Your favourite Stallions

johnny_g

Hello Everybody!

Im new to the board so this is my first post!....

Ive been trying to find out information about stallions in ireland (i have my eye on I'm a star, Cult Hero, Big sink Hope, Welcome Diamond, Captain Clover, Rich Rebel etc.) but ive found it difficult to get pics and information about a lot of them.... Im relatively new to breeding but im really enjoying studying breeding lines for eventing and showjumping... would like to keep the irish or tb lines.....

i already have a two year old by creevagh ferro and a foal by loughehoe guy and my mare is now in foal to last news..... im thinking of putting her in foal again this year so im looking at options for other stallions... i like a bit of variety!!!

please post pics or links to stallions and studs in ireland that you think can have the best potential for future eventers and jumpers! looking forward to your responses....:):):)

j

togster

Im a star has always thrown good eventers.

johnny_g

thanks togster, but do you know where he stands?? cant find info on his stud or pics of him online..?

togster

http://www.irishhorseboard.com/news/article.asp?NID=930&NCID=27&T=N&Print=

A link to some of the top breedders in the country

Also..

http://www.irishhorseboard.com/news/article.asp?NID=922&NCID=27&T=N&Print=

Don't know where he stands but if you send a mail to the horse board you will find out.

johnny_g

ive just read somewhere that he is dead! doh.... same thing happened me earlier with accondy and glen bar before that! just my luck when i finally decide on one i really like i find out they're dead....!
all suggestions of horses who are still alive appreciated!

otwb

If you join the horse board then they will send out a stallion guide every two years, showing breeding, stud etc, you also get a list of foals registered to the stallions etc. - nice to know if you're going into breeding in a serious way. (Also get a discount off passports/registration when the time comes)

Otherwise would recommend keeping an eye out for the stallion performance shows - you can go along and see the boys in action jumping etc.

Best of luck!

vpg

I didn't know Accondy was dead?! he certainly wasn't on the old side! Does anybody know how he died?
Re. The stallion parades - They are normally held around February/March time and the big ones seem to be held at cavan and goresbridge within a couple of weeks of each other. Its a very good place to go look at them as otherwise you will find yourself travelling miles to see maybe only two or three stallions in a day! (As we did when we started breeding first) :rolleyes:

johnny_g

heres the accondy article.... its such a shame as he looked amazing.. . http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/stallionsandstuds/419/63940.html

Thanks for all advise people....ive seen most of those links before but thanks! reckon ill head to the parade when its on...will save me a lot of time going to see them all individually alright!! :rolleyes::)

heading to cavan tomorrow for the foal sales to have a look at whats on offer.... the last thing i need now is to buy in another foal but you'd never know,!!

still interested in hearing bout YOUR favourite stallions....and WHY???

glad to see this forum is kicking off....

vpg

Hi Johnny_g, what sort of a mare do you have? and why did you pick Last News this year just gone?
When I started breeding first I wanted to breed an eventer as that is what I was doing at the time however by the time I got a foal on the ground and it was four years old; my focus had completely switched, I now compete at dressage only! And to add to that after holding on to the first foal, my 'now' dressage horse, the mare (& her subsequent foals)..and a full time job, I found it too hard going, a drain on finances and decided the easiest way to breed was aim for selling when they are foals. At least they dont have to be vetted and they get a limited amount of time to do themselves damage!
In answer to your question I like Hermes De Reve, Clover Valley..and the list goes on ..I liked Accondy too, actually the first year he was in Ireland I tried to use him but the foot and mouth made it very difficult so I ended up using Maltstriker (who is now retired also) my mare is a half bred and at the time I thought that she would put a good bit of bone into her foals but as it happens she through them very light so I put her to Hermes the last time and I reckon it was the best foal of all. I think it really comes down to what suits your mare as much as you actually liking the stallion (as there are loads more that i like but I wouldnt use on her cause they just wouldnt suit!)

TheB

Hi Jonny.. *waves* ..interesting post !

IMO Stallions are really a personal choice - if breeding for commercial reasons it is good have a few babies of the "Fashionable" stallions of the moment within the discipline(s) you are breeding for as people invariably follow a trend.. i.e all the Cavalier horses at the mo - they are red hot property - yes he's got a good line and is talented, as are his offspring, but people do like to say they have a horse by the current stallion of the moment and sales follow that trend..a little like fashion brands in a way.. Wise breeders who have an ear to the ground will pre-empt the popularity of stallion and have either 2 or 3 yo's ready to go when the trend comes in..

