Both my parents Sean and Peggy are from a horsey background. They bred thoroughbreds and jumpers, mainly jumping ponies.
They also bred the Cheltenham winner Fissure Seal; I was 11 the year he won in Cheltenham (1993) and it was a big thing in our house, there was great excitement.
We had stallions and sold a lot of good show jumping ponies to Captain Con Power. A couple of them jumped internationally, such as Skibbereen Girl.
She was the top jumping pony in Ireland and the UK, she was only 12.2hh but jumped her own height.
Then there was Summerhill Toby Jug and Donowen. All three went to the Powers. Robert and Elizabeth represented Ireland with all three; two of them in eventing and Skibberreen Girl in show jumping.
Pony trekking
I began working in our pony trekking business and bringing on ponies.
Michael Whitaker and Harvey Smith were some of the show jumpers I admired, though I’d have to say that Robert Splaine was my favourite.
I won a training bursary with him when I was 14 after Joan Greene picked me out from a group.
The transition from ponies to horses was made easy by a horse named King Diamond Flag.
He was bought as a three-year-old in Goresbridge and was very versatile; we did everything from working hunter, sidesaddle to show jumping up to 1.35m Grand Prix events. He won lots of 1.20m classes too.
I got my jockey’s licence when I was 17, although I never got to ride in a point-to-point. The good ones we brought along always got sent on to the trainers!
The next step after doing my Leaving Certificate was going to train as a riding instructor with Jill Twomey – Billy’s mother.
She was based in Hitchmough’s riding school. I am a qualified riding instructor and Irish Shows Association judge for both astride and sidesaddle ridden horse classes.
I don’t get to do too much judging when I’m competing but I really enjoy it, you meet some lovely people.
From Jill’s, I then worked in racing yards and would ride out for local trainers in the morning. I was always mad into breaking and making horses,
The horses took a back burner though when I was 23 and got the opportunity to take over a pub. It was something I’d always wanted to do.
Pub
The pub was the Four Alls in Sam’s Cross. Its name from the ‘I Rule All, I Fight for All, I Pray for All, but I Pay for All’, signs under the pictures of a king, pikeman, priest and a farmer on the walls.
They say that Michael Collins had his last pint there.
I ran the pub for six years. We ran horse fairs, threshing, anything to bring in the crowds but as things got quiet with the recession, I went back to breaking and training horses for myself and other people.
I absolutely love going to horse fairs. Cahirmee, Spancil Hill, Ballinasloe ... you never know what you could pick up at them.
I do a good bit of driving with my pony and trap and the odd day’s hunting with the Carberrys.
We did pony trekking too for nearly 25 years.
We live next to the beach, the Long Strand near Rosscarbery and there were also trails through the forest. It was a busy business at the time, mostly with English and American visitors.
Then Coillte closed up all the paths but we still had the beach, until bylaws were brought in that horses couldn’t be on the beach from 11am to 6pm.
We couldn’t offer riders either experience, except just trekking along roads and so we finished up the business.
Now the shows have taken over. Showing is very demanding, you have good days and bad days. I had the best year yet in 2017, clocking up numerous wins with the horses.
I first met Glenn Knipe at Tralee where we were both judging and two days after we met, he sent me Farmhill Grange of Donard. Glenn has a great eye for a good horse.
Campionship
That was a brilliant day, winning the championship with him at Charleville Show. The same horse was the reserve small hunter champion at Dublin and is now in England.
A brilliant day - Annie and Farmhill Grange of Donard won the ridden horse championship at Charleville Show We both have some promising horses for the show season ahead, which will start with Leap in a couple of weeks’ time.
I have a middleweight hunter, a small hunter and another Irish Draught horse this year. I love the Irish Draught, they’re so level-headed.
My fiancé Ciaran is a great support throughout the show season. My father is a blacksmith, my grandfather was a blacksmith and Ciaran’s father is a blacksmith too, he (Finbar Brickley) shoes a lot of the show horses around west Cork.
Ciaran has French trotters and is very involved in harness racing, travelling up to Portmarnock for a lot of the meetings.
We both love going horse racing. Cork is our local track but we often head to Leopardstown, mainly during the winter and we’ve been to Aintree a couple of times.
It would be lovely to go to Cheltenham some day too. We haven’t set a date yet for the wedding but we must work the date around the showring and the trotting track!
Annie Prendergast was in conversation with Susan Finnerty.
