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Choosing my horses.... how do I?

I get asked all the time and it is actually quite hard for me to answer as I really have not bought a horse in a very long time. As we breed horses at my property Kirby Park in Hahndorf South Australia, I just ride what we breed…..of course, then I get asked how do you decide what foals to keep and sell and again they are all so lovely that I don’t want to sell any of them, but as I only have two legs and one body, I do need to sell a few each year.

Basically, if someone wants a foal I will sell it unless it is just a total stand out in the group. Great neck, strong legs, straight legs, and light on it’s feet. I’m not too worried about how they are to handle as babies as they change so much once they are weaned from the mother and she stops interfering.

When I am looking at horses with clients, I put a lot of weight to how the horse feels under my leg and seat. They need to have a natural swing to their movement and through their back.

Before I even get on, I like to see them with no saddle on so that I can assess their conformation. I like them to have a good neck that comes up and out of a well sloped shoulder and I look over their legs looking for any heat lumps or thickening, then I like to see them walk up and down in hand without a saddle on and then trot up and down in hand.

I look for even paces and straight movement. If there are any major leg issues, I won’t even bother to get on as the horse may feel amazing under saddle, yet I will know in my heart that it may not stand up to what my client will want to do with it. However, if my client is not looking for a world beater then we can forgive conformation issues if they are not too huge.

My horses though will need to stand up to a lot of work and I want them to last me for many years and therefore starting with a horse with good conformation is important. At the end of the day, I can say for sure that there are very few totally perfect horses out there. They all have some fault so don’t be unrealistic. They also need to have a good temperament so you can work with them. It is no good if you have a perfect model of a horse and it’s a total nut case. Even young horses are able to give you a good feeling when you first ride them and some just don’t and these will often end up being slightly less talented.

The horses that I have right now are a really nice bunch. I have

Kirby Park Irish Jester- aka Festy we bred him at Kirby Park and he was always very difficult on the flat (dressage) as he is quite thick in the gullet but over the years we have developed a system for him and now he is one of the best. When I first jumped him, I was out in the back field and I just popped over a log and well nearly got jumped off. I thought “wow.......... wow what was that” so I jumped it again and yes it was no fluke this horse could jump.

He was always a very careful jumper, but as he was only 15.3hh I never really thought he could do 3Star as my 3Star horse at that stage was Kirby Park Irish Hallmark aka Paddy and he was 17.2hh. I had only really ridden at the top level on one horse and that was Paddy so the thought of little Festy doing it seemed strange. He did his first CCI3 star at the 2002 Sydney International CCI it was a qualifier and team selection event for the 2002 world championships that year. I walked the course and thought poor Festy! Well once we were out on course, it was amazing. He felt fearless and like he had wings. He placed 5th and Paddy 4th. This was the point that I said this horse is not for sale and we started really seriously setting out his competition programs looking towards doing a 4star and the next Olympics.

Festy is just the cutest horse to have around as he loves cuddles and treats. He has a set order for how he gets tacked up before work. Equissage on, saddle on, boots on, bridle on, back into the box, turn a few circles then he has a wee then back out of the box, tighten the girth and pick up each front leg he stretches it himself and will also click his neck on his own as his legs get stretched. I run my finger tips under his belly from front to back to get his back to stretch up then walk him outside then I get on. He is a creature of habit and I’m not one to change any of this at this stage in his career.


Kirby Park Allofasudden(8yo) aka Floyd well Floyd is the barn monster, he is totally full of life and very enthusiastic about everything. He is Festy’s protégé and he is slowly getting more and more like him. They are boxed next to each other and his field is next to Festy’s in hopes that one day he will end up like Festy. Floyd is my other 4star horse and he is only an 8yo. He was 2nd at Adelaide CCI4* last year and he just won Melbourne CCI3* in June. I’ve had him since he was a 4yr old. He was off the track and he came to me via a girl who worked for me. She was having some big issues with him e.g. he bucked walked cantered and some time he might trot but when he did it was like wow very nice. He was athletic to say the least if you get what i mean. Lauren got quite sick and had to go home so her parents asked me to sell him for them. I thought well he’s pretty naughty and I’m really not sure how easy he will be to sell and I really liked him. They offered me to have a half share in him so I took it with out even hesitating. It took us a long time to get him organized as he would chase us in the field and would pore the ground when tied up until someone yelled at him or his shoes fell off. But I just knew he was going to be good so we kept going with him and he proved himself as he went 3 star when he was a 7yo. He just thrives on hard work and he needs to be kept entertained other wise he is into everything. But as I said, he is starting to chill out and take some notes from Festy. We all love our monster.


Westbury Park Irish Grove(6yo) aka Bosco
Dear Bosco- his sire is Kirby park Irish Jordan (Festy’s brother) so Festy is his uncle. He was bred by friends of ours and then they gave him to me to ride. He was always a good looking horse with a wonderful body but has been very slow to mature. I’ve had him for 18 months now and when he first arrived he was broken in and he’d been on a cattle drive and learnt to shake his head to get rid of flies and that was about it. So I was happy to give 2 years to come to the party and was willing to stay in lower competition for a long time also however, this season he went 1 star and just place 4th at the Melbourne CCI1*and has just done 2 CNC2** now and placing. I’m proud of him as he is my next little Festy and he is not phased by anything. I’m aiming him for Adelaide CCI** this year in November.

Kirby Park IrishTom(5yo) aka Tom
Tom is another home bred horse who has just done his first Pre Novice competition. Tom is just so beautiful. He is green but going so well. I think that he will just cruise along in the back ground for a while building his body strength.

Kirby Park Irish Friday (4yo stallion) aka Friday
Friday is my baby. He has covered mares already and is a pleasure to ride. He will start competing soon and I’m so excited about Friday as he is Bosco’s full brother so if you want to breed an amazing horse Friday’s your man.

Chooch (4yo )
Chooch as yet has no show name as she has only just been broken in. She is out of Kirby Park Irish Hallmark’s full sister by our Tb stallion Kirby Park Nantamboo. Chooch is an amazing moving mare that I am very excited about again.

We have two 3yo colts Stout (Tom's full brother) and Wallace both also Irish Sport horses that are going off to be broken in next month.

www.kirbypark.com