IT most definitely was a good year for the Irish Sport Horse (ISH) studbook in the 2022 WBFSH rankings: the leading eventing studbook title reclaimed and a top-10 result in show jumping from a young team of horses, since further enhanced by HHS Calais and Mikey Pender’s sparkling win on the Longines Champions Tour last weekend.

Only three studbooks have toppled the ISH from its eventing studbook perch since the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) rankings first began in 1994. The ISH record run was broken by the Hannoverian studbook in 2010 and then twice by the Selle Français (2014, 2021) and KWPN (2018, 2020).

Last year, the ISH eventing studbook finished a highly creditable third in an unusual dual Olympic and European championship year. Meanwhile, on the show jumping top-10 leaderboard, just nine points separated the Deutsches Sportpferde (ninth) and ISH studbooks.

This was the second year the ISH studbook made the show jumping top-10, a major improvement since its lowly 17th place of just three years ago in 2019.

For starters, who are the top dozen Irish Sport Horses in this year’s rankings?

Ballaghmor Class (11th in 2021), Off The Record (34th) and Vanir Kamira (36th) all reappear in the 2022 results.

This year, Off The Record (fifth) is the leading Irish-bred event horse and right on the US WEG silver medal team horse’s heels is Burghley winner and rankings stalwart Vanir Kamira (sixth).

Two more American-based horses - Cooley Quicksilver (13th) and Leamore Master Plan (18th) are also in the top-20. Sandwiched between the U.S pair is Ballaghmor Class (14th), a horse that has lived up to his name over the past five years, not only in these rankings but, like Vanir Kamira, at five-star level too.

Rounding off the group is the 11-year-old Capels Hollow Drift (23rd), the youngest horse in the pack. He made his five-star debut this year, finishing 16th and second at Badminton and Burghley respectively.

Regarding bloodlines, with the exception of the thoroughbred Master Imp (Leamore Master Plan’s sire), continental sires are prevalent. Off The Record has two crosses of continental lines through his damsire Ard Ohio, also the sire of Mighty Fine, the leading ISH eventer in the 2016 rankings.

Unlike last year, when the traditionally bred Gortfadda Diamond (Watervalley Cool Diamond (ISH)[TIH] - Panda (TB), by Glacial Storm. Breeder: Sean Lydon) made the top-six, there is no TIH amongst the top-six in 2022.

Two eventers - Cooley Quicksilver and Capels Hollow Drift - have traditionally bred dams, Vanir Kamira has a thoroughbred damsire, Cavalier Royale appears as the damsire of Leamore Master Plan and the back breeding of Ballaghmor Class continues to be an eternal mystery!

Show jumping leaderboard

The same pair from last year’s top-six ISH show jumping horses - Pacino Amiro (61st in 2021) and HHS Calais (119th) - are back again, although their order changed. This year, HHS Calais leapfrogged up to 73rd place while Bertram Allen’s Pacino Amiro, sixth to his ISH teammate in Riyadh last Saturday, finished in 83rd place.

The fact that these two young Irish-breds also delivered such an impressive result in the Longines Global Champions Tour of Riyadh is not only a priceless advertisement for Irish breeding but has banked some early WBFSH points towards their 2023 rankings.

Further underlining HHS Calais’ podium result is the calibre of the Riyadh field that included three of this year’s WBFSH top-five ranked horses: King Edward (first), Faltic HB (second) and Monaco Z N.O.P (fifth) and last year’s WBFSH number one show jumper: H&M Indiana.

Back to the best six Irish Sport Horses and the leading horse this year in the WBFSH rankings was Aga Khan hero James Kann Cruz in 37th place. This rates as one of the best results by far in recent years, since the era of Flexible.

Slotting in between HHS Calais and Pacino Amiro is the all home-bred combination of BBS McGregor and young Jack Ryan (81st), followed by Sea Topblue (86th) and FTS Killossery Confusion (92nd).

