Michael Slavin

The breeding of eventers has now gone strongly Continental.

A cursory analysis of the three-star entries for last week’s Tattersalls International at Fairyhouse is a case in point. Two thirds or 22 of the 31 three-star entries were by continental or Anglo European stallions. Of the Irish bred entries the story was pretty much the same. Of the 12 horses with an ISH suffixes eight of them were by foreign bred stallions and in some cases their dams had continental blood as well. Three of them were by Irish Draught sires. Solidly by the Thoroughbred (TB) You out of a Hallo dam was Ronan Tynan’s Fernhill Revelation that competed for the USA under Phillip Dutton.

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Also upholding the TB label was Whitmore Way by Whitmore’s Conn out of a Phardante dam that came from Madeleine Byrne and was ridden by Claire Lambert. The Irish Draught sires represented included Diamond Roller, Clover Echo and Brookview Minstral. Among the continentals that our breeders used were Lux Z, OBOS Quality, Ramiro B, Limmerick and Ricardo Z.

So, with the evolution of the sport itself, it is a changing scene and Irish breeders will have to choose very carefully if they want to produce an international eventer.