THERE is no topic in the Irish equestrian sector more guaranteed to get people debating than the question of Irish vs Continental breeding. However pitching one against the other is in no way useful or conducive to solving the problems of the wider national herd.

The RDS and Marcus O’Donnell are to be commended for their research into the numbers of high performing traditionally-bred mares and broodmares active in the country.

The results of the first phase are obviously disappointing and already the blame game has begun but blame won’t provide a single solution that might help us increase the number of Irish-bred horses - traditional or otherwise – on the international circuit.

Having said that, we do need to understand the origins of the problem.

Some people are happy to jump on the bandwagon and claim this is Horse Sport Ireland’s fault but the irony is that the vast majority of the mares listed in the RDS tables are older than Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) itself.

Yes, we can chastise HSI for turning the studbook into a herd registry with overly relaxed rules of registration but this mess cannot be put at its feet.

What we are seeing is the result of a horrific lack of planning and foresight from Bord na Capall and later, the Irish Horse Board.

It was a quote from the late John Hall on RTÉ in 2003 that sparked my own interest in breeding. When the winning French team in the Aga Khan did so on a team of French stallions (though in fairness Quilano De Kalvarie was BWP), Hall lamented that such an achievement would be impossible for Ireland.

“Why not?” I asked myself. “Why can’t Ireland field a team of Irish-bred stallions to compete and win at that level?”

Far from blaming foreign stallions coming into this country for our decline, the stallion inspectors and breed custodians of the late 1980s and 1990s ought to stand up and shoulder the consequences of the decisions they took and the policies (or lack thereof) that followed.

Where was their research into families of the performance horses of the time to ensure their relatives were breeding? Where were the Irish Sport Horse sons of the better thoroughbred stallions of the time?

BEGINNING OF THE DECLINE

When thoroughbred stallions were still able to produce international success, that was the time to plan for the future of the studbook.

That didn’t happen. We didn’t adapt, we didn’t plan and our dominance ceased. Now, 26 years after the beginning of the decline, we’re scrambling to implement some type of damage control.

Thank whatever God it is that you pray to that we were gifted Cruising in this country. He reached down into a quagmire of mediocrity and held us afloat. Without him, Ireland would be beyond irrelevant in show jumping now.

Ten of the top 12 Traditional Irish (TIH) show jumping mares in the country are by him and one is a granddaughter. That says it all.

Unfortunately a studbook can’t be built on the back of one horse alone. So now the top traditionally-bred mares and stallions are either closely related to him, Clover Hill or one of the many sons of King Of Diamonds.

So where to from here?

While some people seem happy enough to let traditionally-bred horses die out as high level show jumpers, I think it would be a massive shame.

Having said that, I breed almost exclusively with foreign-bred stallions now. Maybe I’m part of the problem, but access to quality is easier that way. For sure, if I could get the quality of stallion I want from Irish breeding then I’d be going there first.

The consensus now seems to be that HSI has to step up and deal with this issue. It is really the only body with the resources to put in place the sort of long-term, multi-generational project that will need to be implemented.

The families of successful show jumping TIHs must be explored to find related mares to breed from. Every resource should be made available to Marcus O’Donnell so he can continue what he has started.

I for one would welcome a potential scenario whereby HSI would buy embryos from identified mares and work with both the Irish National Stud and the Army Equitation School to produce them.

If taxpayers’ money was to be used in this way, it would have to be done efficiently, with a commercial element and not become a loss-making exercise. Only the best of the mares and stallion-quality colts would be retained, with geldings and some of the mares getting sold.

We need to get fillies on the ground and provide quality outcrosses for the next generation. The lack of quality, high performance outcrosses is the real issue TIHs face.

For example, take my eight-year-old mare BVS Echo Island. By Clover Echo out of a Duca Di Busted x Laughton’s Flight dam, she is looking pretty useful in 1.35m classes and this year might even find herself in National Grand Prix classes. If she were to be bred by embryo transfer to a high performance TIH like Cruising’s Micky Finn, as opposed to something from the continent, and get a filly, then where could that filly go to breed future TIHs?

We have one or maybe two generations of available high-end outcrosses.

What then?

The long-term goal of any attempt to salvage TIH mare numbers has to be performance. Breeding a TIH alone for the sake of being traditional does not add value to them. That’s the simple reality.

The TIHA might not necessarily agree with me but looking backwards while going forward will only cause people to trip and fall. We’ve fallen far enough already. Harking back to the glory days of yesteryear will not achieve anything.

TIHA should be working not to throw stones at HSI but to make the horses they breed relevant in the modern sport.

We’ve had colt retention schemes in the past and they failed completely. If re-introduced, I believe they will fail again. We don’t need a large number of people with colt foals leaving them entire like the previous scheme resulted in.

MARE SCHEMES

It is mare schemes that we should be looking into, where selected broodmares can access embryo transfer at a reduced rate.

A scheme for mares competing in the age classes as seven-year-olds and accessing embryo transfer at a reduced rate would be more beneficial in the long-term than more young stallions floating around.

Unless, of course, access to the colt retention scheme was restricted to colts from families that have produced a minimum number of 1.30m+ show jumpers or the equivalent performance in eventing.

We also need more matron mare classes for young mares who breed at four years old so they can be allowed compete in all championships against horses a year younger until they turn seven.

This need not be the death knell for TIH mares as high level performance horses. Not if we put our heads together and come up with solutions.

We can find problems all day long in this country. We’re great at that. We’re not so good at finding solutions, but with the knowledge and talent available in this country, now is the time to do it.

There are some fantastic young horses and riders in Ireland. One of the first things they need is increased access to international shows - more CSIs at home without the expense of having to go away. It’s hard to gain WBFSH ranking points when we don’t have easy access to those shows week in and week out.

We can lament the past and lament the scarcity of TIH mares in competition or we can do something about it. But if we sit on our hands and don’t act, this will be the end of the line.

The RDS research is not a death knell. It’s a wake-up call.

Conor Sheridan owns Brosna View Stables in Clara, Co Offaly, where he breeds and produces quality Irish Sport Horses for show jumping and eventing.

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