DAYS OF SUNSHINE, SHOWERS AND RAINBOWS (Part Two) October Stallion Visiting in Ireland

Day Two

Lissava Stud

Digesting both our lunch and the impressions of the stallions that we had viewed in the morning at Kedrah Stud, not to speak of our visits the previous day (see Part One), we went on to Lissava Stud in the afternoon. Both Kedrah and Lissava are just outside Cahir, so we didn’t have to travel far!

Lissava Stud is another immaculate set-up, in the heart of the Golden Vale, co Tipperary, with the Galtee Mountains in the background. They have an AI Centre on site, extensive stabling, and their own gallops – we saw a couple of grooms setting off on their steeds whilst we were there. Joe Owens, who runs the stud with Anne Marie and her mother Helen, commented on the improved fitness levels of the horses that they compete now that they are able to exercise them on the gallops. It also means that Joe, who held an amateur jockey license in the UK and rode many winners, is able to offer a training facility for racehorses, in addition to competing his own showjumpers and producing young horses. As both he and Anne Marie compete professionally, they are actively involved in developing the quality of the showjumping base in Ireland, and use both ISH and Continental bloodlines in their breeding programme. Joe has some very strong views on the way that breeding in Ireland should be going in the future, which we hope to capture in a future edition of the magazine!

The first stallion that we viewed at Lissava was Cobra, (Carthago Z x Landgraf I x Cor de la Bryere), who is a beautifully put together stallion, with a powerful shoulder and handsome head, and a totally winnable temperament. He has an impressive competition record in his own right, (World Champion 6 Year Old 2003, Lanaken; winner, stallion competition in Zuidbroek; continuing wins in Ireland with Joe Owens) and is proving to be a prepotent sire, with many of his offspring already succeeding in competition. His offspring are also consistently fetching high prices in the sale ring, so he would be an excellent choice from the commercial point of view, as well as for the qualities that he brings to a breeding programme. We were very smitten by him!

After Cobra we saw the BIG boy Contador (standing 1.75cms at four years of age!), a Holsteiner stallion whose pedigree includes many of the great names – his sire Cassini I also sired the outstanding showjumper Eurocommerce Berlin, and his damsire Landgraf I needs no introduction! His size is the first thing that you notice about this stallion, but also the fact that he is extremely well-balanced, not always true of a long-lined taller horse. He is being brought on slowly and carefully and started his showjumping career this year in 4 year old competitions. He was one of only 20 horses selected from 100 at the 4 year old Championship Finals at Cavan in the autumn, jumping 4 consecutive clear rounds.

Finally, a household name in showjumping in the UK and internationally – Russel II. Russel, owned by the Hales family, has competed on numerous Nations Cup teams for Great Britain, has won Puissance, Grand Prix and Six Bar classes internationally, came 2nd in the King George V Gold Cup in 2004, 2005, was a member of the winning Samsung Super League team at Hickstead, and competed in the 2008 Olympic Games. His partnership with Nick Skelton became legendary. A description of Russel in the Puissance at Dublin Horse Show in 2005 describes him as having his “ears pricked, and almost a smile on his face, Russel looked like a pony out playing for the day - he even managed to make the right shape over the huge wall - something you don't often see over the Puissance and luck was on his side when the top brick shifted but stayed in place” And he certainly does have presence! He knows that he’s a superstar – he posed perfectly for photos, and has a fantastic attitude: alert, friendly, and interested in everything going on around him whilst always responding instantly to his handler.

Russel is by Corofino, whose line goes back through Corrado to Cor de la Bryere. Corrado’s total progeny winnings to date come to over £2,350,000, and he has sired 13 international showjumpers including Indorado, Clinton, and Casima. His damline once again contains the legendary sire Landgraf I. As far as his own progeny record is concerned, he only has 25 offspring on the ground to date, as he has been concentrating on his showjumping career, with one of the oldest, Unlimited, coming second on the Spanish Sunshine Tour in 2007 out of 123 competitors. The Hales are currently producing a number of his youngstock, so for anyone interested in using him there might well be an opportunity to view his offspring with them.