THE topic of finance made worldwide headlines this week, between talks of proposed tariffs being introduced by newly-inaugurated US President Donald Trump against Canada, Mexico and now China. Then, the gathering of global leaders for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Trillion-dollar budgets are light years away from the sport horse world. Although, as we’ve seen in recent rankings articles, today’s top prize money levels have made ‘millionaire horses’.

These include last year’s half-dozen stars: H&M Indiana, Leone Jei, Donatello D’Auge, Killer Queen VDM, King Edward and Point Break, who all earned over €1 million in prize money throughout 2024.

How much of that prize money though ever trickles down to the performance horse breeder? Sometimes, indirectly through selling a relative of a superstar.

Mark Sherry, the breeder of EIC Up Too Jacco Blue (Chacco Blue x Ard VDL Douglas), revealed last week how Max Kühner, the horse’s Austrian rider and top earner in Hippomundo’s 2024 rankings, had bought some young horses from him and the Creighton team of Alan and Imelda.

Any financial reward, as in a breeder’s cheque arriving through the letterbox? “I did receive a small cash prize from HSI (Horse Sport Ireland), which I donated to a men’s cancer charity. I think the cheque was for €150-€200. It’s always nice to have any achievement acknowledged,” Mark said.

How about the breeders of another ‘millionaire horse’ in James Kann Cruz? The Connolly family were well-established vendors at foal sales for years and can now also benefit from the glow of breeding the instantly recognisable grey.

“We normally don’t get that much in breeder prize money,” Shane Connolly remarked. “Last year, we got €400 twice; one for CSF Cianna winning the loose jumping in Kernan’s and the other for CSF Hollypark Rocco Blue, third in the five-year-old young event class.

“And then a €300 breeder prize for CSF Thomascourt Zena in leg four of the DAFM Studbook Series for six-year-olds last year.”

Incoming support

At the time of writing, Kildare TD Martin Heydon has just been announced in the Dáil as the new Minister for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The Programme for Government 2025 has already stated its ongoing support for “the marketing and breeding of Irish sport horses”, which should see those breeders’ prizes continue.

This support for a range of young horse and pony performance classes, from loose jumping to the studbook series, was also referred to by Dr Sonja Egan, Head of Breeding, Innovation and Development at HSI.

“Horse Sport Ireland recognises the value and contribution Irish breeders make to the vibrant sport horse sector in Ireland.

“Each year, we evaluate the programmes delivered under National Breeding Services to identify ways to better support the sector, while also providing breeder-specific financial recognition and support.

“Since 2022, these efforts have included increasing the amount and range of breeder prizes offered through the Studbook Series and Development Series (across disciplines), as well as mandating that all Breeding Grant-funded shows allocate a proportion of the fund for breeder-specific prizes,” Egan continued.

“In the final quarter of 2024, Horse Sport Ireland proposed a number of additional breeder recognition and support-focused schemes to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which are currently under evaluation.

“We are hopeful that these proposals will be supported and look forward to enhancing the recognition and support Irish breeders receive for their invaluable contribution to the sport horse sector.”

So, a possible increase in breeder recognition in the offing. The various HSI schemes have often been favourably acknowledged in the Breeders’ 10 series. Overall though, the response throughout the series is that more needs to be done in highlighting the successful performance breeder.

“I’ve always advocated for a percentage for the breeder to come from the prize fund and be paid directly, even 5% would be something. His... I have received money from and it’s really nice to get. It would be nice too, if it carried through to the Grand Prix, RDS, etc,” one breeder told The Irish Field this week.

There’s no doubt that breeders appreciate presentations. As one example, the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) will present their top three breeders with their 2024 awards at the upcoming Bordeaux International.

On a shoestring budget, the TIHA manage both awards and a cheque for the breeders of the top traditional-breds at their annual performance and Eventing Ireland championships.

IFA breeders initiative

The WBFSH young show jumping horse championships, at the Melchior family’s Lanaken base, go the extra mile. At their presentations, the breeders of the three medal-winning horses receive cheques from €5,000 (gold medal winner) to €2,000 (bronze).

The breeders must be present to collect their cheques, however, this is one example of highlighting those who got champions’ success stories rolling. Likewise, the Irish Breeders’ Classic is yet another major event to reward the breeders of their annual champions.

Last year at Dublin, Cian O’Connor’s Karlswood Stables sponsored a €10,000 grooms’ competition. And rightly so, as like some breeders, the top grooms’ lives revolve around ‘their’ horses.

One more example of a new award was the presentation of a €1,000 cheque to Denis Hickey, who bred GRS Lady Amaro. She was the highest-placed Irish Sport Horse in the Rolex Grand Prix at Dublin last summer, when the Amaretto Darco mare and Mark McAuley earned €100,000 for their runner-up result.

The breeders’ prize money award was sponsored by the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) Horse Project, aimed at raising the profile of Irish breeders.

“Breeders are the lifeblood of every equestrian discipline, and they need support and encouragement like never before. Sport horse breeders are in every parish in the country and it is only fair that they receive some of the recognition,” IFA Horse Project Team chair, Conor O’Leary said at the presentation made last October in Bluebell.

“It was unexpected, because I didn’t know the IFA did that kind of thing. A great initiative of theirs. Any little bit of recognition for a breeder is good. At the end of the day, where would be without them?” Denis Hickey said this week.

“Breeding is not an easy job. For every one that you get a lot of money for, how many do you breed that don’t make anything? The big one has to carry a lot of them, unless you’re very, very lucky.”

The mare’s big Dublin result had special significance for the family, as their late father Michael was a renowned showman, who won six Dublin supreme hunter championships in the same main arena.

“It was a great place for my dad. He lived for the RDS and winning outside was no good unless he won inside [main arena]!”

