Tipperary native, Greg Broderick certainly has an impressive record sheet in showjumping, including numerous national titles, and most recently a Gold Medal at the World Young Horses Championships in Lanaken. As his success within the showjumping arena blossomed, so has the once mixed farming enterprise of Ballypatrick. This farm has evolved into a strong equine business, looking to the future in terms of breeding world-class showjumpers.

“Over the years our business has expanded. Our stock comprises of broodmares, yearlings, two-year-olds, three-year-olds and competition horses right up to Grand Prix level. Last year we bred 19 foals and we also took embryos from Mrs Quinn, Ballypatrick Flight and Ballypatrick Mystique,” says Greg.

“Because I spent a lot of time producing horses I became interested in the breeding side of things. I also saw how expensive good showjumpers were and how hard it is to get your hands on them, so I started to breed some of my own.”

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Greg has always had an interest in breeding, but a hectic showjumping schedule doesn’t allow him much time to focus on this side of the business.

“I would like to dedicate more time to the breeding side of Ballypatrick, but it’s extremely time consuming. Without people like my sister Cheryl, Michael Shanahan and my father Austin, it would be very difficult for this side of the business to grow. These three people are central to the breeding programme in Ballypatrick. Cheryl and Dad are there at the early stages and Michael is great at ensuring all the foals and yearlings are well handled and lunged before they come to the jumping yard.

“Breeding a top-class jumper doesn’t happen by chance. It takes patience, effort and a huge amount of knowledge. We know the importance of breeding from the best dam lines and crossing them with the most suitable and best stallions available. The majority of our mares have competed at the top level with me,” adds Greg.

“It’s important not to look at the horses we breed through rose-tinted glasses. We need to make the most of our good mares, but we must be quick to find another use for the ones that are unsuitable for breeding.

“In Ballypatrick we are lucky, in that the mares that we breed from have all delivered excellent results in the showjumping arena. My own experience also has its advantages as I know what is required to make a top showjumper and I have the advantage of knowing the mares and what stallion would suit them.”

Stallion selection

“We basically try to stick with high-performance stallions that have produced high-performance showjumpers, such as Plot Blue, Cardento, Baloubet Du Rouet, Indoctro, Verdi.

“Recently we’ve used Flexible and I’m happy with the progeny from him so far. I choose Flexible because he’s such a performer and has a big heart. While I was competing in California I saw a lot of him and he has great technique and, to me, is a real fighter in the ring.

“As a type he’s not the biggest, but the young stock that I have seen look big enough and canter with good balance. Along with that, it’s nice to keep some Irish breeding and Flexible is the one that stands out.

“Another sire that we’ve used is Jack of Diamonds. He has a nice pedigree and has a lot of old-Irish thoroughbred in his back breeding. If we have difficulty with frozen semen we use some younger sires or fresh semen, to increase the chances of getting our mares in foal.

“When breeding, I feel that size of the progeny is important, as it’s easier to sell a good big horse than a good small one. I also like the stallions that are breeding horses with nice jumping technique and rideability as not every horse you’re going to breed will be a top class Grand Prix horse. It’s important that the young stock have nice balance and good technique as there are other markets like the amateur market and young rider market that require good horses.

“I believe that the showjumping industry is getting stronger worldwide and the price of good showjumping horses is getting better, so if we try harder, do some more research, improve our broodmares and be more selective with our stallion choice, we will reap the rewards in coming years.

“But we must remember if we want to get a piece of this action we must aim to breed a well-bred foal that has a chance of someday being a champion.”

Embryo tansfer

Because the mares at Ballypatrick are often still in the prime of their showjumping career, it’s no surprise that embryo transfer is often the only choice for these mares.

“We started to use embryo transfer because we had some nice mares that were still competing in the sport, which we wanted to breed from. It’s only a certain mare that should be used for this process as it’s very time consuming and more importantly expensive, so basically only proper jumping mares should be used.

“Embryo transfer is not for the first-time breeder. My sister Cheryl plays a big part in this side of the business. She is a very good horse person and understands the mares very well. Embryo transfer is an expensive business and the return in Ireland is not always there.

I feel that if you are planning on selling your foals there is no advantage in embryo transfer because the return on foal prices in Ireland will not generally be profitable after you take all your costs into consideration. Despite using the best possible mare and stallion, getting the best outcome is not a guarantee,” admits Broderick.

