Page 12 - IDHSNA 2016 Annual Blarney

Reflections From Dublin
Reflections from the Dublin Horse Show - BY DENNY EMERSON
long before I was invited to judge some classes at the
Dublin horse show last July, 2016, I had owned, com-
peted, and stood at stud numerous horses which were
rID crossed with thoroughbred, what I think of as “Irish sport
horses.”
When I was on the uset three Day team in 1974, at the
Dauntsey Park, england event, I won a division on the rID cross,
Irish Warrior, donated to the team by Patrick Butler.
It was the first american victory on that foray which ended
with the uset winning the World championship gold medal.
later, I stood a stallion named “forfeit” whose dam, fru, another
rID cross, had been on the Irish show jumping team. my friend,
michael Page, won the individual bronze medal on fru’s full
brother, “foster,” at the 1968 mexico olympics. I rode around
rolex on “griffin,” a son of forfeit, in 1993.
In 2001, as a sixtieth birthday present to myself, I bought loftus
fox in Ireland, and rode him at the preliminary level for about
ten years, to fulfill my goal to ride in events at the preliminary
level or higher for fifty straight seasons.
Ibought the stallion “formula one,” also a rID thoroughbred
cross , in county clare, and he has now sired mrs. mars’ four
star event horse “landmark’s monte carlo.”
In other words, I knew what to expect when I got to Dublin –
strongly made Irish breds with enough rID blood to provide
strength, bone, sound hooves, a steady temperament, and a
bold, generous disposition when crossed with the thoroughbred
or the connemara.
Thank you to all of our members! There would be no breed organization without you!
10 IrIsh Draught horse socIety of North amerIca | 2016 aNNual BlarNey eDItIoN
of course I’d heard all the stories about how many Irish breed-
ers had basically “abandoned” their traditional roots, choos-
ing to go the continental european route of using the various
warmblood breeds to provide the outcross on the thoroughbred,
eschewing the proven formula of rID as the “heavy” piece of
the equation.
and since this is the “elephant in the room” for rID breeders
and enthusiasts, I will cut to the chase.
for upper level dressage, let’s face reality, the dressage bred
warmblood is the best way to go. Period, paragraph, end of
statement.
for upper level show jumping, there are still Irish holdouts, but
the betting man would place his money on the vast machinery of
germany, holland, france and Belgium, churning out huge num-
bers of custom bred for jumping, mainly warmblood crosses.
upper level eventing, long the bastion of the rID/thor-
oughbred cross, has been changed dramatically into a
sport where dressage has become increasingly impor-
tant, and where the plucky “all day stayer” is less of a basic ne-
cessity. this opens the door to more fancy moving warmbloods.
so, where does this leave the rID? Well, I would go head first,
directly at the reason so many of us got “smitten” by the breed
to begin with. What did we like? What did we want? What did
we need?
I can’t speak for all of you, but I can speak for myself. I like,
want and need a sound, sane, athletic horse who when I ask
him to perform some task is likely to say, “yes I can. yes I will,”