

“I rang Cian (O’Connor) and asked if he had any ideas. He told me he knew of an Egyptian rider who may suit. I contacted Sameh and he agreed to give it a try. He arrived out to Spain and was greeted by some very green five-year-olds.

“He has told me since that at the time he thought, ‘what am I doing here’; but something must have seemed right because here we are almost eight years later.

“I think that when deciding on an owner/rider partnership it is important that both sides feel equal. It’s important to find a rider that you gel with, one that is of the same mindset as you. You both must have shared goals and ambitions.

“Right now our goal for Suma’s Zorro is the Rolex classes. Sameh has three horses in Amsterdam this weekend and I’ll be in Spain competing with my three. On Sunday, I’ll jump on a plane to get to Amsterdam for the Grand Prix.

“We have 16 more in work at home, including eight six-year-olds and two seven-year-olds as well as all the youngsters and the horses in the breeding programme. It’s very busy but very rewarding and it’s gratifying to know that I think we currently have the nicest bunch of horses we have had in a long time,” said Joanne.