MY father Jimmy and uncles Malachy and Pat had a big love for horses and we always had horses on the family farm. Val, my brother, has Connemara ponies and is very successful, both breeding and showing them.

In 2003, I bought an Irish Draught mare Creggan Princess (Creggan Emperor), who we’d a lot of enjoyable days showing. Four years later, I bought an Irish Draught filly foal, Crusheen Breeze (Coolcronan Wood), off the late Jerry O’Donoghue. She turned into an exceptional show mare, who won numerous championships and bred fantastic championship-winning stock.

1. Congratulations on a memorable summer with your Irish Draughts. Tell us more about your show season.

We had a great summer campaigning our home-bred mares Crusheen Luna (Luna) and Crusheen Gentle Breeze (Dawn) with their foals.

Crusheen Luna is a Tors Gentleman Farmer five-year-old that we bred out of our foundation mare Crusheen Breeze. The standout moment would have to be winning the Irish Draught colt foal class at Dublin Horse Show with her Inisfree The Holy Grail foal, ‘Bear’, the Dublin reserve champion Irish Draught foal.

Having bred the grand-dam of this foal, I’ve no doubt that Jerry O’Donoghue would have been hugely proud of this and we dedicated this win to him.

Bear went on to be supreme champion foal at the Irish Draught foal finals at Ballinasloe. It was only five years ago that his dam, Crusheen Luna was the Irish Draught filly foal champion there, so it was a great achievement for her to produce a winning foal at her young age.

Luna had great placings this summer, including champion at Mountbellew Show, which was kindly sponsored by the reformed Galway branch of the IDHBA and had some great results at Roscommon, winning the Irish Draught broodmare class and reserve champion in the 60/40 mare and foal class. We were particularly proud of this, as she was competing against Irish Draught and Sport Horses combined.

She was sixth in the senior Irish Draught mare class in Dublin and fourth in the Strokestown Park All-Ireland Irish Draught Broodmare championship - both great results for a young mare and we’re looking forward to the future with her.

Crusheen Gentle Breeze (Inisfree The Holy Grail - Crusheen Breeze), is a six-year-old mare, successful both in-hand and under saddle with my daughter Louise. This was her first year out with a foal. She was reserve champion at Longford Show and her filly foal was fifth in a strong line-up in the All-Ireland filly foal final.

2. Why do you breed Irish Draughts?

I am very passionate about the Irish Draught because it’s one of our native breeds and we have a lot to be proud of in terms of their temperament and versatility. We take great satisfaction in producing youngstock and watching them progress. The ISA and HSI give the young Draughts many opportunities to compete by providing the National Showing Championship series.

We like to put them under the saddle too, as it gives them more than one job. Draughts are so sensible and it’s a pleasure to work with them.

3. Proudest moment as a breeder?

We’ve been lucky to have had a few proud moments. Luna was the Western Region and the All-Ireland Irish Draught filly foal champion. The following year, she was the All-Ireland Irish Draught reserve champion yearling filly.

Dawn was the Western Region Irish Draught foal reserve champion and reserve champion two-year-old Irish Draught filly.

Winning the Leitrim Breeders Championship was another great day, particularly after missing so many shows due to Covid. Winning Dublin and Ballinasloe with ‘Bear’ has been a massive highlight.

4. Favourite mare?

Our foundation mare, Crusheen Breeze. We have a lot to thank her for, as she and her progeny have given us a lot of happy days.

Outside of my own mares, Castleview Farmers Lady, owned by Kenny and Wendy Bell, is a mare that has always caught my eye. Owen Griffin is another Irish Draught breeder, who has a selection of mares that I admire.

Little Luna: Jimmy, holding Crusheen Luna, the All-Ireland Irish Draught filly foal champion hosted at Ballinasloe, with daughters Louise (holding Crusheen Breeze), Melissa, wife Mary T and Willow the Golden Retriever \ Susan Finnerty

5. What is your template for a Draught?

Good limbs, with a particular emphasis on the front leg. I like to see sufficient bone, with a good knee, short cannon and pastern bone. A nice head is important with a good ear and a kind eye, along with a good topline and length of rein. I like them to be well-built behind and have a rounded middle. I don’t like to see flat-ribbed Draughts.

6. Best advice you ever got?

A good mare will stock the farm, but a bad mare will overstock it!

7. It takes a team - who’s on yours?

It’s a family effort with a new addition this year in my grandson Jamie. He has been our lucky charm at shows this year.

We do all our own preparation for shows, from washing to plaiting and grooming. My wife, Mary T, makes sure all the rugs and suits are washed, my son-in-law Darren gets stuck in washing and handling foals. Louise, Melissa and Brian have always helped on the farm from a young age with cows and horses: feeding, turning out, mucking out, monitoring the foaling cameras.

We feel very lucky to have an interest that lets us spend a lot of time together as a family and share happy memories.

We have the support of exceptional people like our vets Philip McManus and Tina Roche, farrier Chris Corcoran and equine physio Marie Vallet.

8. Greatest challenges facing Irish Draught breeders?

Maintaining the breed standard is getting more difficult and the traits I mentioned earlier are becoming increasingly hard to find.

Great foals are leaving this country to go to England and beyond. I think we need more incentives for people to produce Draughts and keep our bloodlines in this country.

9. Describe your regime for keeping mares/youngstock.

Everything is out in the summer. In winter, we like to keep the broodmares out and rugged. Once they are near foaling, they come in and have regular turnout.

The youngstock are in individual stables, but have access to regular turnout during the day. Louise usually has a couple of the mares in work, so they are in at night and out during the day.

10. Your secret to success?

Keeping the mares healthy and happy is our main priority, good quality feed and the right supplements are key. We don’t feed hard feed to our foals, but you wouldn’t think it to look at them as they’re thriving on Precision Microbes. It’s sourced through our vet and Lisa Devane at Interchem Equine was a fountain of knowledge about the product.