“After going through the whole embryo process, yes its wonderful when you end up with a perfect foal, but with breeding there are no guarantees and often the foal does not come out looking like you might have hoped. Breeding is not a fairy tale.

“For example, when I sold my seven-year-old mare Ballypatrick Mystique after winning a bronze medal in Lanaken I was able to get an embryo flush. Luckily, she put up two eggs and we covered her with Indoctro. We were very lucky to get two pregnancies. When the foals were born, a week apart, the following year, one was a beautiful big blood-chesnut filly that was very satisfactory and the other came dark brown very small and set looking, they were complete opposites. This just goes to show it’s not an exact science.

“On the other hand, I have four two-year-olds from embryo transfer from Ballypatrick Flight, who was 1.50m jumper herself and half sister to my promising eight-year-old old Going Global. Two of these are by Verdi and two are by Cardento and I’m very happy with three out of four of these.”

Breeding in the current economic climate is not for the faint hearted, as the costs don’t always yield the return for your investment. For Ballypatrick, they have given themselves the best possible chance. Using performance mares with the top stallions means that they start with the correct ingredients. But to yield a return means a longer investment and this is where Greg steps in, ensuring that the young stock are produced in a saleable manner.

By all accounts, even when you think you have the right mix, it doesn’t always go your way, however, Ballypatrick have more success stories than failures.

In time, there is no doubt that Broderick will be campaigning Ballypatrick’s young stock in showjumping arenas at home and abroad.

“Producing and selling has been the main business for me, but I’m lucky enough to have good owners now and a great team of older horses. I plan to broaden my showjumping career in the coming years and do more international shows and will try to do some nations cup competitions. I have a great team at home in the yard and I know that we are all on the same page.”

Ballypatrick mares

Mrs Quinn

(Owner Caledonia Stables)

Laughton’s Flight x Kyle Flower (Skyboy)

This mare has proven herself in the young horse arena and at the National Grand Prix level. She was instrumental in me winning two Grand Prix titles and was also the national speed champion. She is a full-sister to Shannondale, who jumped on Nations Cup teams for Ireland.

Cavalier Unlimited

(Owner Caledonia Stables)

Last Diamond x Cloon Diamond (Cavalier Royale)

This mare was campaigned by Broderick up to Grand Prix level. In competition she was extremely versatile, competing successfully in speed and National Grand Prix classes.

Ballypatrick Flight

(Owner Austin Broderick)

Laughton’s Flight x Gowran Lady (Cavalier Royale)

This breeding line goes back to Bahrain. Ballypatrick Flight is a half-sister to MHS Going Global, finalist in Lanaken for six-year-olds 2012.

She is also half-sister to the CIC2* eventer MHS King Joules (Mary King). Second dam By Starlight is a half-sister to international Show Jumper Royale Athlete who competed for Switzerland.

She is a half-sister to Cape May, dam of MHS Automatic 1.30m show jumper (USA) and Royal Anthem 1.40m show jumper (Switzerland). She was the national champion in Ireland as a seven-year-old and jumped up to 1.50 Grand Prix level.

Ballypatrick Eve

(Owner Austin Broderick)

Cruising x Red Halron

(Ginger Holly)

“I bought this mare from Joe Sharkey after seeing her loose jumping. With all the horses we’ve had through our yard few have had as much ability as her.

“She had perfect technique and all the scope in the world, she was extremely sensitive which made her very careful, but also made her difficult to stay on as she was extremely hardy and enjoyed bucking us off.

“We competed her to 1.20m level and I have no doubt that she could have been a Grand Prix horse, but we decided to breed from her because of her tricky character. I have two Iroko two-year-old embryos from her who look promising and I have a two-year-old colt by Plot blue, who will be called BP Mandella, who I think looks special. At this stage he looks like he could make a potential sire, but it’s early days. He’s a big lean horse with length and a fantastic front, which will suit Irish mares. So hopefully he stays on the right road.”

BP Masterpiece

(Owner Austin Broderick)

Cruising x Lady Ger

(Cavalier Royale)

“This mare has a lovely pedigree and I had some lucky horses with similar bloodlines, such as Ballypatrick Esperanza who was Cavalier x Cruising x King of Diamonds.

“I bought her as a six- year-old and she competed successfully at regional Grand Prix level as a seven-year-old with my cousin Darragh.

“I then decided I’d like to keep a mare with her pedigree and jumping ability to breed and I have a nice two-year-old by Baloubet de Rouet and a yearling by Pacino who are both nice horses, so I’m hopeful for her as a broodmare.”