TOGETHER with my wife Niamh and our three kids Katie, Sophia and Harry, we hobby farm a flock of Cheviot sheep in Castledaly and take pride in the experiences that the Irish Draught horse has given us over the past number of years. Cavan was the icing on the cake.

1. Congratulations on breeding the Class 1 Irish Draught stallion Cloncastle Ambassador (Fast Silver - Derrada Mist, by Gurraun Zidane). Tell us about his background.

Ambassador is a four-year-old and has a pedigree of Draught champions. Fast Silver (Silver Hunter) holds gold and silver merits for his progeny’s showing and jumping results and his dam, Fast Woman, was a three-time winner of the Kerrygold Championship at Millstreet. Ambassador’s damsire, Gurraun Zidane, was the champion Irish Draught stallion at Dublin.

2. Why do you breed Irish Draughts?

It’s been a family affair and one we love. My grandad Michael Keena and his brothers from Creggan, Co Offaly, kept Irish Draught horses on the farm for work.

One notable dam they kept was Carrigroe Star and she bred Creggan Emperor and Creggan Diamond. They also bred Convent Hill Diamond (Clover Hill - Kildalton Rose), a Grade A jumper that jumped at Dublin and Hickstead with Robert Splaine.

This led to my own parents - Eamon and Nuala - breeding Draughts with their own foundation mare, Clonmore Cailín, and now we continue the tradition and legacy.

3. Proudest moment as a breeder?

One of my early memories of Dublin was looking in at the stallion boxes in front of Ring 1, saying to myself that ‘One day I hope I will breed a horse that’s good enough to have here.’

My proudest moment is the journey that’s led me to today. Going to a stud - Drumhowan Stud’s Gladys and Eamon McArdle have really helped us so much along our journey - seeing the foals being born and then going on to be successful in the show ring or, as seen last week, getting a stallion passed is what makes breeding so rewarding.

I won’t forget walking into Ring 1 for the first time with Derradda Mist and her foal Cloncastle Silver Squire, led by my father-in-law P.J. Sheerin, in 2012. Squire returning to the RDS for the 2016 stallion class was very special.

4. Best advice you ever got?

My grandad Michael always said: “Start with conformation when looking at any horse”.

5. Favourite broodmare?

Without a doubt, Derradda Mist. We purchased her in the Cavan sales from her breeder Michael Kelly. It was her presence and eye-catching head which caught our eyes. I immediately knew she’d be the filly I’d start my Draught breeding career with and she’s proven herself with two Class 1 stallion sons (Ambassador and Silver Squire) and an RDS winning filly, a credit to her.

That same Dublin filly Cloncastle Hollie bred another of this year’s Class 1 stallions: Ludden Skywalker.

Derrada Mist gave me so many brilliant days out. Two moments top the list: placing second in a super class of 22 mares at Dublin, a fantastic achievement for any owner and before that when Fintan Flannelly and Noel C. Hamilton picked her as the ‘Mare of the Future’ at the 2011 IDHBA show in Mullingar, where she was also the reserve supreme champion. Billy Cotter presented me with the perpetual cup, a poignant moment as Billy and my grandfather often sold and bought horses from each other.

6. What’s your template for a Draught?

Conformation is key. Like any structure, work from the ground up; correct limbs with short cannon bone, equally proportioned front, middle and hindquarters with a good depth of girth. A nice head with a kind eye and plenty of width between them is an added bonus.

7. It takes a team – who is on yours?

There’s no ‘I’ in team! Between us all, we keep the show on the road. It’s great to have the kids being brought up around the farm and learning to take care of all the animals.

They always want to be involved. Katie has taken a great shine to showing, a great role model to Sophia, who has now caught the horse bug.

Harry loves feeding time, and is rarely seen without a bucket in his hand. My brother Colin is also great for helping us getting the animals ready, especially for the shows.

We’ve also had Philip and Alice Copithorne join the fold, preparing Ambassador and producing him under saddle.

8. What do you think are the greatest challenges facing Irish Draught breeders?

All things in nature evolve, time moves on and recent years have seen the loss of many true-to-type stallions. I would hope that in the future we breeders stay true to the breed characteristics and that we try to correctly match our mares to stallions that will complement them most effectively. The use of A.I. has afforded breeders the opportunity to use stallions from further afield and avail of bloodlines for greater genetic diversity in the breed.

9. Describe your regime for keeping Irish Draughts?

Keep things simple! I try to keep all of my animals turned out as much as possible, there is no substitute for grass.

It’s important to take time in the summer months to create good quality fodder needed for wintertime. As we know, this has become harder with the significant increase in fertiliser prices, fertiliser is needed for a good balance of nutrients in fodder.

I like a combination of simple foods like conditioning mash and stud balancer, with the addition of a mineral lick through the year to ensure a balanced diet. You feed from the inside out and by feeding the mare, you are in turn feeding the foal.

Trying to handle the foals as early as possible is key when trying to show off the great temperament of the Draught.

10. Where to next?

I can’t be certain but I’ve had so many enjoyable moments provided by the Draught horse with more I’m sure to follow.

I hope that my kids will continue to have an affection and appreciation for the breed and have so many positive experiences in the future.