This doesn't mean breed rubbish horses just to follow a trend - although there are those out there who do - and there is always some mug who will buy the name not the horse - this eventually can cause the trend to fail and a new trend to begin as the talent of the original stock is diminished by the horses bred to a sire line only with no consideration to the dam.. Having said that when you buy a foal or unbroken horse you are only buying the names/line.. You have no idea whether the horse will be as you think.. You are literally banking on good/talented lineage..

If you are breeding for yourself - I think you can choose your stallion more to suit you and your mare.. You don't have to consider market trends.. Temprement is paramount in my book.. No matter how talented a horse is, if it's quirks are many the talent will never be realised.. See Cruising! Fantastic horse, fabulously talented.. As freaky and inconsistent as they come - which ultimately was his undoing... His babies are mostly the same.. If you click and can get a tune out of them then great.. But if not..it can be a continual uphill struggle..

As for my choice of stallions.. Both UK based but no problem really with AI.. A long time favourite of mine is Shaab.. I've had 2 by him.. Tremendous eventing line with huge talent, beautiful confirmation and temperments.. And so generous - they give you 120% 24/7 365… I'd have another in an instant.. Not sure if he is still alive (b 1975 so would be 32 now) but his son is..In a few years I would like to breed for personal use.. And I intend to go with his line should his son throw similar stock.. I think commercially they will be seriously popular also due to the achievements of his offspring now.. I'm looking to breed a WH/SH/top end Allrounder and think with the right mare you would achieve some real quality using this line.. (am looking to a part bred WB mare - preferrably by the stallion mentioned below - for addition of that really straight "wow" movement for this - can't show a straight WB -they are too move-y but add some WB to TB/ISH and you should get what you are looking for..)

Here's his website you can navigate to his son - My Eclipse - through it too..

Shaab

For SJ purposes a friend has some babies that have seriously impressed me.. By Concorde…and if I wanted to go down that route I would choose him.. Amazing record - youngest ever pref grade stallion - again very very talented babies but unbelieveable temprements! They are so easy and willing! They also do very well at pure dressage. Commercially they are ever popular so a good bet all round..

Concorde

I'm not too up on Dressage lines so I'll not comment there !

As for Irish stallions - I've heard a lot of good things about Big Sink Hope, Moot point.. but I'm not really genned up on irish breeding though so am just going on the quality of youngsters by them I've seen at sales and WOM..

Bx

finbarrk

Remember to get the Irish Field Saturday, the free stud directory is in it. Its handy for adresses and numbers, etc.
I had a few Big sink hopes myself, nice looking horses but not so nice to break.

napoles

I know this is an old thread, but I was reading over some of the old stuff and thought it was interesting. I've had great experiences with Quilettos over the last year or two. Fully approved Selle Francais, but hasn't bred that many. I've had three of his through my hands over the last two years and the common thread seems to be fab temperament and great jump. Only thing is, he's in South Africa now apparently!

Cavaliers are still hugely consistent if you go through the Irish Horse Board's Achievements brochures which are updated yearly. Obviously he's gone now, but I believe you can still get some frozen semen. I know someone who came by some in Scotland.

Harlequin du Carel is producing some gorgeous young eventers and I think he's on the way to being fully approved now.

Big Sink Hope throws lovely show horses, but they don't seem to feature as much in other disciplines.
Master Imp - lovely horses - seem to make great crosses with Clover Hill mares.
Kings Master is throwing some nice eventer types too.

Anyone else got any? I love horsey breeding talk - so interesting!

Re Concorde - I worked with one in the UK in dressage while I was working there and he was lovely. Super temperament too.

michaela2991

just wondering if any of you could give me some information on Cult Hero! I have a gelding by him and have heard about him from other people but dont really know much about him! If anyone can help me it would be much appreciated!:)

Red_Marauder

Yeah I know a colt he sired, very nice mover. CH was standing in Gorey but to my knowledge he might be retired... I'm open to correction on that! He is a TB, 16.2hh, brown and has 21cm bone. His registered number is 2475682 and has sired some nice sport-horses, he's been quite a popular stallion over the past few years. Des Noctor is the owner.

eddie12

I'm not involved in the eventing side of things at all but I'll name my favorite stallions anyway...forgive me:D

Presenting... Top NH stallion, produces thoroughbreds that will stay all day, are built like tanks and have the quality to go past others. We bought one of his first crop(would never be able to afford one once he made his name). She got injured unfortunetly and never ran.

