I suppose you could say that a career with horses for me was more accident than design. Growing up, I was surrounded by horses. My father, Brian, was heavily involved in show jumping and served as the South Westmeath huntsman.

Even though ‘young Conor’ grew up idolising Trevor Coyle and Cruising, my original plan was be a movies and video games screenwriter. In my spare time, I was scribbling down little background stories about characters and the world they lived in. An absolute unashamed nerd. That was me!

My interest in breeding horses stems from a single throwaway line from the late great RTÉ commentator John Hall during the 2003 Aga Khan. The French victory came on the back of a team that included three French-bred stallions; Ephebe Forever, Flipper d’Elle and First De Launay. John’s lament that Ireland couldn’t do the same with a team of Irish-bred stallions really resonated with me.

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Cruising had retired and there was no-one to take his place. For sure we had Coolcorran Cool Diamond, who actually jumped for Ireland that day, but he was only one horse. What were we doing wrong? How could we get to a stage where Irish riders were winning the Aga Khan on Irish-bred stallions?

These were questions I wanted to explore. Fifteen years later, I still have no answers.

There are plenty of people who’ll point to the fact that we haven’t managed to regain our place on top of the showjumping rankings, despite the introduction of more and more foreign blood. They’ll claim rejected or second-rate stallions are coming over here.

That wrecks my head – what a slap in the face to stud owners to hear. The usual hurler-in-the-ditch mentality that’ll criticise but won’t be quick to offer any positive ideas. The other gem I hear a lot is the one whereby if you set out to breed a showjumper and it doesn’t reach 1.60m, it’s a failure. There are so many levels of equestrian sport to be catered for.

Don’t think for a second that classes like an Open or Advanced Intermediate aren’t competitive. If someone is going to go to the rounds of the world to give up their weekends to travel to a horse show, then they want and expect to be competitive.

No horse is a failure. It just hasn’t found its calling.

Regroup, reflect and refocus

Over the course of the last 13 months, since I started working with Bluegrass Horse Feed as a sales rep, I’ve been lucky enough to meet lots of those type of people, outside of show jumping, racing and eventing, who are looking to be competitive in their own field.

It’s refreshing to talk to them because it keeps the job interesting and they present a different set of questions. The fundamentals might be the same but it’s the minor detail that can make all the difference. It’s a great feeling when people ring you up to thank you for advice you’ve given.

2018 is the 20 year-anniversary of the brand and it’s been a fantastic year for us thankfully.

We’re 11 years feeding Bluegrass at home and I’m hugely proud to be involved with the brand. It’s easy for me to call in somewhere and promote the feed because I genuinely believe in it.

At home, the whole breeding operation at home is being rebuilt and redeveloped. In 2013 I took a bit of a step back from horses after undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer. I sold off a few horses because I just needed some ‘me time’.

That break gave me the chance to get a Business and Management degree from Maynooth University and even get involved in the Rose Of Tralee! I really needed that break. It gave me a chance to regroup, reflect and refocus.

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Thankfully I’ve been able to buy back a broodmare I sold in 2013. She’s by the thoroughbred Musical Pursuit out of a Corran Ginger mare, whose own family kept my Dad well mounted in the hunting field.

It might be silly but I’d rather breed from mares where there’s a connection and try to breed a better quality daughter and to continually upgrade through the generations of daughters. Going to the continent to buy in mares from a stud over there is just not for me. That’s more like incubating foals than breeding in my eyes.

However, going over to buy back Irish-bred mares that have competed internationally for other countries? That’s a very different story! Sign me up for that.

I put a rule in place at home whereby all filly foals are kept and bred from as three-year-olds, then go into sport as five-year-olds. The majority of future mares I breed from will be the three-year-old daughters of foundation mares already here.

Genetic turnaround is still something we struggle with in this country. Maybe one of these young future mares will breed a stallion capable of positively affecting the wider mare herd.

It’s fashionable to buy in semen from abroad but in order for a stallion to really affect the wider herd, I think it has to be physically standing here.

If we’re not trying to breed the quality of mare we need to breed the quality of stallion we need, then what are we doing? I think there’s too much emphasis on breeding for the sales ring and not enough for the end goal. If breeders don’t focus on the end goal, then I’ve no doubt it’ll eventually end in tears for them.

The eventual goal for Brosna View Stables is to have a couple of riders based here producing the horses we breed. We have a beautiful piece of land here on the banks of the River Brosna in Clara. My dream is to develop the yard to the same standard as what you would find in Europe. We’re not there yet but all I see is potential. I won’t stop working to make that dream a reality!

Conor Sheridan was in conversation with Susan Finnerty.