So is there one King of thoroughbred sires in the sport horse world? Many of you already have your personal favourite, which is wonderful because personal favourites reinforces an emotional connection with horses and this gives the horse world added strength….and it is the emotional connection between human and horse that ensures we avoid treating horses as machines.



HYPERION – SMALL BUT STUNNING



My own personal favourite is Hyperion.…



Continue

Despite the orthodox line that the thoroughbred and the sport horse are going in different directions in reality we see something different. There is an increasing demand for quality horses in all disciplines at all levels. The really vital consideration is that most riders do not ride at an elite level, and want to do a wide range of activities. The TB or 3/4 TB horse can be ideal for this, especially as their smaller physique and size… Continue

Convincing people of the need for thoroughbred blood in the event horse is the easy bit in this series of articles. Ireland has been the World Breeding Federation number one country for event horses for the past 14 years with horses that are almost exclusively 3/4 to full thoroughbred, as have been the majority of the greatest event horses in history. The key component and value of the TB is obviously speed……and safety.



LESS THAN MAXIMUM SPEED = SAFER



Cross-country…

Continue

It is to the advantage of the European stud books to be quiet about their thoroughbred genes as they develop their highly successful brands…and that is what most have become. They are often presented as breeds but in fact they are brands, and part of a marketing system rather than a method of showing the true breeding of horses. A number of leading sires are even approved by all the major European stud books, and therefore have registered offspring in different stud books. In addition many…

Continue

The Horse and Hound is the most prestigious equestrian magazine in the UK, the equivalent of the Chronicle of the Horse in the USA. I was writing an article on horse breeding for them, including details of the ‘Holstein’ stallion Cavalier Royale, the Irish based stallion that has produced so many top class event horses, including World Silver medallist and winner of Rolex Ben Along Time and Mary King’s wonderful international pair, Call Again Cavalier and Imperial Cavalier. Their breeding…

Continue

When we breed a mare and a stallion it is a fact that we breed the brain as well as the body. Nothing strange about that, and trainer after trainer, coach after coach, and expert after expert all continually repeat the line about the need for a good temperament…a good brain for working with humans. Unfortunately this message is often ignored as we put greater emphasis on beauty and brawn rather than brain. Or we misinterpret the message by breeding the type of docile horse that will put up…

Continue

So be honest… before buying your groceries who looks at the list of ingredients on the back of the box as well as the appealing tag lines on the front? Probably not many of us, but now the research indicates that we are becoming much more aware of the true contents of the beautifully packaged and photographed goods on display. We have learnt that ‘90% fat free’ actually means 10% fat, which is a high fat content and probably also includes a high sugar content. We have learnt that ‘100%…

Continue

Oh what a difficult job! As we debated the merits of the fifty six wonderful entries in the Partnership and Courage competition we did consider taking the easy option and just pulling the winners names out of a hat! However that would not be fair to the truly exceptional entries…so here goes with our assessment and announcement of the winners:



POETRY



This is a much more difficult form of expression than many people realize. Most people start by using a structured approach… Continue

Why did I choose Courage and partnership as my two themes? Winston Churchill can explain the former...."Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because it is the quality which guarantees all others." And Partnership? I believe the Power of Partnership is the key to fulfilling your potential and indeed in some cases to even go beyond what would appear to be possible.



To be either a good coach, student or rider you need to be a good team player because each is half…

Continue