PHOTOGRAPHS. Saved in old shoeboxes or virtual clouds. Every picture tells a story, every character has a memory. Looking through photos provided by Philip Heenan’s niece Mary Oakley, one album’s contents stands out.

Philip casually holding Clover Hill outside his stable while nephew John has a wheelbarrow of fresh straw at the ready; Ballinvella standing beside the landmark water tank where the goldfish swam in; his bay son Ardcroney Lad, or ‘Young Ballinvella’, who I believe, but can’t prove, is Ballaghmor Class’ damsire; a group of people smiling for the camera.

“They’re the Swiss visitors, they came to see Philip back in the 1990s and gave him these albums.”

A handwritten note with the names ‘Silvia Röösli-Merz and Myrtha Ellenberger’, an address in Veltheim, Switzerland and old landline number are the only clues.

Wicklow breeder Henry Fleming has more. “While there [at Philips], I met Silvia and her friend, Myrtha. They had come from Switzerland to see the famous Clover Hill, as Silvia had an exceptional jumping mare by the stallion and wanted to see him in the flesh.

“They were totally enthralled with Philip, his horses and his connection with nature. They stayed several days in Tipperary visiting Philip and helping out. On their way home, they came to visit us in Redcross and stayed a few days.”

Veltheim. Google Maps show it’s just 35 kilometres from Laufenburg, the town on the German-Swiss border where my sister and family work. Yet another coincidence.

A Facebook message to Silvia Hofstetter, a longtime Swiss customer of Ned and Jim Kavanagh’s Clover Hill and Master Imp-breds, enquiring if she can help trace a namesake Silvia results in a reply of “I am the one!” from the lady herself.

Off to Veltheim, across the Rhine, past the rolling Swiss hills and a majestic 12th-century castle to “the last house in the village,” where the Merz family live. There’s Susette Merz-Hauri, a first cousin of Max and Heidi Hauri and her equally vivacious twin daughters, born on Christmas Eve: Annette “I’m the oldest by 10 minutes!” and Silvia.

The original photo albums include a lovely photo of a beaming Philip with the sisters. Standing in front of the trio is Annette’s curly-haired young daughter Chantal Huwiler-Müller, a future Swiss team gold medal winner.

Silvia too has her own daughters – Jana and Lynn Röösli – now. Those Irish visits are special memories with the story beginning 14 years before that photo taken in 1998.

Horse of a lifetime

1984 was a memorable year for the Hauri family. Heidi and the Irish-bred Jessica V won a bronze medal at the Los Angeles Olympics. Waiting amongst the crowds in Seon to welcome the hometown hero were her Merz cousins, including young Silvia.

She didn’t know it then but her own Irish-bred mare of a lifetime was foaled that same summer, 1,650 kilometres away on Seamus Hughes’ farm in Cuffesgrange, Co Kilkenny. She was called Samantha IX.

“She was very clever. My father would say ‘Samantha could read and write!’” Silvia said, recalling the intelligent grey mare she and her much-missed late father Heinz had selected as a three-year-old at Max Hauri’s yard.

“I fell in love with Samantha. We just let her free in the indoor and saw her jumping. We bought her for 15,000 Swiss francs - Max did the Irish handshake - then we brought her home. She was the first horse I bought.”

Her “brilliant” mare repaid one-third of her price by winning the Berne Cup in 1995. “That was our biggest success, the cup for amateur riders in the whole of Switzerland and the final was held in Interlaken. I got 3,000 Swiss francs which is a lot but in other years, the first prize was a car and of course everybody said ‘You won a car!’ when they heard I’d won that competition!”

Silvia Röösli-Merz in the indoor school with some of the plaques won by her Irish-bred mare Samantha IX \ Susan Finnerty

Missing from Samantha’s reading material was her paperwork. “Later, I got a card from Marion [Hughes]. She heard that I bought a horse from Max, this little mare that they bred and because Annette was in Ireland in 1987 that she may remember her then.

“I had no papers for Samantha and because I was so interested in the pedigrees, I asked ‘why does Samantha have no papers?’ Seamus was an amazing man. He said she was by Clover Hill - that was the first time I’d heard of Clover Hill - and that he had forgotten the passport for Noble Lady, Samantha’s mother. It was at Philip Heenans.”

There was only one solution: go to Tipperary. “I was not even 20 and I said ‘I’ll go there one day and get her papers!’

"In April 1995, I had one week off so I went to Ireland with my friend Myrtha [Ellenberger] and my mission was to go to Philip Heenan.