The breeding of this half-dozen closely follows the pattern used by Irish show jumping breeders in recent years of choosing top European performance line sires, such as Cardento, Chacco Blue, Kannan and SIEC Livello. Cavalier Royale yet again makes his mark in both the eventing and show jumping bloodlines of the top-six ISH, this time as the sire of HHS Calais.

On the strength of his progeny’s performance this year, Pacino’s sire Diamant de Semilly looks set to finally overtake Chacco Blue in the WBFSH show jumping sire rankings when they are released next month.

Cruising features twice as a damsire of the traditionally-bred pair CSF Telly Cruz and Killossery Kruisette, while Mark Twain, along with Dixi (Vanir Kamira) and Lucky Gift (Capels Hollow Drift) is the third thoroughbred damsire in this year’s top Irish dozen.

This year’s excellent WBFSH result by the Irish Sport Horse teams is most of all a credit to the horses’ breeders, dotted around the country, many of whom told their highlights and views on the breeding game through The Breeders’ 10 series.

Counties Clare (Jenny Glynn, John & James Meade), Galway (Patrick Connolly, Alan O’Brien) and Kilkenny (the late Ita Brennan and Marguerite Ryan) are home to two breeders apiece in this year’s rankings, along with Cavan (Peter G. Brady), Donegal (Simon Scott), Dublin (Frank & Laura Glynn), Limerick (the late Noel Hickey), Wicklow (Michael Byrne) and Monaghan, Kate Jackson’s former home county.

An excellent year and after last weekend’s results, the 2023 rankings campaign has already got off to a flying start.

Did you know

  • The WBFSH rankings first began in 1994 and its calendar year starts on October 1st. Points won in FEI competitions count towards rankings, including the studbook category which is based on the top-six performers from member studbooks.

  • Count Me In, Conor Swail’s top horse, is ranked number three on the show jumping horses. Interestingly, his sire Count Grannus is a son of Contendro I, the three-time leading event horse sire in the WBFSH rankings.

  • Another Irish link is Zaragoza, ranked eighth amongst the eventing horses. Her dam Saracen’s Pride (Saracen Hill (TB)) was bred by Jessie Heatherington in Co Donegal and later bought by Zaragoza’s breeder, Jane Young.

  • This is the second time in recent years that a Cavan man – Peter Brady – has produced the WBFSH top event horse. William Kells bred the Rio Olympics individual bronze medalist and leading ISH in 2016: Mighty Fine.

  • Patrick Connolly is another Galwegian to have bred the best ISH show jumping horse. In the 2020 rankings, Justin Burke was the breeder of the top-ranked ISH: Luibanta BH.

    • By the numbers

    22,332 - combined points won by the KWPN across the three sports, the best overall score.

    1,250 - extra points earned by the ISH show jumping horses this year, compared to 2021’s tally.

    50% - of the top-six ISH eventing horses - Off The Record, Cooley Quicksilver and Leamore Master Plan - are U.S-based.

    Six - ISH show jumping horses in the top-100, compared to four last year.

    Five - star marketing by Chris Ryan, who had the Irish Sport Horse win in the WBFSH rankings announced by the Fair Hill commentary team, just before the cross-country phase started.

    Four - top 10 studbooks appear in all three dressage, eventing and show jumping categories: Deutsche Sport Pferde (DSP), Hannoverian Verband, Holsteiner Verband and the KWPN.

    Three - dressage horses retained their 2021 top-10 places in this year’s rankings; leading horse TSF Dalera BB, DSP Quantaz and Heiline’s Danciera.

    Two - of last year’s top-10 eventing horses are back again: fischerChipmunk (first) and Amande de B’Neville (10th).

    One - Just one show jumping horse retained his 2021 top-10 place but what a horse and result: King Edward (first).

    First three table

    Top 10 event horses

    Top 10 Show Jumping horses

    Top 10 Dressage horses