We all dream about breeding a top-level performer. As a breeder it takes time, knowledge, hard work and determination. Breeding horses has always been motivated and inspired by a passion to produce quality horses,” explains Alan Robertson of Robertson Equine.

Without a doubt, horsebreeding was something Robertson had always an interest in pursuing and when his father purchased their first 13hh blood type pony Amber from local estate agent Patterson Stewart, the wheels were set in motion.

At just 15 years old, he approached the local bank manager for a loan and with it got his first taste of the sport horse breeding industry when purchasing his first broodmare. From the sales of the mare’s offspring, he reinvested into his horsebreeding endeavours.

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“Breeding for me is an art. All my mares have brought me on various journeys, and from those journeys I have learned what I like, what works and what doesn’t.

“An example of my interest would be the story of my mare High Jump Taroy, who taught me to have confidence in breeding using your instinct.”

At 17 years old, after watching the Grand Prix in Dublin, Alan, who was now armed with a full driver’s license, drove his Peugeot 505 to Rosslare harbour and headed for Normandy, France.

The goal? To see the stallion Galoubet du Marais (Rosire x Hadja A). It was while in Normandy, Alan was offered a riding position from Jacqueline D’Maleisyye, whose horses carried the “Tarroy” prefix.

“This was a great experience for me, and my time in France still influences how I do things in my breeding programme today.” Through this job, he got the opportunity to purchase High Jump Tarroy (Quatoubet Du Rouet x Jilou) as a five-year-old.

“For me, it’s all about the mare. High Jump Tarroy was a special mare and came from an interesting dam line – one which has since produced Yann Candele’s 2014 World Equestrian Games competitor Showgirl.”

Alan also purchased High Jump Tarroy’s yearling filly Laekenne Tarroy, by Laeken. “I had to sell some of my horses at home and work extra hard in our bakery to make it happen, but it was well worth the effort.”

Having turned down significant offers for High Jump Tarroy as a showjumper, the mare was retained for breeding and bred to Quick Star four consecutive times – an intentional line breeding on the great Galoubet.

trust your gut

“It’s funny, on the first breeding of High Jump to Quick Star, the agents in France called to warn me of the close breeding and advised against it when they saw her pedigree papers.

“My decision was already made, and that first breeding resulted in Omega Star! It’s important to trust your gut instinct when making breeding decisions.”

Omega Star was consistently placed in age classes under the command of Ronan McLaughlin before moving to Michael Whitaker’s yard in Britain. He was later ridden by Jaime Guerra Piedra and together they were the reserve combination for Team Mexico at London Olympic Games in 2012.

The second Quick Star colt, Beer Hunter, won the six-year-old championship at Dublin Horse Show in 2009 and then went on to win the Hicktead speed derby. Extraordinarily, Beer Hunter’s Hickstead win came on the exact same day that Omega Star won the Quick Star Grand Prix in Fontainebleau, France.

“Unfortunately, we lost High Jump foaling in 2008, but I am very pleased to be breeding with her daughters who previously had been sold into the sport, including the recently purchased Laekenne Tarroy (Laeken) who competed up to international 1.40m in Croatia. The characteristics of this family, their heart and intelligence are what make them so special,” he adds.

Learn from the best

“Over the years, there have been a few breeders in particular whose breeding programmes I have admired and have been fortunate enough to know and learn from.

“Carmel Ryan in Waterford continues to breed a lot of special horses from her Carrigbrahan Peggy line and is never afraid to think outside the box. Sweden’s Ann Gustavii, whose amazing stallion Irco Mena first grabbed my attention and prompted me to get in touch with her, subsequently visiting her yard to see her mares and to learn from her.

“Recently retired Herman Roelof of Stal Roelofs in The Netherlands was also a big inspiration, he built a fantastic breeding programme centered around a highly successful Joost x Abgar cross in combination with the line-breeding of particular performance dam lines.”

Competition

Having ridden in pony and young rider classes in earlier years, Alan has since remained involved on the competition side as an owner. “I like to keep a few young horses in the sport, and it’s often interesting to do shares with a number of riders. This is something I’d like to do more of in the future. As a breeder, this can be a nice way to get involved in the sport and showcase the fruits of your breeding programme.”

Past competition horses include Loltaira Queen, Illinoise de Cabdullah, HH Narcos du Marais, Brown Thomas and most recently Galway Bay Easy Touch.

“I think it’s an exciting time for breeders, as good horses have never been in such demand. There are some really interesting mares breeding in Ireland at present, and breeders are now getting well paid for their efforts when the right crosses are made.”

Some of the top foal prices achieved in 2015 were for progeny of mares sourced by Robertson Equine, including Cornet Obolensky fillies out of Mullentine Latana (Lando x Cavalier Royale) and Cenith M (Diamant de Semilly x Quick Star) that sold for €15,000 (Cavan) and €17,000 (Irish Breeders Classic) respectively.

“We aim to source interesting broodmares for our own breeding programme and often breeders come to us wishing to buy sometime. We are alway willing to discuss their requirements and see if we have one that suits them.

“It’s fantastic to see our clients enjoying success with mares we have sourced.”

Through his dealings with Stal Roelofs and stud manager Roeland de Kruijf, Robertson purchased a number of interesting mares and later added Roelof-bred stallions, the Keur predicate Mermus R and exciting Tolan R to an impressive stallion roster, which also includes former Nations Cup competitor Peter Pan.

This year promises to be exciting, as Billy Twomey’s international winning stallions Luidam and Je T’aime Flamenco join the partnership of Robertson Equine and Euro Stallions.