I am a BOA (boring old accountant), who has had a bit of luck in breeding some nice horses recently in partnership with Imelda Creighton. No claim to fame, I am told that, whilst I have no enemies, my friends don’t seem to like me very much, so I think I have become a grumpy old man!

I’m lucky to be able to ride most mornings before heading to work, keeping my current horse with my friends Mary and Syl Bourke in Enniskerry.

1. Congratulations on breeding Up Too Jacco Blue (Chaco-Blue - Celestial Up Too, by Ard VDL Douglas), one of the top six ISH horses in the WBFSH show jumping studbook rankings. Tell us more about him?

I always wanted to have Up Too as either a prefix or suffix. Alan Creighton jumped the dam as a four-year-old. Alan is a man of few words. In the warm-up before a competition, Alan would issue the command “Up two” – requiring me to raise the fence by two holes. He never said anything else, just “Up two.” Registration of names would not accept Up Two, so we amended it to Up Too.

Imelda bred the dam and, together with Alan, produced her. I bought her, as I had a horse in livery with them at the time and was attracted to the idea of breeding from a good quality mare. Over the years, the Creighton family, and especially Imelda, have been very good to me and my horses.

We chose Chacco-Blue as the stallion, based on a recommendation from David O’Brien, the well-known show jumper now based in the USA.

Gonzo, as Up Too Jacco Blue was called, was sold as a five-year-old and he was slow to mature. However, we always felt he had great promise and so it has turned out to be.

We met with Max Kühner at the Global Champions Tour in Rome recently and were delighted to see this lovely partnership in action.

Mark and Imelda catch up with Max Kühner and Up Too Jacco Blue at the Global Champions Tour in Rome in September \ courtesy of Mark Sherry

2. Sixth place in this year’s WBFSH show jumping rankings for the Irish Sport Horse studbook - good news for Irish show jumping breeders?

I often think that horse breeders are the eternal optimists, always anticipating that the “next one” will be the one that makes the big time. The Irish, as a nation of horse breeders, are really good at this. We have the expertise, we have the knowledge and we have the track record.

Irish breeders have shown time and again that we can produce quality stock, well capable of taking their place on the world stage.

3. How many mares do you currently have?

My breeding partnership with Imelda relates to Celestial Up Too only. Imelda is still breeding from Celestial Up Too and has some interesting embryos. This year’s colt foal, by M’Lord Cathargo, is a really handsome fellow, full of attitude and self-confidence. He has already been bagged by a new owner. It would be wonderful to produce this sort of quality every year. We always have something in the pipeline, but try to move them on once we identify the right potential owner – a good fit is always helpful.

4. Describe your regime for keeping mares/youngstock?

Up Too Jacco Blue and Tomas Fahy IN 2018 \ Laurence Dunne jumpinaction.net

This is usually looked after by my breeding partner, Imelda. Mares are foaled indoors, but spend the rest of the time outside, they are usually happier this way.

Youngstock are wintered out and given haylage and hard feed as required. We have learned the hard way not to leave it all to nature, but to ensure that adequate feed is provided throughout the maturing years.

The foals are well handled, and Imelda’s brother John is very experienced in this. We x-ray early to identify any potential problems and then x-ray and have a thorough veterinary examination prior to commencing any real work.

By the time they are three-year-olds, we have a fair idea if they are jumpers or what their role might be.

5. Your go-to breeding websites/apps?

SJI Live, also handy for Irish horses’ performance records. We use a variety of sources, personal contacts and have a look at everything we can online. We have no limits. People have been very helpful with advice and recommendations and I am always so grateful for this.

6. What’s your view on prefixes?

I don’t have an issue with them. They are helpful in some cases, but usually the horses speak for themselves. If you have a nice horse, it doesn’t really matter how we address them.

7. If you could have bred any horse?

I am very happy to have bred Up Too Jacco Blue and would never like to be greedy!

It is always a lovely experience to have a healthy foal on the ground, with the mare safe and well after delivery. After that – we are just being greedy.

8. It takes a team - who’s on yours?

Imelda Creighton has been a great partner to have in all of this. Together with her brothers, Alan and John, we have had a lot of fun. Imelda still comes to shows with me and tries very hard to make a jumper out of a very weak old man.

David O’Brien gave great breeding advice in the early days. The veterinary input is hugely important, especially Andrea Carli, EquiVet, Larry Dunne and many others who have helped over the years.

The buyers and producers, Clem McMahon, Richard Bourns, Max of course – are all inspirational and usually make me feel very inadequate.

9. Best advice you ever got?

Regrets are futile, but learn from your mistakes.

10. You’ve won a prize from Horse Sport Ireland for breeding Up Too Jacco Blue?

Yes, I will be donating this to the November Men’s Cancer appeal, run by the Mater Foundation.