“Off we went to Nenagh, no sat-nav, no mobiles phones then. It was about four o’clock on a Sunday evening and we arrived at the Half Door restaurant. I love Irish people. They started to talk to us and ask ‘Where are you from?’ when they heard our accents. And I said ‘Well, we’re from Switzerland. I would like to meet Philip Heenan, do you know where he lives?’

“’Just over there’ they replied and I said ‘Great, we’ll go tomorrow. It’s Sunday evening now.’ And they all said, ‘No, go now!’ I think we took a drink and off we went.”

Real friendship

After a drop of Dutch courage, the hired car bounced up the laneway. “We came to the top, I parked the car and we went over to the bench. There was a lot of people there, the family Fleming was next in line and we started to talk to them.

“Then Philip came to me, ‘What do you want?’ I had pictures of Samantha and said ‘I’m from Switzerland. I have a Clover Hill mare, she’s the best in the whole world I promise you but I don’t have the papers. And I know Seamus Hughes, he’s the breeder, promised me the passport for her mother Noble Lady must still be here. Please help me!’

“Then he walked away. No word! We played with the Fleming children, I always had Swiss chocolate with me and we became friends. Half an hour later, Philip came to me and handed me her passport. I was so happy!

“My second wish was to have a look at Clover Hill. I had no picture, nothing! But that wasn’t that day.”

Instead John Oakley phoned nearby Ashley Park House to arrange accommodation for the Swiss guests. “I brought Tom home that evening, that’s when I met Mary and saw the first picture of Clover Hill, a photo in the living room. The next day we went back and a real friendship between Philip and I began. I drew a map of the yard and made a list of the stallions he had.

“We were sitting on the bench, people were coming with mares and we were talking together about which stallion would suit which mare. I had the keyring with all the keys, so when we went to a stable, I opened the door. Myrtha said people were whispering ‘Who is that? His wife or his secretary?’” said an amused Silvia.

“He was such a special man with a special gift. If he liked you, he liked you. He was part of the family by the time I went back with Annette and Chantal. That photo of the four of us, that was definitely a special moment. I went back with the book of photos for Philip and to ride with the Wicklow Hunt.”

Henry Fleming recalled: “I brought them hunting and to the hunt ball. They were fascinated and thrilled with Irish hunting and brought back exciting memories to Switzerland,” adding: “We remained friends since and have visited them in Switzerland to enjoy their hospitality and winter sports.”

Another long-lasting friendship built up from the railway sleeper bench.

The reason for tracking down Noble Lady’s passport was the Merz family wished to register her daughter Samantha with the Zangersheide studbook.

“Because Silvia wanted to breed from Samantha, she needed papers. The Irish horse... so many of them had no papers then, compared to German horses. I had a gelding, he came from Sligo, that’s all I knew! I didn’t know the stallion, I didn’t know the breeder,” Annette remarked.

“John Hughes helped me with the DNA, I came to Dublin as I had to go to the Horse Board but I got the papers” said her determined sister. Another photographic legacy of those visits are photos of Flo Jo, Marion’s famous mare, grazing in the field; hostess Anne Hughes cooking for her guests; Cavalier Royale, the Swiss export to Ireland and another Kodak moment at Williamstown Stud of Chantal meeting Jessica V in retirement.

Own breed

When crossed with Cavalier, the King of Diamonds-sired Noble Lady produced Cavalier Tiffany, competed at the European young rider championship in 2000 by Thomas Hauri. A fellow Swiss team member was Steve Guerdat.

Samantha’s half-sister Noblina (Cavalier Royale) is the dam of HHS Noble Call (Heritage Fortunus), long-listed for the Tokyo Olympics with event rider Padraig McCarthy, another Hauri yard graduate.

Samantha bred seven foals over nine years for the Merz family: the full-brothers Carl Z and Casper Z (Chellano Z), full-sisters Carleen and Cheryl (Chameur), Ray Charles (Rubens du Ri d’Asse), Aquila (Aquilino) and her last foal in 2009: Katie (Quo Vados). “My father thought the Holstein was a good cross with the Irish horse.”

Cuche, Samantha IX's characterful grandson with Marielle \ Susan Finnerty

Coincidentally, Samantha foaled down at their sister Barbara’s farm in Holstein, the traditional heart of German horse breeding, where her youngstock were also reared. “Barbara lived in Holstein for 20 years, one hour from Hamburg,” Silvia continued.