Bienamado... He's a smashing looking horse, has a group racing career behind him and is producing some lovely stock. His first irish three year olds are around this year but I dont think he'll have any runners until next autumn. Any of them I've seen are straight, great temperments, big and strong. Even his fillies are big. I hope he makes it as a NH stallion but if he doesnt, he'll produce smashing sporthorses.

Errigal Flight... I remember nearl getting my hand bitten off by him whn I was a kid. sired some lovely foals for us though.

Carrick diamond Lad... Produces lovely foals and has classic breeding

Sir Stormy Breeze... Old school Irish draught(dying out IMHO) who produces some great hunters.

Moorpark boy... He's dead now but was another old style draught stallion who sired lovely strong hunters.

Glenbar...Brought our sportier mares to him when he was around. I think Giltedge was by him....finally I get to an eventer

diarmuid123

if you want a showjumping horse, get semen in from a foriegn stallion. all irish showjumping stallions are pretty useless

Red_Marauder

Foreign/ frozen semen is going to end up biting Irish breeders in the ass if it really takes a hold of our good mares.

All Irish showjumping stallions are useless? I presume you are talking about world rankings here as opposed to anything else. For the size of this country, we punch well above our weight at an international level in showjumping and if you want proof of a genuinely Irishbred showjumper who has earned a place on the world stage just look at CC Diamond.

I'm sure nobody would reasonably expect this country to be producing stallions at the same quality per season as our much larger colleagues abroad.
The best way of continuing to support the Irish horse is to do so at local and national level and of course the support of the best Irishbred stallions standing abroad. Our future as a sporting nation doesn't lie in continental horses like the Holstein or SF crosses

MDFM

diarmuid123 wrote: »

if you want a showjumping horse, get semen in from a foriegn stallion. all irish showjumping stallions are pretty useless

No they're not! Irish breds are the best!:cool:

Red_Marauder

Saw a beautiful eventing stallion in the North a few months ago called Hallowed Turf, unfortunately had nothing left to cover with him by then. Cracking animal though, Thoroughbred and worth looking at imo

irish-lad22

Thats a very broad statement about all Irish showjumping stallions being useless!!!!

needadvice

Guys chill I'm sure that sweeping statement wasn't thought through. I think we produce cracking event horses but do feel we've somewhat lost our way with the showjumpers. I've seen clearly lately that the sales ring and competing field speak for themselves competition riders ride talent not sentiment and realistically we have to focus coldly on that fact and rise to the challenge.

I love Irish horses and their minds are fabulous but I have a Quiletto who I absolutely adore and make no apology for that but have had plenty of Irish breds there is room for both.

eddie12

Hi,
I'm by no means an expert on breeding but I think our success in racing and the tax policy on TB stallions are what is keeping us up there when it comes to eventing. The quality of thoroughbred in this country is better than in mainland europe and from what I can see, the best eventers have a lot of thoroughbred in their breeding.

Maybe we need better perfomance testing for our showjumping mares.

Is it just me or do the irish bred sporthorses have better temperments than the warmbloods? Temperments that are more suited to eejits like myself that only hack, hunter trial and generally trick about.

Musto

Ard Grandpa (RID) - have a lovely 3 yr old by him. Wonderful presence, looking to be about 16.1 which is plenty of height for me.

Nigrisine (TB) - have the most stunning looking colt I've ever seen - plus he knows it. Yearling now - fingers crossed he is as good as he looks.

Emperor Augustus (TB) - covered by mare my him last year. Had a very pretty filly foal. Delighted with her. Was hoping for a filly and she has only thrown colts the last few years.

My RID 3 yr old is for me. To just enjoy hacking, XC, hunter-trialling etc.
My yearling will be for sale in time - when he is ready!! He is an eventer type totally. And my filly foal is for me. She will be an eventer type - hopefully with her mammys brains. And it looks like she has them already. Very independent from mammy within a few days.

Have to say both Emperor Augustus & Nigrisine are throwing good eventers types plus the stallion owner is one decent man with a true love of horses..

togster

eddie12 wrote: »

Is it just me or do the irish bred sporthorses have better temperments than the warmbloods? Temperments that are more suited to eejits like myself that only hack, hunter trial and generally trick about.

I think thats true. The Irish horse has a great relaxed temperment about them. You'll always have a nutty one but that's usually bad handling and riding. I think your point about thoroughbred horses is bang on. In my experience the irish horse stays sounder longer. We have great grass and way off bringing up the young horse. We peoduce amazing horses especially in eventing. I think its the braveness and history of the irish horse that makes it a great eventer.

