Prized traits make rish horses a breed apart
Intelligence, stamina, hardiness and disposition are other characteristics in a breed that is much sought after by discerning sport horse breeders all over the world.
For they have come to realise that the Irish sport horse when crossed with a thoroughbred has frequently produced excellent show jumpers, who have won in competitive arenas far and wide.
But while the Irish bred still possesses the energetic characteristic of early warlike ancestors, it also has a gentleness that makes it suitable for even young children.
Versatility, along with good temperament, ensures that it is capable of carrying an adult across country, is widely used for Pony Club activities and is hugely successful in show jumping, dressage and eventing classes.
The Irish bred horse is also at the very heart of the Kerrygold Horse Show, which starts at the RDS tomorrow and continues until Sunday with the international jumping as the main public focus.
But the showing classes with entries from farmers, who maintain the tradition of keeping a brood mare at home, and other owners and breeders from around the country, has a special appeal. For they generally represent a nursery for many great horses.
It is in and around these rings at Ballsbridge that the heritage, pageantry and romance of the Irish horse and the place that it still holds in the hearts of people is to be seen.
People come here every year from the great storehouses of horse breeding to exhibit their animals, observe the judging and enjoy the outcome among friends.
P J Hegarty from Gaggin, Bandon, Co Cork, is one such person. He and his wife, Una, made the first part of their annual 380-mile return journey to Ballsbridge yesterday.
And their splendid six-year-old, Fenya, the lightweight hunter mare, and champion hunter mare at the RDS for the past two years, was also brought from her stables in Newcastlewest, Co. Limerick, by her rider-trainer Ann O'Grady.
"You are really preparing for the RDS from St Patrick's Day onwards. At that stage, you will have recognised from a fitness and from a condition point of view whether you intend to enter your animal. By mid-May your animal must be in bloom."
The logistics of preparing for the trip then begins. It involves many factors. Allowance must even be made for the fact that the journey alone will knock a hundredweight off a horse.
Taking the horse to Dublin on the Monday of show week is also necessary because the compulsory vetting takes place on Tuesday. That is a strenuous procedure and another reason why the horse must be fully fit. And then the classes start on Wednesday.
"Normally you bring you own animal feed with the exception of hay. You also have to bring a lot of tack and grooming equipment. You must cover for every eventuality.
"You must also bring electrolytes feed supplements to prevent the horse becoming dehydrated from the transport. A lot of horses will go off their feed when they change stabling or environment. That is something you must be prepared for as well."
Showing a horse in Dublin can be expensive. The entry fee alone is 300 or 400. There are parking and accommodation charges as well as the cost of meals and other services.
"I suppose the bottom line is that this is the price of the hobby of horses. There is no money in showing horses. It is a hobby and hobbies have a cost. Anybody expecting to make money should think again.
"But there is a very good social side to showing horses. We meet people from all over the country at the RDS every year. It is an annual meeting. It is a great craic, with a good sing-song at night. We treat it as our holiday every year."
PJ Hegarty, a native of Leap, has been going to the RDS for the last fifteen years or more. His first time exhibiting there was when Fenya was a yearling.
"I bred her. I bought her mother, Ferryboat Lady. I had been looking for her type for a long time. When I bought the mother, I had her vetted. It was the best investment I made because I got a sound mare that went on to become a premier brood mare with the Horse Board.
"It just proves that when you intent to get into breeding horses you must start off with something right. Fenya was her first foal. She was by Good Thyne, a thoroughbred standing at Rathbarry Stud."
Fenya was and is exceptional. She won eight foal championships. As a yearling, she won 10 championships including the Cork County at Skibbereen, becoming the first filly to do so. As a two year old, she won fourteen championships, including the All-Ireland in Kildysart, Co. Clare. As a three year old she won a dozen titles including the Murnane and O'Shea All-Ireland at Bantry. Along with being a show animal, she also qualified as a jumper for the Millstreet Young Irelander and the Goresbridge lunging final.
As a four-year-old, she won further titles and championships under the saddle, including the lightweight ridden hunter mare class, and champion hunter mare title at the RDS, as well as being second in the side saddle, third in the four year old jumping and fourth in the American Hunter class.
She was successfully show jumped and evented and, despite foot and mouth disrupting shows last year, she won a couple of show jumping classes/leagues. She went to Dublin where she won the lightweight hunter mare class and was champion hunter mare again the first to achieve such back to back successes. She also came second in the side saddle class, and third in the five year old jumping class.
Now, she is going for a hat trick of champion mare titles at Ballsbridge this week, with Ann O'Grady again on board. She is known to be a cool rider who gets the best out of a horse, especially on the gallop up the big arenas at the RDS.
Last year, Fenya was also shown for the Irish Horse Board quality brood mare scheme, where she got the top marks as a premier brood mare. She is also registered with the Carbery Hunt.
"She has exceptional presence, excellent conformation and a super temperament. We have been getting offers for her since she was a foal but we don't intend selling her.
"We intend keeping her as a brood mare. She has actually been bred this year and has been successfully embryo transferred. She is probably one of the first show mares to have been embryo transferred.
"She has been covered by Ricardo Z, who is with Tom Maher, Kedrah Stud, in Cahir, Co. Tipperary. He is also a vet and did the embryo transferring. We are expecting a foal, early in the spring.
As he eagerly prepared for yet another pilgrimage to Dublin Show this week, PJ Hegarty reflected on the fascinating challenge of breeding quality Irish bred sport horses and outlined his own philosophy.
"You must match the stallion to suit your mare," he said. "You breed the best to the very best and you still have to hope for the best."
