Next up in the Producer Series, I chat with Ger O’Sullivan – aka DOS Sport Horses, who will be no stranger to many in the equine industry.  Ger is a respected member of the equine industry, known to many worldwide.  Here, I chat with him about his thoughts on how Ireland compares to other countries, the changing requirements of clients and he gives a fascinating insight into changing demands and how Ireland could just do better for those whose livelihood is with horses:

Firstly – tell us who you are and a little bit about what you do and the type of horses you specialize in:

Ger O Sullivan from Clonakilty in West Cork. I am a Sport Horse breeder. I got my love of horses from my dad who was also a breeder and in hand showing mares, foals & young horses. The prefix we use for our horses is DOS Sport Horses.

In 2012, we sold a foal to Mattias Gardlund of Gardlund Equestrian in Sweden. This transaction has led to many visits to each other’s homes and lengthy discussions on horses & breeding. During one such discussion, we spoke about the need to upgrade our mares. This resulted in us setting up a partnership with Mattias & importing 2 mares from Sweden, both had jumped to a high level. One of these mares is a half-sister to a World Cup winning mare. We are now specialising in breeding nice sport horses for the eventing & show jumping market. The prefix we use for this partnership is CV Sport Horses.

From primarily researching this series of articles and chatting to different individuals in the equine sector, it seems that horses – just like so many other industries in Ireland are taking a financial hit, money is not as freely available and the cost of living increase seems to be having a detrimental effect – what are your thoughts or insight into this?

Yes, for sure the cost-of-living is having a huge effect on horse breeding. The continuing costs from vets, feed, diesel are all effecting the breeder and owner. The most important thing for the breeder is to breed animals required for the market. If we continue to breed for the market, we will get new homes for foals, otherwise, we have to keep them and try sell them as young horses in sales. Increasing the cost to the breeder.

Something I hear a lot of people talk about is the ever rising cost of entry fees on top of the cost of diesel/petrol to get to shows. As a producer of horses, are you noticing this? I would imagine with the number of horses you breed – want to produce or be seen, this effects that?

We don’t produce that many horses, but from our partnership with Gardlund Equestrian in Sweden, I know they can claim VAT back on all expenses from entry fees, fuel to your lunch at a show, everything you pay out for your business can be put against expenses and claim back the VAT.

Have you seen a change in potential buyers? Is the interest and opportunity still around to buy horses? Do you find that the Irish market is holding its own against the UK and foreign markets? Is the interest in Irish horses still external – are there as many going overseas?

The biggest change I have seen in the UK market is it is mostly professional dealers are coming to buy here. They are looking for a horse with more potential than the leisure market. They have told me that in the UK the Re-homing of Racehorses Charity are giving retired racehorse to people in the leisure industry. In the last 15 years there is in excess of 20,000 racehorses re-homed. This has a had a huge impact on our market. The confirmation of the thoroughbred horse is not conducive to the leisure horse requirements. The neck is much heavier out of their chest, the head neck connection is also heavy meaning they can’t be pulled into a shape as easily as a purpose bred sport horse.

Would you say that the price and value on horses has changed in recent times?

Certainly, the horses with more potential are making higher prices than they have in previous years. The introduction of the Go For Gold and the Monart Sale has helped, but the horses required for that are not as plentiful as they need to be. Breeders need to breed more for the sport than they have been and definitely need to breed more blood.

Has the type of horse that your clientele are looking for changed at all?

Definitely the type of horse people are looking for has changed and continues to change on an annual basis. The sport changes every year therefore the horse needs to change also. It is impossible to breed for the high-end sport at the moment because of these changes. You have to have a horse that has good temperament, good blood, has good movement and athleticism, these traits will take them a long way in the sport. A lot of Irish horses don’t have enough blood for the high-end sport and this needs to be dealt with if that is your market.

Do you have concerns for the industry going forward unless things improve?

Yes, I do have concerns for the industry, the main one being the impossibility for us as breeders to get black type on our mares like thoroughbred mares. We are constantly listening to buyers of foals or young horses saying their pedigree isn’t good enough or the dam hasn’t done this or that. In Ireland, we don’t have a system by which a good performance dam line can be created with our young mares. Two top breeders ( & there are many more) in this country that come to mind now, Marian Hughes & Greg Broderick, are taking their horses abroad and jumping them in CSI 2 & 3 star shows. They just need to jump clear in a couple of these shows and get black type. This is what creates the good pedigree. This needs to be addressed in Ireland.

How do you feel Ireland compares to the rest of Europe and the UK for people like yourself – in terms of opportunities and facilities/competitions for the horses?

Unfortunately, Ireland is a long way behind the UK & Europe when it comes to facilities and competitions. All over the world the equine sport industry is a 12-month sport, in Ireland it seems to be just 6 months!

While we have plenty good indoor & outdoor arenas in Ireland, but they do not cater sufficiently for the spectator or sponsor. On the island of Ireland, we have 25 racetracks with the best of facilities in all of them being used possibly 10 times a year. These facilities are consumer friendly with restaurants, bars, toilet facilities, tarmac walkways, parking, stables, everything to make them user & family friendly.

The sport horse industry and horse racing industry are governed by the same department so it should be possible and easy to connect the two and have the facilities made available to the sport horse industry on a regular basis for 12 months. We have 3 or 4 CSI shows in the year. We need to get more shows on a regular basis. This is where Horse Sport Ireland, Showjumping Ireland & Eventing Ireland should all come together to create the sport for the spectator. This would increase sponsorship and all the benefits would follow on.

Is there anything that bodies like Horse Sport Ireland/Show Jumping Ireland or even the Government could be doing to help the equestrians of Ireland in your opinion?

I would include Eventing Ireland also as they all have a role to play in improving the industry. They don’t need to try and change the wheel; it has already been invented and is very successful! They need to assess young horses for the high-end sport, the same as every other stud book in the world. The better horses are given the better marks, the mares get a merit which is a huge benefit for the sometimes-forgotten breeder. The Government could reduce or abolish rates. In Sweeden unlike here, sport facilities don’t pay rates. So equestrian centres don’t have rates on their buildings. In Munster some of the equestrian centres have rates ranging from €50,000 to €100,000 just to turn on the lights. If rates were abolished the facility owner could use half the money, they would pay on rates to improve there facility. While the other half goes back to the sport to run more competitions etc. The facility owners are being drained all the time between rates and insurance costs. In my opinion, if the rates were abolished and VAT could be claimed back it would give a great incentive to strengthen and grow our industry. The Horse Sport Ireland, Show Jumping Ireland & Eventing Ireland could lobby the government to bring these systems in.

Finally – if you could change one thing in the Irish Equine Industry – what would it be – and why?

If I could, I would introduce more mare classes, especially for 4- & 5-year-old mares. A good system they have abroad is if a filly has a foal with a 4-year-old, she can jump the following year as a 5-year-old in the 4-year-old classes. Ireland has the same but after that the mare jumps in her age group. In Sweeden they have the same system, but it continues until 7-year-old. In addition to this the mare can get free qualification into the top shows as a 6-year-old and 7-year-old, which is of huge benefit to any breeder and producer. The Irish Equine Industry is so vast and so diverse, from local horse trails & cheval rides right up to the top-class showjumping and everything in-between. I would like the industry to concentrate more on the Olympic disciplines, assess and benchmark the animals against the top sport horses in the world. This would result in categorising each section and the breeder aiming to produce the best in each category.