OT my favourite although dead is Clover Hill. As a child i saw that stallion and his owner. Amazing. And the best horses i have ever ridden are horses by him or by his offspring. Especially the mares.

Musto

I've seen a grandson of Clover Hills and have to say he is the spitting image of him. Its My Paddys Clover. He's standing in Galway. I bought a foal by him and he was a superstar. Way way too good for me, so unfortunately I had to sell him.
Saw a pic of Clover Hill (and they are very rare) and thought it was My Paddys Clover.
Wonderful horse and owned by a man who understood what mares suited his horses. He picked the stallion for your mare - not you. Personally I think a good stallion owner should know which of his stallions would produce the best offspring from your mare.
As for Irish Horses - the best all the way. Best head, attitude, strength, ability and personality. They have such wonderful minds. Bad ones are the product of mans inability to understand how to treat them. My personal opinion anyway!!

eddie12

Thought I'd put a picture of Clover Hill up for fellow fans.


And I couldnt leave out King of Diamonds

napoles

I have a 5 yr old grandson of Clover Hill and I have been told he looks very like him. It's been a while since I've seen that pic, but I can definitely see the similarities.

Musto

Thats the exact same picture I saw of Clover Hill. My Paddys Clover is the spitting image.

http://ballinamorebridgestud.com/mypaddysclover.htm

See the above link. Is it not a younger version of Clover Hill!!

King of Diamonds - always presumed he was a grey. Aint he just magnificient!!

togster

Musto wrote: »

Is it not a younger version of Clover Hill!!

Very nice to see such a resemblance!

hannahelizabeth

Does anyone have a pic of diamond clover?

bada-bing

I really like Finns Clover Inn, he looks very very like clover hill, have known/ridden a few horses by him now, fantastic temperments with a jump to match. If i was looking for a traditional draught type i would go with him. Also had a mare by Glenagyle rebel, i like his son huntingfield also. Big sink hope seems to have quite the name for himself in showing circles if i remember rightly from the RDS this year (hunting classes?)
If I had a nice draught mare and a bit more quality I think i would go with VDL arkansaw, is that how you spell it? saw him as a 3 year old and he looked the part! that VDL douglas looks good on paper too.
Have you decided yet?

richy1

if u were trying to breed a top showjumper, name 3 irish stallions today that you would use, i mean for europeans and olympic level, i bet ye cant

Tippgal93

The list is long actually Richie But I'll give you 3.

1. Harlequin du Carel
2. Ringfort Cruise
3. Lux Z

Have you come acroos these stallions before?

Wicked

heard of one and and three but not two, presume he's by cruising.

i'll add this one,

Puissance

finbarrk

You could include Chippison also. Didn't he jump in the World Championships in Aachen?

shanagarry

Technically they can be considered 'irish' because they are in the Irish studbook, but Harlequin du Carel and Lux Z are both warmbloods (Selle Francais and Hanoverian I think), so I don't think that's exactly what richy1 had in mind!

Afaik, Chippison is only on the Supplementary List, but that might be due to his breeding not being recorded. I wouldn't be that mad about him, he's a big, awkward yoke, though he can jump.

We've a two year old by Cruise On, he's a nice stallion who had a great show jumping career ahead of him before it was cut short by a silly stable injury.

richy1

yes i have actually.Harlequin du Carel and Lux Z arent really irish horses they are foreign bred.we have a totaly foreign bred horse, out of a foreign mare and sire balou du roet (approved). the foal was born in ireland.this horse has a green book and can be called an irish horse but really its fully foreign.in my oppinion ringford is a good stallion not great.even cavalier wasnt really irish breeding

lark_1

Interesting topic.
I'm afraid for a top class showjumping sire I could only go shopping abroad. Guidam was a huge loss.
Now top of the list would be Kannan, dual purpose and proven sire, although does need a small mare.

oneillpeter

There is a lot of well known sports stallions in Ireland. Often these stallions are more well known for their stock on the ground and for being classed as S1 etc. but are not always well known because of their jumping ability.
There is a lot of stallions around the country that are nearly un-heard of because they are only known by word of mouth.
For example one of my mares is in foal to a grade b showjumper by touchdown and there is a young stallion by contendro that I am interested in using. Both of these stallions are nearly unknown apart from local people.
So you should talk to local horse breeders for information about local stallions that may be around you.

doctor evil

I like Kensons Aragorn although I have never met him in the flesh.

