The Irish Draught Horse

My love affair with the Irish Draught started in the early 1980’s. I worked for Maggie Spreckley (now Spreckley-Dollard) at Pages Farm Stud on and off from the mid 1970’s, and bred a couple of foals by her TB stallion Sykes out of my Irish Cob mare Bronte. Maggie then bought an Irish Draught colt. His name was Snowford Stoker (RID) and it was, quite simply, love at first sight. I wanted to use Stoker on my two fillies by Sykes, and in 1975 I planned to put him on the oldest of the two, Emily. Very sadly, however, Stoker suffered a colic attack, went to the vet college and was operated on, but did not survive. That was to be one of the saddest days of our lives: Maggie lost her pride and joy and although she went on to stand many outstanding RID stallions - Banks Fee Daniel, Snowford Bellman and Happy Ending to name a few - not one could ever replace Stoker.

My aim was to buy a pure-bred filly, but they were just out of my price range. As luck would have it, Maggie wanted to sell some of her pure-bred stock and a yearling filly I cared for, along with the other babies, called Winmaur Bright Alice was in my reach. Wow! I was now the proud owner of an Irish Draught! Alice was shown as a two and three year old and she was to become my foundation mare. By Banks Fee Daniel out of Joyful Maiden Alice (Graded RID), I decided to put her in foal to Snowford Bellman, and May 1995 saw the arrival of Avanti Racey Gracie. She was so lovely, I had a further two foals by Bellman: a 1996 colt Avanti Mr Malcolm, and last but not least, in 1998, Avanti Gregarious Gloria. I kept Gracie to show and to breed from, and sold Malcolm to a friend.

The decision to keep or sell Gloria, however, was taken out of my hands by the very sad and sudden death of Alice to a foaling-related colic; she went to the vet college and seemed to make a full recovery, but about two weeks after returning home, she developed laminitis, and was being treated for that when one morning, I found her dead. At this stage, Gloria was only 5 weeks old, so we went about the business of hand-rearing her, and discovered quite how remarkable her full sister Gracie was; although she could not feed her, she took over all other mothering duties straight away. The full story of Amazing Grace is on my website in the History pages. Gloria went on to win in the County Show ring, she won her class at the Three Counties show 5 years in a row, taking the Championship twice and Reserve Championship once.

Gracie herself was unbeaten in foal and yearling in-hand classes. Her winning streak started at 5 weeks old when she won the Irish Draught foal class at the Royal Show and she has never looked back. Gracie has now given me some lovely foals: her first by Maggie’s TB stallion Birthright was a filly, Vera, and I then bred three foals by Crosstown Dancer, the Irish Grade A showjumping RID. This cross produced Avanti Amorous Archie in 2001, whom I have kept, Avanti Gutsy Gordon in 2002 and in 2003, Avanti Flirty Gerty, who were both sold. Gracie’s foals have been winners too, and she took Reserve in the Snowford Breeders’ Championship twice, first with Gordon at foot, then with Gerty, there having been no championship the year Archie was born.

That brings us on to Archie, born in 2001, the Foot and Mouth year, so there were not many shows to attend, but the shows he was entered in, he won, even taking the Irish Draught Championship at the Three Counties Show as a foal, beating all the pure-bred and Sport Horses, in the days of very large classes. Archie followed in his yummy mummy’s foot steps and went on to be unbeaten in foal and yearling classes; there were no classes for 2 year old colts then. His wins are too numerous to mention but include as a foal Three Counties, Midlands Breed Show and the IDHS (GB) Annual Breed show, at which he took Champion Colt Foal. As a yearling in 2002, he was 1st and Reserve Champion at the Royal Show, the Midlands and the IDHS (GB) Annual Breed show.

Archie started his ridden career at 4 years old, taking 1st and Reserve Champion on only his second time out, at the Midlands Breed show. He won the 4 to 7 year olds Ridden class at the Annual Breed show and was the highest placed stallion in the performance class the same year; and he qualified for the Blue Chip Championship that year and the following year. In 2005 Archie, his full brother Gordon and another sport horse by Crosstown Dancer won the Progeny class at the Royal Show.

Archie has hunted with the Enfield Chase and Cambridgeshire , ridden by Natalie Huttlova; she has also completed the RAF Halton Ride, jumping all but one jump, including the aeroplane. For two years running, Natalie and Archie took part in the ‘Canter for a Cure’ ride at Milton Keynes Equestrian Centre, raising many hundreds of pounds for breast cancer research. Archie now competes at British Dressage with Edward Johnson, coming 2nd in his 1st ever elementary and winning his 2nd at present he has 104 BD points.

Archie has progeny in the UK, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

Archie along with his dam Gracie and full aunt Gloria have brought so much fun and happiness into my life and have helped to heal the wounds left by losing Alice.

Long live the Irish Draught horse, the best breed of horse in the world!

www.avantistud.com