It is huge and getting bigger,” says Robert Daly, who has over 30 years of experience trading in the American sport horse market.

During his early training Robert had the advantage of working alongside his well-known father Colonel Sean Daly.

Sean had competed with the Army Equitation School on horses like Loch an Easpaig, Glenamaddy and Loch Gorman that he rode at the 1960 Rome Olympics. He went on to be Officer Commanding at McKee in the 1970s and was responsible for the purchase of some great international horses like Rockbarton.

As chef d’Equipe, Sean guided teams to Aga Khan victories in 1977 and 1978. “I stood right beside him buying horses,” Robert recalls.

“We did not always agree about their potential but he was sometimes right in the end.”

Following Sean’s sudden death in June 1987, Robert carried on the trade and has brought his own expertise to bear on it.

For a time he acted as coach to a medal-winning Qatar show jumping squad but his concentration has been on building trade into the vast American show jumping scene.

Having jumped up to national Grand Prix level here he was familiar with many of the Irish riders who spearheaded the unique Irish diaspora on to the vast American continent including the likes of his close friend Eddie Macken.

“I have spent months and months out there viewing the show scene,” he notes.

In fact, it was at a show in California that he met his wife Alicia. A native of British Columbia, she has both ridden and trained on the Canadian and US junior and young rider circuits.

Three of the four riders on the 2018 Mexican Aga Khan winning team at the RDS were amateurs. \ ES Photography

The American scene

Having sailed past the Statue of Liberty myself with my small suitcase some 70 years ago now, I know that despite a sometimes very negative press, America can be a hugely welcoming place in which ambition and talent can grow and prosper.

That has certainly been the case for many of our riders that have crossed the Atlantic and Robert’s interaction with them has been an important positive down the years. But it is his own clinical and practical knowledge of the current scene there that is most telling.

“It is the wealthy amateur riders that are the backbone of the sport of show jumping in the Americas. Just as an example a large portion of both the US and Canadian teams that took silver and bronze medals at the last Pan American Games are amateurs.

“Three of the Mexican side that won the Aga Khan in 2018 at the RDS were Amateurs. When you look at the start list of five star grand prix events in North America they consist of nearly 40% amateur riders. They all want to compete at the top level of the sport,” he says.

But he is careful to point out we cannot equate the American amateur with its Irish counterpart.

“We are not talking about riders jumping 1.20m or 1.30m tracks but rather wealthy individuals willing to pay millions for a horse that will have them compete in 1.45m and 1.50m classes in juniors and young riders and eventually put them on Nations Cup or Olympic teams”

Hence it is a very special kind of horse they are looking for!

As Robert puts it: “The ideal horse for the American market is a good looking seven to 10-year-old, balanced, experienced and brave to the jumps.

“The horses need to ride well, preferably built a little uphill, do their lead changes and jump with a quick front end and not too extravagant hind.

“The Americans do not ride with a lot of leg so the horse has to be light and quick off the floor.”

That kind of horse is not easy to find in Ireland at the moment so many times he has to get supply off the continent.

“For the last two decades we in Ireland have bred and produced too many 1.20m to 1.30m horses. There will always be a market for these animals to fill the role of low to medium junior and adult horses in America.

“But no one is going to get rich by breeding and producing this product here. By the time I select a horse for a client at seven to nine years of age the owner/producer has already spent far more than what they are going to receive the day they sell them. This is unsustainable!

“What we are missing in our country is the next level horse – the 1.45m to 1.50m horse who is competing constantly at that level,” Robert says.

Opportunity

But he goes on to point out that there is a huge lack of opportunity in Ireland to produce a horse to this level. He also notes that some production yards on the continent can have up to five 2* or 3* shows at which to gain a profile for their horse within a two hour drive.

It is plain from what he says that our concentration here has got to be on building up a circuit of this nature that allows our Irish breds to be developed up to at least 1.45m level on the home front before they can become a product for the lucrative American market.

Every possible support for a quality well-funded show circuit is needed and it will bring its rewards for breeders and producers alike.

Speaking of shows, Robert has great regard for our Showjumping Ireland (SJI) results sheets, saying: “My clients trust them because they detail things like faults, eliminations and retirements. They appreciate being able to go through a horse’s record with a fine tooth comb and decide what they can live with.

“It is also important for any producer with a view to selling a horse to the US market to take a set of American x-rays instead of a European set.

“Even if it is more expensive it leaves no room for surprises and is much more comprehensive. In other words four views instead of two,” he says.

So to summarise my impressions of this conversation with Robert Daly – both the North and South American markets are alive and well for the right kind of horse.

It is the duty of our industry, our shows and Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) to create an infrastructure that will not only help us breed these mounts but to have the right kind of facilities for production to a saleable age as well.