I’M from Carnew in Co Wicklow. A retired farmer, I’ve been breeding horses - sport horses and Irish Draughts - for a lifetime.

I’ve also been a member of Carnew Show committee for over 60 years, including serving as the show treasurer. The show takes place on the third Saturday of each July and I’m very proud to be involved with our local show.

Among the horses I’ve bred are the half-brother stallions: Parkmore Night, a son of Carnival Night, and the pure-bred Irish Draught, Parkmore Pride, by Pride of Shaunlara. Both were out of Parkmore Jewel (Atlantic Boy) the first mare I won the Breeders’ Championship at the Dublin Horse Show with.

Parkmore Night is the sire of Parkmore Ed and that horse, bred by Sean Aylward, was picked on the British eventing team for the Hong Kong Olympics with William Fox-Pitt. Parkmore Pride won at Dublin as a foal and later on, went to Kentucky where he stood with Fleur Bryan.

1. Congratulations on another win this year with Parkmore Evita and her Tyson filly foal, Parkmore Tyra in the eventing section of The Irish Field Breeder’ Championship. Many to choose from, would this rank as your proudest moment as a breeder?

I’ve had great days in Dublin including when Auto Cruz (Cruising - Parkmore Starlight, by Sky Boy) and Francis Connors were flying high there and jumping on the national Grand Prix circuit.

Auto Cruz qualified every year for Dublin from four to eight years old and was also third in a class as a five-year-old at the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) world championships at Lanaken.

Then there’s winning the Coote Cup for the Dublin broodmare champion - that was with Parkmore Evita - but her latest win certainly would be up there as one of my proudest days as a breeder.

2. Tell us about breeding Parkmore Evita.

Parkmore Evita is a 12-year-old mare by Ghareeb and is the fifth generation bred on the farm. Evita is out of Parkmore Sunrise, by Coolcorran Cool Diamond, and her second dam is Parkmore Clover (Clover Hill). Her third dam is Parkmore Light, a Sky Boy mare who was out of Parkmore Lass, by Pampas Hero.

Parkmore Evita has had five foals so far. We have a two-year-old on the farm by Vivant van de Heffinck and we’re also retaining this year’s Tyson filly foal, Tyra.

3. The Breeders’ Championship - you’ve now won it three times with two different mares - Parkmore Jewel (1990) and Parkmore Evita (2019, 2022) and their foals (Parkmore Chance, by Kildalton Gold - Parkmore Jewel), then Evita’s Tyson full-siblings, Parkmore Tyson and Tyra. Is it still the one you want to win?

As a breeder, the Breeders’ Championship is the one you always want to win. To produce a foal that has pedigree and conformation to match is always a breeder’s aim.

Dividing the championship into eventing and show jumping sections is the way forward. Breeding is gone so specialised in the last 10, 15 years, it is important to have the class divided.

Parkmore Evita and her 2019 Tyson colt foal, winners of The Irish Field Breeders Championship champions with The Irish Field editor Leo Powell and winning owner Patrick Wafer and his nephews Maurice and Seamus with the winning foal \ Susan Finnerty

4. Favourite broodmare, past or present?

This is a hard question as we have been lucky enough to have some great broodmares on the farm.

Parkmore Bella (Bell Laughton - Misty Moonlight) is a great mare from the past who has bred great international progeny such as Parkmore, Shelbourne, Millstreet Gold, Parkmore Starlight and Go Lightly, who won the Dublin four-year-old for the Hughes family in the 1980s. Parkmore Bella is also the grand-dam of Auto Cruz.

And of course Evita will always hold a special place in Parkmore. She has produced All Ireland champion foals at Clarecastle and Moate and retired from the showring at the top this year. She also won the HSI broodmare championship at Charleville and the Banner broodmare championship at Clarecastle this summer, two more great days.

5. How do you think Irish sport horse breeding has changed?

Irish sport horse breeding has changed hugely in the last 10 years. It’s gone very professional. We are breeding from more performance mares and using AI from the top stallions in the world. We were running about five to 10 years behind mainland Europe but are catching up now. Hopefully we will be back on top of the table.

6. Describe your winter regime for mare/youngstock.

The mares are wintered out, they’re fed hay ad-lib with stud cubes introduced in December. By the end of January, the mares are housed. Youngstock spend their first winter in and after that, they’re wintered out and fed hay and stud cubes too.

Ringside chat: Carnew show's chief steward Patrick Wafer and David Cosby pick out their winners at the 2019 show \ Susan Finnerty

7. If you could have bred any horse in history?

The famous Boomerang!

8. It takes a team – who is on yours?

Winning teams always have top players and I am lucky enough to have great people on my panel. John O’Doherty is our vet and always on hand with good advice. Barry O’Driscoll is our blacksmith and plays an important role with the youngstock.

My nephew Maurice has carried on the Parkmore breeding and showing operation and has brought it to a place we never thought possible in the last 10-15 years with two Coote Cup wins, three Breeders’ Championships and numerous All Ireland final wins. Seamus, Maurice’s brother, is also on hand to help out on show days.

Last August, Maurice and Seamus showed Parkmore Evita and Hot To Touch (Lancelot), owned by Maurice’s wife Linda, with the mare’s Tyson and Quality Time foals to win both the eventing and show jumping sections of the Breeders’ Championship. That was an incredible achievement for two mares who share the same paddock.

9. Best advice you ever got?

A neighbour of ours, a great stockman, had a great saying: “Feeding and breeding makes quality stock.”

10. You’ve used Parkmore - your address and townland - as a prefix for decades. What’s your view on prefixes?

As a breeder, prefixes are very important and should stay with horses all their lives.