2022 Horse Sport Ireland Stallion Selections

The 2022 Horse Sport Ireland Stallion Selections took place over two days on March 23rd and 24th at Cavan Equestrian Centre. In total 43 stallions were presented for inspection, 13 Irish Sport Horse stallions (including 2 Traditional), seven foreign-bred stallions, 22 Irish Draught stallions and one pony stallion.

In the Irish Draught stallion selections, 22 stallions were presented for inspection and five achieved Class 1 status. In addition, Black Dancer also met the requirements to achieve approval in the Irish Sport Horse Studbook.

Four stallions were Approved in the Irish Sport Horse Studbook, two of these were high performance stallions presented for linear profiling that met all the requirements; the third stallion is an Irish Sport Pony stallion and fourth an Irish Draught stallion. Following inspection both the Irish Draught and Irish Sports pony gained classification as Approved in the Irish Sport Horse Studbook under the crossbreeding programme. This Irish Sports Pony is also classified as Preliminary Approved in the Irish Sport Pony studbook.

Of the 16 stallions presented for Stage 1 for the Irish Sport Horse Studbook, four of these met the Stage 1 requirements and three of these stallions, including one from the previous year, went on to present for Stage 2 assessment of which two met the requirements to be classified as Preliminary Approved.

Speaking about the selections, Dr. Charlotte Moore, Irish Draught Studbook selection panel Chairperson said:

“We had a really good number of Irish Draught candidates come forward for inspection, representing a range of types. Some very nice individuals achieved the high standard of conformation, movement, athleticism, and type required to achieve Class 1.

“We welcomed the inclusion of a highly regarded inspector from Great Britain on the inspection panel this year. Credit is due to the owners and handlers for the high standard of turnout, preparation and presentation of the horses on the day. A special word of thanks is also due to the Arena Party who worked very well together to give every horse the opportunity to show themselves off to their best.”

Comdt. John Ledingham, Chairperson of the Irish Sport Horse Studbook selection panel added:

“We saw variety in the type of horses coming forward for inspection. We would like to thank the breeders, owners and handlers for presenting these young stallions to the inspection panels. The general standard of presentation was quite high. There some very impressive bloodlines presented that should make high performing sport horses. The future of the national herd is only as good as the quality of horse coming forward for selection, and we were pleased with the horses that achieved the Approved, Preliminary Approved and Stage 1 status.”

Commenting on the 2022 inspections, Sonja Egan, HSI Interim Director of Breeding, Innovation and Development, stated

“It was great to see the turnout of both Irish Sport Horse stallions, Irish Draught Horse stallions and an Irish Sport Pony stallion. This year was a welcome return for our equestrian community to view the HSI stallion selections following a challenging two years. We had some lovely Irish Draught stallions presented this year, five of which met the criteria for Class 1. We were presented with a great selection of performance and younger sport horse stallions seeking classification in the Irish Sport Horse studbook. Of these stallions, four were classified as Approved (two sport horses, one Irish Sport Pony and one Irish Draught); two Preliminary Approved and four young stallions passing Stage 1. The presenting Irish Sport Pony was also classified as Preliminary Approved in the Irish Sports Pony Studbook. We wish them all the best of luck for the upcoming breeding season.

“For the first time, several stallion owners selected to present their 4-year-old stallions under saddle through a bespoke jumping course structure. I was delighted to see this process work well and forge the path for stallion owners who may wish to select the four-year-old ridden option in future. This year my team and I revised the structure and timetabling of the inspections, and I was delighted to see it welcomed by stallion owners, inspectors and spectators alike. I must commend the Horse Sport Ireland breeding team, our placement students from the University of Limerick & University College Dublin, Teagasc ISH Young Breeders, Inspectors, Arena party and wider support team for their execution of a professional and most enjoyable event.”

Provisional Irish Sport Horse Studbook Stallion Inspection Results 2022

Provisional Irish Sports Pony Studbook Stallion Inspection Results 2022

Provisional Irish Draught Horse Studbook Stallion Inspection Results 2022

Horse Sport Ireland Irish Draught, irish Sport Horse and Irish Pony Stud Books Stallion Inspections are supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Equine Technical Support fund.

Photos and videos from the 2022 Horse Sport Ireland Stallion Selections to follow.