The 1%

Hickey’s background also lies in the bloodstock and racing world. In a recent edition of The Irish Field, National Hunt breeder and sales consignor Frank Motherway called on more race sponsors and Horse Racing Ireland to provide breeders’ prizes for graded winners over jumps.

Motherway and his son-in-law Conor Cashman sponsored the Grade 3 John and Chich Fowler Memorial Chase at Fairyhouse on New Year’s Day, a race which included a €500 breeders’ prize for an Irish-bred winner.

“It didn’t cost me anything extra to allocate 10% of the sponsors’ contribution to the winning breeder,” Motherway explained.

“I think more sponsors would be happy to include the breeder, if they were asked. Even if it was just for graded races, it would be a start. Even better if the winning breeder received a presentation on the day. I think any breeder, who had a runner in a graded race, would go along if they thought that [breeders’ prize] was a possibility.”

Even 1% of the colossal prize money now on offer in show jumping, would be a huge benefit to the breeder it filtered back to. Who, though, would champion and administer such breeders’ prizes.

The FEI, Global Champions Tour, Nations Cup leagues? Likewise, on the national circuit, should a percentage of a Grand Prix winner’s prize money be paid to the breeder?

That’s at the top end of show jumping. In eventing, the breeder can go largely unrewarded.

Usually, there’s a breeders’ prize plaque for the Badminton CCI5*-L winner. Last year, the winner was the Irish Sport Horse, Greenacres Special Cavalier. The Cavalier Royale mare then finished 2024 as the top-earning event horse in the Hippomundo rankings.

Her breeder, Michael Callery, was at home that day, blissfully unaware of her and Caroline Powell’s major win. “Maybe they’ll go back to Badminton this year. Please God, if she goes, I’d love to go there to see them.”

Now there’s a golden opportunity to reunite the Meath man with his winner for a second chance presentation - over to you, Badminton.

A cheque, a presentation at an award ceremony, a big price at the sales for a performer’s relative - some ways the breeders of these top performers get a fair reward.

For a country that prides itself on breeding top-ranked horses and ponies, could we up the stakes?

THE caveat with reviewing the Hippomundo rankings is that prize money sums listed are a yardstick in some categories.

Prize money ‘won’ by a breeder, sire or the rider determines the rankings’ places - it doesn’t mean that a rider, for example, keeps the lot at these top levels.

Similarly in racing. What a top-earning jockey wins in a season isn’t the same as their take-home pay. Between jockeys’ agents and written contracts, the racing world is a highly professional one. One the sport horse world is catching up on, with business managers and social media content teams part of the structure.

Which riders earned the most in 2024? Austria’s Max Kühner was the leading show jumping rider, with over two millions euros won. His team of horses included Elektric Blue P and the Irish-bred pair of EIC Up Too Jacco Blue (€668,796) and EIC Cooley Jump The Q (€286,393).

The latter, bred by Pam Walshe, earned more than the top event horse: Greenacres Special Cavalier, another example of the gap between show jumping and the two other Olympic equestrian sports.

Ireland’s Conor Swail makes the top-10, dominated by European riders. US-based Swail records the best prize money average of the top-10 riders (€161,640) and the best win percentage strike rate amongst the top-10 Irish riders (15.1%).

Aoife Clark (15.4%) has a similarly high win rate amongst the Irish eventing riders, where again, there is a substantial drop in prize money compared to show jumping. Lucy Latta’s second place at Badminton with RCA Patron Saint results in her topping the Irish riders’ top-10 and also making the overall top-10 eventing riders leaderboard. Oliver Townend, courtesy of his Irish-bred five-star winners; the Noel Hickey-bred Ballaghmor Class and Cooley Rosalent, bred by Woods Rosbotham, was the clear leader here.

Apart from prize money, where do riders earn an income? And who gets the prize money. The answers varied widely amongst a number of people canvassed. Horse sales are often the business lifeline.

“The agreement is I keep the prize money; at lower levels, you’re lucky if it covers the entry fees and the diesel home. If it’s over a certain level, it’s split 50-50 with the owner. No contract. Maybe I should have!” one rider said.

“It was all a handshake, the most casual arrangement over prize money. The livery fees paid the basics and kept the gates open, but where you really made your money was the bonus if a novice horse sold well at Dublin. That money [commission] made the difference. That money was the down payment on the lorry or a few young horses bought to bring on yourself. We’d nothing in writing, but I wouldn’t let my lot do that now,” said another, a retired show jumper.

“In my experience, you don’t get it [prize money from the rider], no matter what the agreement. Sales commission is another thing. 10% would be nice. Most riders want to add 50k, or sometimes much, much more, to the price of the expensive horses! In America, they have just passed a law that trainers/riders have to make public their commission. Everyone has to make a living, but sometimes it’s immoral what’s done,” said one owner, giving their perspective.

Contracts, performance reviews and written agreements in many businesses are par for the course stateside. There are also great examples of when an owner-rider partnership goes well, such as Daniel Coyle’s recent social media post about the gift of a Rolex watch from Lothlorien Farm’s Ariel Grange to mark their 10 years working together.

Another watch - Longines, fittingly - was presented by the Jumping Owners Club at Basel recently to longtime equestrian patron and Checker 47’s owner: Madeleine Winter-Schulze.

Breeders, owners, riders, grooms - it takes them all to sustain the sport. Speaking at Basel, Denis Lynch alluded to the role of the owner and prize money, saying: “When you commit to a job, be it a professional footballer or show jumper, it is a job. I have employees, major responsibilities, but I don’t see that as pressure. First of all is my family and then, obviously I love riding horses. It’s very important that there is good prize money there, because we have to make a living. And it also keeps the people who support us interested. There has to be some kind of financial benefit there and in prize money going back to the owners, investing in us and into these fantastic animals.”