TANKARDSTOWN Stables is the show jumping yard of my parents, Jimmy and Sheila and myself, based in Tankardstown, Tullow.

My dad is an accomplished horseman in all equestrian disciplines, both national and international. He has both European bronze (team) and silver (individual) medals from his years of junior eventing, under the tutelage of Carrigbeg Riding School in Bagenalstown, and many RDS national placings, so he knows what it takes to breed and produce competitive sport horses.

His passion for horses came from his father, Paddy Dermody of the Harrow Cross, Oldtown, Nurney.

Paddy was well-known and respected in the equestrian world of Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford for preparing horses for half-bred and thoroughbred sales.

Both he and dad worked at breaking and producing youngsters to national standard – with horses like the RDS winner King Cavalier and RDS runner-up Western Clover, both five-star show jumpers.

More horses, such as James Meade’s Laughton’s Field, the great-granddam of Sea Topblue, and five-star eventers Murphy’s Miracle and Sharon Hunt’s Hong Kong bronze team medallist and Luhmühlen winner Tankers Town, all went through their hands.

They bred the stallion Cavalier Land, a sire of promising young event horses including Cooley Cloverland, winner of the Burghley five-year-old young event horse final last year with Ros Canter.

In more recent times, they bred the top 148cm Tankardstown Dreamer, now competing with Swiss rider Victoria Scherbakov and their results include third place in the Equita Grand Prix at Lyon.

I’ve a keen interest in following show jumping bloodlines to match up those most suitable to our mares, with the end goal of producing quality sport horses. We use a mixture of Irish and continental-based stallions to breed modern Irish Sport Horses and Traditional Irish Horses (TIH).

1. What’s the breeding goal at Tankardstown Stables?

Our goal is to breed correct, sound, blood-type horses with a good jumping pedigree. We keep everything we breed until they are three years old to assess their jumping technique. Depending on the number of stock we have at the time, we break and produce one or two and compete them up the ranks until they are sold. We mostly sell through auctions and privately.

2. Proudest moment as a breeder?

To have bred, broke and produced horses through the age classes ourselves. In 2023, we had three fillies receive Select status at the mare assessments, Tankardstown Viva won the RDS loose performance qualifier at Warrington and Tankardstown Flexi was second in the three/four-year-old loose jumping class at the Traditional Irish Horse Association (TIHA) championship.

Seamus with Tankardstown Flexi, second in the TIHA loose jumping championship and pictured with TIHA chairman Kevin Noone/ Susan Finnerty

3. How many mares do you currently have?

We currently have four breeding mares:

We also have Tankardstown Viva (Vivant van de Heffinck - Tankardstown Quality Cruise) and Tankardstown Flexi (Flexible - Tankardstown Flight), who we plan to produce and compete, before adding them to our breeding stock.

4. Describe your regime for keeping mares/youngstock?

The youngstock are housed over the winter to ensure we have grass in the springtime. We have sheds, which are divided to house them in pairs. Our older horses are put on the walker daily, which makes them well-handled. We also have an all-weather turnout area, which is used by all stock in rotation.

Our broodmares are kept out with hay and mineral buckets ad-lib. If feeding is required, they are brought in to minimise poaching of the field.

5. 2024 - what do you think are the greatest challenges facing sport horse breeders?

A challenge facing breeders is conserving the TIH show jumper. There are very few outcross stallions for mares that have Cruising, King of Diamonds and Clover Hill pedigrees.

It seems the only option is a full thoroughbred and sometimes this may not suit temperament-wise or in sacrificing jumping pedigree.

It would be great if there was an initiative where embryos could be purchased from five-star TIH dams and any subsequent fillies or colts were retained for breeding.

I understand the TIHA has similar schemes, but they need more support from the Irish Horse Board and Horse Sport Ireland.

6. Which famous horse would you like to have bred?

CSF James Kann Cruz. To breed a horse of his calibre would be a dream come true.

Jimmy Dermody, a European junior eventing medallist, pictured with the homebred Tankardstown Viva, a finalist in the Horse Sport Ireland-sponsored loose performance final and HSI’s Dr Sonja Egan, Head of Breeding, Innovation and Development \ 1st Class Images

7. Best advice you ever got?

“It is better to breed from an average mare from a proven damline, than a flash in the pan from a middling family,” from Nick Cousins in Tullabeg Stud.

Another great piece of advice from my grandfather is: “The day you buy, is the day you sell.” This is open to interpretation and applicable to a lot of things.

8. It takes a team, who’s on yours?

We have a great team here; Jimmy and Sheila, who started it all over 30 years ago, run the place on a day-to-day basis and keep the dream alive. Without them, none of it would be here today.

Aoife Lynch, my other half, is up from Nenagh every chance she gets and is always there to help; Mick Byrne, our farrier, and Michael Keane, our vet, are second to none and always on call for any issues that arise with any of the stock from scanning to stitching to shoeing.

Donnacha Dermody of Ballytiglea Equine is always only a phone call away if we need any help, assistance or an outside perspective.

9. Favourite app/website?

Clipmyhorse.TV to keep up with the latest rounds from our favourite horses and shows, Horsetelex and Hippomundo to check pedigrees and damlines.

10. Thoughts on the current standard of Irish Sport Horse breeding?

The standard of sport horses in Ireland has risen dramatically, even in the last 10 years or so, in all aspects, from competition to breeding.

The range of stallions at stud at the moment is phenomenal. We should all use stallions that suit our mare best, not just what is popular at the time.

Ireland is renowned the world over as a horse country and the studs definitely live up to that.

If you are not sure which stallion suits your mare, ask. Studs like Ballyquirke, KEC, Drumhowan, Tullabeg and Castlelawn are all run by out-and-out horsemen and women, it is not a crime not to know, it is a crime not to ask.