Based in Portadown in County Armagh, Helen and Philip Troughton are at the helm of two successful businesses. Alongside the family’s cider making enterprise, Armagh Cider, they also own Ballinteggart Stud.

Helen’s daughter, Kelly, played an important role producing the horses and has represented the stud on homebreds at international level. She now backs and produces racehorses with her husband Ross Crawford. Helen’s son Mark plays a pivotal role in the cider business and is head of production.

The farm, which spans over 110 acres, encompasses Ballinteggart stud, which was the first EU Approved Equine AI Centre in Northern Ireland in 2000.

Although the number of animals on the stud has been reduced over recent years, it has not diluted the quality.

The stud is currently home to Masurenfuerst and Crusheen Comet. Masurenfuerst is a purebred Trakehner stallion, approved by the Trakehner Verband. He is by Peron Junior (Sixtus) and out of Miss Marple (Kostolany). He was Champion of the Nasta Performance Test in UK in 2005 and some of his scores are remain unbeaten. Thirteen years later his score has him in fourth position and his progeny are performing successfully in all disciplines.

Cider success

The Troughton family, like most, were hit by the recession. The downturn hit the stud and Helen and Philip took this as an opportunity to refocus their attention.

“With the recession, the number of mares being bred reduced dramatically in Northern Ireland. At that time, we were managing several competition stallions which returned to competition full time as demand for breeding reduced.

“With the economic climate, it was necessary to cut back, and we were to be able to start another business, based on the farm,” explained Helen.

The Troughton family have owned Ballinteggart since 1898 and apples have been grown there for many years. When the recession hit, they revisited the idea of cider making.

“TG Troughton, Philips father, was the first supplier of apples to Bulmer’s from Armagh. The family had considered making cider many times, but only got around to it in 2005. It started on a small-scale to add value to our crop and grew slowly. We were the first people to make cider in Armagh and at that time ‘local’ was not valued as it is today, she said.

“I was only involved in the background initially, until a combination of events took place – the market for our apple crop was severely reduced and recession hit sport horse breeding.

“We then realised that the cider business needed to be driven to grow and develop. So gradually I moved from managing the stud to the cider.”

They currently supply a number of supermarkets and have won multiple awards over the years including Great Taste Gold Stars, International Cider Challenge Medals and Gold Silver and Bronze at Blas na hEireann.

Helen had huge support from her husband and stud staff when she switched her focus to the cider business. The staff continued to use strong foundation mares which is something Helen strongly believes in, she chooses stallions complement to complement performance tested mares. She emphasised that the stallion and the mare must be sound.

“I have always tried to breed a good looking horse - good conformation and movement with the right attitude and sound. There will always be a place for these horses and with luck in the right hands they can excel.”

Helen supports native Irish Draughts and Connemaras. If she is using foreign blood she tried to maintain the intrinsic values of the Irish horse, she added: “After all that is what makes our horses and ponies unique and keeps the customers coming back.”

“Iona Berry was with me for 18 years, from when she left college until her children arrived. She keeps an eye on things and is always there if needed. Currently, James Hammond looks after the horses daily.

“He also produces the foals for the HSI Championships and young horses for the sales and is a great asset,” she added.

Success stories

Ballinteggart Stud has a long list of success stories. Standard Bearer (TB) was their first stallion and sired several show winners and eventers. He also sired Silken Crisp who became real homebred success, he was Lightweight Hunter Champion and Reserve Champion at RDS in 2000. Kelly also rode him on the Irish Junior Dressage team.

Standard Bearer and Supreme Edge were both Reserve Champion for the Croker Cup. Supreme Edge sired Finn McCool, who was Champion at HOYS two years in succession.

Two other Ballinteggart stallions, Western Light (RID) and Present Arms (TB), were very successful. Western Light sired Silken Lady, who was Finn McCool’s dam and her dam was Ballivor Lady (Standard Bearer).

Silken Lady was also the dam of Silken Story (Present Arms) who was Reserve Champion small hunter at RDS.

Coronea Eagle was Champion Irish Sport Horse stallion at RDS and sired Silken Prince, who was Reserve Champion Middleweight at RDS.

Silken Twist was out of Ruby Star (Carnival Night) who also won at RDS. She was also the dam of Ridgeviews Triple Gold by Supreme Edge – Middleweight Champion HOYS and competed in Le Lion-d’Angers as a seven-year-old. Silken Twist bred the Horse Sport Ireland Champion Event Foal in 2016 – Silken Icon by Colandro

Masurenfuerst is the sire of Silken Crème who was Champion Sports Pony Mare in UK in 2017. Masurenfuerst was also the sire of Silken Karma the Champion HSI Pony event foal in 2018. They have also bred numerous Connemara ponies who have been very successful.

“Everyone’s idea of success is different,” Helen admits. “I simply try to breed horses and ponies which have good conformation, are correct, move well and are sound.

“My mares all fulfil these criteria and I insist that any stallions I use do as well.

“I have never tried to breed an international showjumper – which seems to be what most people want. I have bred horses which have been successful in other spheres and some have evented internationally. There has always been a demand for quality horses and ponies that are correct, but today these types are getting scarce.”

The future

For the future, Helen plans to continue breeding Irish sport horses and ponies. “Although I have eight horse mares and four Connemara mares, I don’t breed them all each year. Today we rarely produce our young horses under saddle but sell them at an earlier age. It’s great to go to an event or show and see one we have bred competing – even better when they do well.”

The future of the cider business looks bright as they hope to continue to grow.

They have now also moved into the tourism market and regularly have groups visiting our farm. “Although visitors come primarily to see the cider being made, they usually end up having pictures taken with our horses.”