I USE the WSF prefix that represents the family’s Waterfall Stud Farm operation in Cork. I wrote for the Irish Horse section of the Irish Farmers Journal for approximately 20 years and was the show jumping correspondent for RTE Radio Cork for almost five years before that, when the radio station was closed down to focus on producing television programmes like Nationwide.

1. Proudest moment as a breeder?

Watching the progress of WSF Carthago in his eventing career. Firstly, he was selected for the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) championships for six-year-old horses in 2016 and a year later in the seven-year-old equivalent. The excitement of watching a horse you bred go round the cross-country, in particular, was most memorable, if nerve-wracking!

Last month he competed in his first five-star event at Luhmühlen in Germany. Ridden by Fiona Kashel (GB) and owned by Frank Breach, he finished a creditable seventh in a field of top international horses.

Afterwards, Fiona said: “He was so bold. I saw a lot of horses come back tired and Liz, our vet, was saying that the ground was taking it out of them. He stayed on his lines, there was no wobble, no question, he was mega the whole way round. I just had the best time.”

Fiona Kashel and the Frank Mulvihill-bred WSF Carthago finished seventh at Luhmühlen \ Luhmühlen

2. Favourite broodmare?

This has to be Enigma, the dam of WSF Carthago. She was prone to twins but has by far the best temperament and none of her progeny has shown any boldness. She is by the thoroughbred stallion Viking (USA) who was known for breeding sound horses, and out a dam Eagle (KWPN), a Dutch-bred mare by Sultan.

Eagle was also the dam of Audi’s Kathja, ridden by Emile Hendricks (NL). Kathja finished second in the World Cup show jumping at Vigo in Spain and fifth in the World Cup at Dusseldorf, so there is plenty of jump in her half-sister Enigma.

Sultan was the sire of Geoff Billington’s famous international show jumper It’s Otto and was particularly known as a sire of dressage horses. I reckon Enigma has it all, movement, speed, temperament and athleticism.

3. Do you have any broodmares now?

Due to a serious illness, I had to make to decision to sell our five broodmares from 2016 to 2019. A local lady, Rose O’Leary and her husband John, bought our stud farm and now have Enigma, who has bred two foals in the last two years. I reckon she is finished with breeding now but is as sound as ever and is still ridden out.

A gentleman called Ron Jefferson from Modeligo in Co Waterford bought Lokota, an exceptional broodmare with plenty of excellent jumping credentials that jumped internationally. The others were sold as surrogate mares.

Now that I have a clean bill of health, I still have the breeding bug, so who knows what the future holds!

4. What was your aim as a breeder?

Obviously, to breed the best competition sport horses possible. Having a degree in Biochemistry, I know a lot about genetics and the long odds involved when crossing a broodmare with a stallion. One has to reduce these odds by listing the traits that make a good sport horse and, even then, there is a lot of chance.

Ideally, we should test sire and dam for these genetic markers. Both sire and dam must have performance in their lineage.

The stallion must have performed at a high level and been shown to produce progeny with performance credentials. Ideally the mare should have performed also.

5. Describe your regime for keeping broodmares and youngstock?

The more fresh air and good grass horses can get the better. The young horses need to be able to play and jump around.

This socialisation and movement are essential for their mental health and brings about a gradual development of their skeleton and muscles. A foal’s feet should be checked for straightness from the day they are born and rectified immediately and the mares kept in good condition.

In the wintertime I’d use an empty barn with plenty of straw to allow them to move around loosely.

6. Do breeders get enough recognition?

Not at all. When WSF Carthago was selected for the WBFSH championships in 2016, the results table at Mondial Du Lion listed everything but the name of the breeder. I still think this prevails – a breeding championship where no breeder is listed!

I have been advocating for years that there should a breeders’ fund. By this, I mean that a portion of every horse’s earnings should go the breeder. This should apply from local shows to international shows.

7. If you could have bred any horse in history which one would it be?

There are so many but my choice would be the mare Ratina Z (Ramiro Z x Almé Z), ridden by Ludger Beerbaum for Germany. Beerbaum won the team gold medal in show jumping with Ratina Z at the Atlanta Olympic Games.

They also won team gold and were individual fourth at the 1994 World Equestrian Games in The Hague. In 1997 they won team gold and individual gold in Mannheim (GER). In 1993 they won the World Cup final in Gothenburg (SWE), were fourth in the 1995 World Cup final and sixth in the World Cup Final in 1999, all in Gothenburg. Along with these major results, she was placed in numerous international competitions.

8. It takes a team. Who’s on yours?

First on the teamsheet has to be my wife Ursula, who keeps a keen eye on the finances. Next is my son Seán Walsh and his wife Martha Healy Walsh - both are good judges of horses. And then there is my good Norwegian friend Arne Karlsen who has been with me since the beginning in 2000.

A former international showjumper, we speak on the phone nearly every week and we used to visit each other annually, before Covid struck.

9. Best advice you ever got?

Breeding is a long game. For every good foal you get, you can be sure there will two or three ordinary ones that will make average riding horses.

10. What are your other interests?

I like most types of music and will be off to Maastricht very soon with Ursula to see André Rieu and his orchestra which was postponed twice due to Covid.

I am currently President of the Gold Coast Golf Club in Dungarvan, a beautiful course with a sea view where two of Ireland’s top golfers Rory McElroy and Séamus Power once played each other in an under-15 matchplay competition!

I keep honey bees and grow vegetables. That doesn’t leave much time for anything else.