Pheopotstown Stud in Co Kildare was founded in 1932 by my great-grandmother, Maeve Robinson. My grandmother Mary-Rose Hayes and her family were surrounded by horses, her brother Willie Robinson was a jockey, riding the likes of Mill House.

Maeve and her husband George trained many horses in Pheopotstown, special permission was granted to fell the trees along the road for a grass gallop. My grandfather Seamus Hayes jumped for Ireland on Aga Khan teams and won the first Hickstead Derby. My father Declan was a national hunt jockey with Arthur Stevenson and I owe my love of hunting and racing to him. We also try get to Kildare GAA matches as often as we can!

One of the last mares my great-grandmother bred, Moonbi Range, is still going at the age of 29. There are at least 10 generations of the founding mares Sunny Star and Starduster on the farm; Moonbi Ridge who is retired, and her daughter Catbells.

My family and I manage the day-to-day running of the farm. We foal mares for clients, both thoroughbred and sport horse, and we also have foals and yearlings for the sales. My mum Sheila is great at keeping the diaries ticking along – without the spreadsheets we would be lost with the number of vaccines and teasing dates to be remembered.

Testing ponies

My very first pony of my own was a grey part Welsh called Tora. She was a right madam – I got more falls off her. Those bratty, rotund ponies are the ones that teach you how to ride and how to take the good with the bad.

Next up was our Connemara Freddie, who is still with us at the ripe old age of 20. He was one of those ponies who was far too handsome for his own good, and on his day he was brilliant. At the later stages of his showing career he would have some mixed days – they were the full measure of your mettle.

He ended up eventing and pony clubbing for a good few years, and this season he had a half day hunting (the one and only thing he would ever consent to doing halfway enthusiastically) and I retired him early this year. He is one of the ponies I’ll never forget.

I studied law in Maynooth University, so was never too far away to get back to the yard to help out. I always tried to get a day’s hunting in every season, and I think I only missed one season since I started back in 2010.

Since I graduated last year, I have been working full-time, so the shows on the weekend were great – even if it lashed rain it was still so enjoyable to be out with the horses.

The yard work is split between us all – Mum, Dad, my sister Roisin, when she can, and myself. The one good thing about the lockdown was the weather. We got so much maintenance done on the yard.

Thankfully we have been lucky enough to avoid the coronavirus so far. I was saddened to see all the shows having to cancel, but it is a great opportunity for shows to have a real review of everything and aim for improvement.

Great achievements

There are so many standout moments throughout the stud’s history that stand out, from having a 2000 Guineas runner in 2017, to seeing a six-figure yearling go through the sales ring.

Personally, the best thing so far with the horses has been my own achievements with our appendix draught mare, Dolly (Lady Dolanne). Dad took her for a day’s hunting about 10 years ago for a friend, and the rest, as they say is history. She was a great working hunter and show mare, and I did many Pony Club activities with her, including eventing, dressage, and show jumping. She has qualified for two championship appearances at each of the previous disciplines, which is a huge achievement.

We won the individual and team Pony Club dressage championships in 2015, and with that win came an invitation to compete in the UK Pony Club Open Dressage Championships.

To be invited over is a huge honour, and only one branch per area in the UK competes in their championships. The team travelled over to Cheshire with support from our fabulous pony club, Newcastle Lyons, and we had a great trip.

Dolly is now a great broodmare for us, we have two cracking Draughts off her, both by Scrapman. Dolly was Champion broodmare in Tullow in 2018 and her first Scrapman has won many rosettes in his very short career so far. She is in foal to Lucarelli now after unfortunately slipping last year. Her nine-year-old mare by Lux Z in the UK is eventing very successfully, so our hopes are high for this one!

Sales

The nerves for the thoroughbred sales are higher than they have ever been, as racing was stopped for quite a while and you have to wonder will the already-declining appetite for buying thoroughbreds take more of a hit. We have two yearlings for sale this year, and the filly at the lower end of the market may not even go to the sales if she doesn’t have a relation do something to squeeze her into a decent sale.

Very often it costs you more in sales prep than what you’ll receive in your cheque – and that’s if you sell at all. The top end of the market will be fine as always, but I hope the trainers and bloodstock agents keep an open mind. Any stallion can sire a winner if they go to the right mare.

Perfect match

When we pick out a stallion for our mares, the most important factor is making sure that the mare and stallion physically match each other. If your favourite thing about your best mare is her big ears and honest eye, don’t go to a horse with a small ear and a piggy eye.

We like to see all our picks in person before making a final decision; we start picking stallions for the race mares in August, and have our shortlist finished by the time the season ends.

I really enjoyed Jack Cantillon’s web series ‘The Art of The Mating’ on YouTube. The panel reaffirmed many of the philosophies we have here on the farm, and I recommend any breeding enthusiast to have a look at it.

Looking to the future, we are hoping to keep doing the same, and hopefully make more money! I wouldn’t mind another draught mare, but we will sit tight for the right one to come along. There are some lovely stallions out there and the future is bright for the traditional Irish horse.