I’m looking to breed my thoroughbred mare in hopes of raising my next event prospect. Ideally the baby would be competing 2*. Would you recommend a Full RID stallion or an ISH Stallion? Would love to hear your opinions and also your favorite studs of both breeds. Thanks!
A full RID would probably be too heavy for eventing at upper levels - its a toss up which way they’ll come out when you breed and could be more TB but not worth the risk if you’re breeding for a keeper
An ISH is a horse that’s bred in Ireland, not essentially a horse with RID bloodlines, that would be an Irish Draught Sport Horse.
Favorite studs based where or do you not care about location?
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ISH is generally better for the upper levels. If you wanted a Novice/Training horse, I would say to use an ID. Many 1/2 ID horses are too heavy for the upper levels, although there are exceptions. I have seen quite a few IDSH’s who were sired by Carrick Diamond Lad who is in Ireland. Even though he is ID, he throws lighter foals who do well at the upper levels. One of the Italian team horses at WEG was by Carrick Diamond Lad. You can probably find a video of him online. If you are interested in Carrick Diamond Lad semen, email his owner in Ireland. I have no idea if he ships semen to the US.
By ISH I meant IDSH…a stud that is half RID. Preferably in the US or one that very easily ships semen to here
Check out Flagmount’s Freedom. Half RID, so offspring are 1/4. He competed to ** and did * with a young rider. Also competed up to * barefoot. Owner is a vet and great to work with. Offspring are doing well. He is located in TX and does AI.
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My favorite statistic - at the HK Olympics where the horse events were held, of the top 15 eventers, seven were Irish bred.
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We are LOVING our 3/4 TB - 1/4 Irish horses. Look and move like a TB…with a little softer “Irish attitude”. A lot easier to get along with than pure TB’s, but more speed and agility than 1/2 Irish.
He’s my top pick 
Saw him at his IDHSNA inspection earlier this fall. Yummy!
Nice!
Were they that way the whole time, or did they need to mature to a certain age? I have a 3/4 TB 1/4 Irish boy, sire is Coronea Loughlin (sp), and he is nine and finally acting like he has a brain. Maybe in a more serious home, but… he is flighty, reactive, and sensitive. Hoping he’ll grow out of it.
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Unless my recollection is faulty, which it may very well be, that sireline, at least in Ireland, was always known for producing “pro ride”, but very talented, horses.
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That makes sense based on what I Googled and some of the related horses (O’Connor’s Custom Made and Coronea Loughine (I checked)) are half-brothers). Don’t get me wrong, he is a good boy with an excellent work ethic, but he’ll probably never be a get-on-for-a-quiet-hack horse. Thanks for confirming what a kind of knew :yes: I love him enough to be in love with Irish horses now though.
If you see anything by Mountain Pearl (he is now back in Ireland) I’d almost guarantee a good temperament. There are a number up here and each and every one is wonderful. Don’t know where any of them are now, but would be interested to know.
Absolutely! I have a MP daughter who carts my 58 yo arse around the Low Adult Jumpers. The only intact, approved son of MP I know of is Bridon Beale Street in CA. He’s a purebred. Wonderful horse with lots of progeny competing.
I would choose a Connemara or ISH before ID. We are crossing our own Connemara Stallion Blue almost exclusively on Thoroughbred mares and getting some excellent prospects. Most are in the 16-16.2 hand range so not small either. Blues oldest offspring was Reserve Champion in the West Coast Future Event Horse Championships with an excellent 83%. Was 3rd highest scoring colt in the 2yo Division Nationally.
As someone who competes in CA, I’ve seen a couple of Bridon Beale Street sons/daughters competing and for sale here, and I personally do not think the ones I’ve seen look like they’d be light enough for upper level eventing. Obviously this is based on a general impression at shows or in sale ads, so take it with a grain of salt, but just one person’s two cents! I don’t know about these specific horse’s breeding in any detail, so maybe the ones I’ve seen were out of a heavier built dam, and I will say that I’m more of a thoroughbred girl, so might not be to my taste either. I know that he competed to Intermediate and he’s definitely a nice looking stallion though, just something to consider!
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He has always seemed like such a good-natured horse. I remember when he was young and first starting out, I believe Janet was riding him, and we were all standing around waiting for stadium rounds- this large young stallion and a bunch PC kids on ponies. The kids were all google-eyed at him because he was this handsome dark dappled grey at that time, so we were making conversation with his rider. When she told us that he was a young stallion, we did a double take. We saw him out and about numerous times in Area V and never saw him misbehave once.
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There is (now a gelding) by Mountain Pearl. He sired a number of foals up here in BC - each and every one has an impeccable temperament, style and boldness. His name is To Be Sure and he is ISH/TB, so crossed with aTB you get a 3/4 TB. His daughter (To Be True) went intermediate. There may be semen available.