“We have no land. That’s the thing about Switzerland, that’s why we don’t breed here. We are not farmers, we can’t buy even a little piece of land if you are not a farmer. It’s not allowed, only a farmer can buy land,” stated Annette, as we walk around their immaculate, compact yard, complete with an indoor arena.

Each of her daughter’s four horses has its own individual turnout area outside their stable, while across the road are larger paddocks. “We have really nice hacking up the mountain too,” said Annette pointing upwards at the nearby heights, on the edge of the Jura mountain range.

Hay and straw are bought in, a bale of shavings costs 12 to 14 Swiss francs (practically on a par with the euro) and a set of shoes about 200 francs. “Regular shoes, nothing special.”

The one feature missing is the ubiquitous lorry. “Chantal, my eldest, has this amazing horse U Tabasca. When we went to Hagen CSIO, we were the only one with a trailer, it was lorry, lorry, lorry!

“John Ledingham was there at the warm-up arena, he said ‘I like your horse’. I said ‘Own breed - horse and rider!’ Since that, he’s been a real good friend. But who can say that? We bred the mare and nobody else jumped her but Chantal.”

Not only did Annette jump ‘Täbi’s dam Galaxy (Coriolan), her husband Hans Peter Müller selected the Capitol I son Cassini as the covering sire and the Holsteiner mare then foaled at Barbara’s farm in 2004.

Swiss scene

Nine years later, U Tabasca and Chantal were on the Swiss gold medal team at the European young rider championships in Vejer de la Frontera, alongside Martin Fuchs, Emilie Stampfli and Annina Züger.

Chantal and Emilie, together with Ireland’s Bertram Allen and Greek rider Monika Martini were also the original members of the Rolex Young Rider Academy in 2014.

Fourth place at Aachen (which resulted in a substantial seven-figure offer for the mare. “Yes, we did but we always said she’s a member of the family and not for sale,” Annette confirmed) and a gold medal in the Swiss young rider championships, held at Sion, were more highlights of the pair’s career.

Chantal Huwiler-Müller with the home-bred U Tabasca, the subject of a seven-figure offer, jumping in St. Moritz

Quidam de Vivier, winner of the opening round in the 2014 World Cup final at Lyon with Pius Schwizer, is another horse Chantal rode when she helped out at the Hauri stables. She is now busy working in the veterinary clinic in Auw, owned by her husband Fabian Huwiler, while last year ‘Täbi’ produced a filly foal by leading sire Chacco-Blue.

Ray Charles, one of Samantha’s offspring, is the senior statesman in the yard. “We don’t know why but he is big!” said Adrienne. Throwback to his grandsire Clover Hill? “He’s now 18, last year I did some shows and I ride him every day,” she added about the chesnut gentle giant.

“I won the Junior Grand Prix in Lamprechtshausen in Austria in 2014 and the bronze medal at the Swiss junior championships, all with Ray Charles.”

Zurich’s indoor show has vanished from the international calendar and Basel was a late-minute cancellation this year. “The surface was already in, then they had to cancel with Covid. Now the only Swiss indoor international is Geneva,” Annette said.

How did Swiss shows fare during the pandemic? “They were cancelled but now we have 2G (vaccinated or recovered status) rules in place so shows are back. We have young horse classes. Years ago, it was only Swiss horses, now it is open to all horses from four to eight years and the young horse finals are held in Avenches,” replied Adrienne, explaining the national scene.

The two resident half-brothers are Cuche (Connor) and Culapalu (Cristallo) out of Samantha’s daughter Carleen. Both compete up to 1.40m and are now in Marielle’s capable hands.

“I have one more year in school left, then maybe I will do veterinary,” explained the youngest daughter, intent on following her brother-in-law Fabian’s example with Switzerland’s seven year-long Veterinary Degree course.

“Everyone helps with the horses. Sometimes I have school at 9.30am or I get up early to do the horses. My sister Chantal and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson are my heroes.”

Back in her grandmother’s cosy kitchen beside the yard, Adrienne’s boyfriend Jonatan Bachmann joins the family for Sunday lunch. Excerpts from “Jessica und mein Leben” (“Jessica and my Life”), a book about their famous Hauri cousin, are obligingly translated by Silvia.

“Heidi [Hauri] trained Chantal, Adrienne and Marielle, she’s just 15 minutes away now,” added Annette, who, with her sisters, brothers Robert and Peter and parents was part of the “Familienkapelle Merzenblüemli” Swiss folk group, featured on Swiss television.

No end of surprises, as another loose end of the Heenan story is neatly tied up. There’s one more. “You want to meet Heidi?”

Next week: The Hauri family.