http://www.welshsporthorses.com/Kensons_Aragorn.htm

hession.law

to say every foreign or irish stallion in this country is useless is an overstatement! imo a useless stallion is one which breds a useless show jumper off a good showjumping mare. how many good irish mares are in the country that have jumped to the world cup standard? i dont personal know but i doubt there is very many. genetically it is 50:50 but the mare is so very important it is neither reasonable or expected for any stallion to breed 100% jumpers off average mares. everywhere else and i mean everywhere moves on with their breeding program. you can ask anyone and they all will agree that tb sire crossed to a draft mare (and i dont mean the other way around, draft to tb mare because yes it does make a difference) is this best possible foundation. but to take you tb draft cross and cross it to another tb or the even worst another draft is a disaster! you must cross that mare to a performance stallion, nothing less 140cm international standard and that is moving forward. everyone talks about the good mares we sold but i can bet you they didn't cross them to an unknown tb or draft stallion which did not perform themselves or produce a significant (not one freak) amount of jumpers. also we need to utilize our good mares more through embryo transfer. if we look to the BWP there have come from nowhere to no.3 in the world thanks to ET which helps speed up the whole process. of course i am only speaking from a showjumping point of view

Hobbidance

In my opinion Richy is right to a certain extent. There arent that many 'great' irish stallions. I dont think it's to the fault of the horses though. I think it's because of the way Ireland as a country treat the competitive industry. It has improve imensely over the past few years but I think it went to wrong to fast and things went worse when people tried to quickly fix it.

Of course we all know how a lot of our greats got exported years ago and their bloodlines have now filtered away. We still have some very amazing horses though. I think our problem is that we're such a small country that there's not alot of people who can afford to go international on their own steam. Alot of our riders are all sponsored. Their rides are sponsored, and alot of their horses are scouted from abroad where the starting out training is exeptional.
I may be berated for it but a horse foaled in a top breeding yard in say Holland or Germany, has a much better starting point than any in Ireland. I know we have many many top racing breeders. I struggle to hear of any well known yards for eventers or jumpers though where as those yards are commonplace in foreign countires and therefore have alot of competition and therefore are constantly trying to breed the best of horses. So the standards there are exceptional.

We do well by our irish horses and I prefer them to any daft warmblood or hot head top bred show jumper that would just as soon bash its brains out on a fence when it spooked cause the wind blew through the trees. (Yes I have worked with these horses and they're dangerous, cost alot of money, are unpleasant to ride and yet are kept on just because they jump well under certain circumstances.)

We may not have many world class 'great' stallions stationed up and down the country but I would rather a great fun jumper who could just as easily turn around and do a fabulous dressage test or fly a XC without worrying about it crumbling to pieces the next day. Irish breeds are not meant to be top class show jumpers unbeatable world round. They werent breed over 100's of years to be that kind of horse. We had a few breeds at first. Some tough scruffy bog ponies who could live out in any weather and take anything you threw at them. Tough heavy draughts to work hard on farms. Then there was the thoroughbreds who are to this day some of the best in the world. Then we came across the irish sport horse who was bred to be a magnificent all rounder. Not specfically for show jumping. They are however amazing animals that can excel at any dicipline and can just as easily be a charming lesiure horse.

Might just be easier to say I love the Irish breeds more than any flashy show jumper any day :P

shaundoherty

hey, we stand a few stallions which have either got foals competing at international level, got international showjumping pedigrees or competed themselves. red house condor is here and he has horses and ponies competing all over the world including a european gold medal winner but people seem to think because hes only 15hh he wont give them a big enough foal,he has horses standing over 16.2 . je suis francais is also here, he is by the same sire as diamante de semilly who is one of the best sires ever in france and hes out of the same dam as boherdeel clover, frenchie is producing great event horses and show horses but people seem to think as he stands in donegal they pass him by. our stallions are available for a.i so it doesnt matter where they are. the irish horse is suffering because we are a nation of begrudgers and would sooner drive our mare to a stallion at the other end of the country rather than find out what is standing in our own counties.

doctor evil

Any opinions on Clonleigh Dancer?

http://www.irishdraught.ie/index.php/General/clonleigh-dancer-rid-879.html

shaundoherty

clonleigh dancer is a nice horse, im not a big fan of draught horses unless they perform but i do like clonleigh dancer. he was in donegal for a long time before heading to mayo. im not sure if he was available to mares in donegal or if it was just a case of him not being used. depends what kind of mare your thinking of sending to him and what it is your hopeing to breed. i dont know how highly he's rated as a sire for pure draught foals but i like him.

harrie smolders

diarmuid123 you are very wrong.one of the best horses in the world is a chesnut stallion by cruising called 'Flexible' ridden by Rich Fellers he is an ISH.