West Cork Horse Breeders 2014 Review

TWENTY-fourteen has been a most successful year for the west Cork Horse Breeders Society and its members. The showing season started in earnest for most at Bandon with West Cork successes which continued right up to the end of the season at Ballinasloe.

For the WCHB society itself our programme of events started with the well supported Performance Show which again took place at Wayne Santry’s West Cork Equine Centre. The hotly contested 3 year old loose jumping competition was won by WCHB member Kieran O’Gorman with Brookfield Wesco which gave him automatic qualification to the prestigious Young Irelander final at the Millstreet International Show. At Millstreet WCHB chairwoman Yana Verling reversed placings with Kieran with her own homebred filly Larav Vendi coming out on top after a 3 way jump off for the title.

Dublin Horse Show was again a good result for our members though this time it was not either of the Lehane cousins that made most headlines though Seamus did manage to win the Pembroke Cup with Ballard Big Bang. Stephan McCarthy and his HVL Symphony won the 3 year old fillies loose performance class and earned 2nd in the Broodmare Futurity which bodes well for the future of West Cork breds. There were many armchair judges impressed with HVL Symphony and not surprisingly she went on to change hands at the RDS.

Other notable West Cork success included Val Hyde and The Publisher (Buster King x Silverstone Gentle Mary) bred by Mr Jerry Lombard in Clonakilty which won the Sportsman Class and therefore the Perpetual Challenge Trophy. Champion Irish Draught of the show was William Dillon’s Knock Morris (Coolcronan Wood x Westmeath Bell) bred by Mr Bernard Cummins in Bandon. Among the Riding Horse clases George Tanner won the small section with Imp Perfection (Master Imp x Gale Diamond) bred by Derry Kingston, Clonakilty.

In the Pegus All Ireland Final at our own show in late August our secretary Rosemary Deasy came out on top with her French Buffet mare and Jack of Diamonds colt. He stayed at home during Ballinasloe show so it was left to Kieran Fahy from Enniskeane to bring the All Ireland colt foal title home to West Cork with his Robin De La Maison colt. In fact West Cork filled 4 of the first 5 places in the All Ireland with only Des Jefferies spoiling the clean sweep in 2nd.

On the eventing front PJ Hegarty’s homebred mare Fenyas Elegance went on to represent Ireland at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy and helped to qualify the Irish team for the 2016 Rio Olympics. This was her first attempt at 4* after winning two 3* earlier in the season at Isleham in March and Bramham in Yorkshire in June. Her half brother Fenyas Guidingstar competed nationally with Louise Codd and was picked as one to note in The Irish Field so it seems assured West Cork can not only breed the best showing horses but also the best eventers.