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Both my parents Sean and Peggy are from a horsey background. They bred thoroughbreds and jumpers, mainly jumping ponies.
They also bred the Cheltenham winner Fissure Seal; I was 11 the year he won in Cheltenham (1993) and it was a big thing in our house, there was great excitement.
We had stallions and sold a lot of good show jumping ponies to Captain Con Power. A couple of them jumped internationally, such as Skibbereen Girl.
She was the top jumping pony in Ireland and the UK, she was only 12.2hh but jumped her own height.
Then there was Summerhill Toby Jug and Donowen. All three went to the Powers. Robert and Elizabeth represented Ireland with all three; two of them in eventing and Skibberreen Girl in show jumping.
Pony trekking
I began working in our pony trekking business and bringing on ponies.
Michael Whitaker and Harvey Smith were some of the show jumpers I admired, though I’d have to say that Robert Splaine was my favourite.
I won a training bursary with him when I was 14 after Joan Greene picked me out from a group.
The transition from ponies to horses was made easy by a horse named King Diamond Flag.
He was bought as a three-year-old in Goresbridge and was very versatile; we did everything from working hunter, sidesaddle to show jumping up to 1.35m Grand Prix events. He won lots of 1.20m classes too.
I got my jockey’s licence when I was 17, although I never got to ride in a point-to-point. The good ones we brought along always got sent on to the trainers!
The next step after doing my Leaving Certificate was going to train as a riding instructor with Jill Twomey – Billy’s mother.
She was based in Hitchmough’s riding school. I am a qualified riding instructor and Irish Shows Association judge for both astride and sidesaddle ridden horse classes.
I don’t get to do too much judging when I’m competing but I really enjoy it, you meet some lovely people.
From Jill’s, I then worked in racing yards and would ride out for local trainers in the morning. I was always mad into breaking and making horses,
The horses took a back burner though when I was 23 and got the opportunity to take over a pub. It was something I’d always wanted to do.
Pub
The pub was the Four Alls in Sam’s Cross. Its name from the ‘I Rule All, I Fight for All, I Pray for All, but I Pay for All’, signs under the pictures of a king, pikeman, priest and a farmer on the walls.
They say that Michael Collins had his last pint there.
I ran the pub for six years. We ran horse fairs, threshing, anything to bring in the crowds but as things got quiet with the recession, I went back to breaking and training horses for myself and other people.
I absolutely love going to horse fairs. Cahirmee, Spancil Hill, Ballinasloe ... you never know what you could pick up at them.
I do a good bit of driving with my pony and trap and the odd day’s hunting with the Carberrys.
We did pony trekking too for nearly 25 years.
We live next to the beach, the Long Strand near Rosscarbery and there were also trails through the forest. It was a busy business at the time, mostly with English and American visitors.
Then Coillte closed up all the paths but we still had the beach, until bylaws were brought in that horses couldn’t be on the beach from 11am to 6pm.
We couldn’t offer riders either experience, except just trekking along roads and so we finished up the business.
Now the shows have taken over. Showing is very demanding, you have good days and bad days. I had the best year yet in 2017, clocking up numerous wins with the horses.
I first met Glenn Knipe at Tralee where we were both judging and two days after we met, he sent me Farmhill Grange of Donard. Glenn has a great eye for a good horse.
Campionship
That was a brilliant day, winning the championship with him at Charleville Show. The same horse was the reserve small hunter champion at Dublin and is now in England.
A brilliant day - Annie and Farmhill Grange of Donard won the ridden horse championship at Charleville Show We both have some promising horses for the show season ahead, which will start with Leap in a couple of weeks’ time.
I have a middleweight hunter, a small hunter and another Irish Draught horse this year. I love the Irish Draught, they’re so level-headed.
My fiancé Ciaran is a great support throughout the show season. My father is a blacksmith, my grandfather was a blacksmith and Ciaran’s father is a blacksmith too, he (Finbar Brickley) shoes a lot of the show horses around west Cork.
Ciaran has French trotters and is very involved in harness racing, travelling up to Portmarnock for a lot of the meetings.
We both love going horse racing. Cork is our local track but we often head to Leopardstown, mainly during the winter and we’ve been to Aintree a couple of times.
It would be lovely to go to Cheltenham some day too. We haven’t set a date yet for the wedding but we must work the date around the showring and the trotting track!
Annie Prendergast was in conversation with Susan Finnerty.
Read more
Ringside Stories: Renwood's golden legacy lives on
Ringside Stories: Full steam ahead for Sheehan
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