Family out to show Irish Draught’s versatility

The Websters have had a 16-year love affair with the charming breed

Breeding horses for other people to enjoy and showing off the versatility of the Irish Draught breed is a passion for the Webster family from Abernethy near Perth.

Brothers Allan and Ogilvy and Ogilvy’s daughter, Julie, run the Laighlands Stud at about 700 feet above sea level near Glenfarg, where the horses are kept outside in a natural environment.

Their love affair with the breed began 16 years ago when they bought their first mare at Cavan in Ireland, but before that they became aware of their performance potential when Julie successfully showjumped an Irish Draft stallion by Clover Hill.

Enniskein Duchess was the foundation mare and bred some lovely foals including Laighlands Countess, which is now a premium mare with her new owners.

The Laighlands mares and youngstock, and even their two impressive stallions, are very people-friendly and gentle and much of the credit for this goes to the Websters for the way they handle their stock from an early age.

“The first winter is crucial for their education; weaned foals are kept inside and taught manners and how to lead, which sets them up for life,” said Allan

Ogilvy added: “We show most of them as yearlings because it teaches them to load in a horsebox and introduces them to new sights and sounds at agricultural shows.

“Our aim is to prove how versatile the Irish Draught is and Laighlands horses are now doing well at all disciplines with people from all over the UK.”

The brothers have four mares and Julie has one of her own but they are not all put in foal every year.

Classic Scott, known as Brodie at home, by the Grade A showjumper Classic Vision and out of a Golden Warrier mare, was bought at Cavan as a foal. Now 11, he is proving himself in the performance stakes, as are his progeny.

Brodie competes successfully at British Dressage, British Showjumping and cross country.

He is regularly ridden and competed by local vet, Camilla Church, who, along with her colleague Ruth Adam, saw the horses on a regular visit and now the two girls are involved with bringing on youngsters and competing.

Julie, who used to showjump to international standard as a junior and young rider, also competes the five-year-old Laighlands Glenfiddich.

She has hung up her jumping boots now but enjoys showing, coming supreme hunter champion at Campsie Show, and dressage, gaining more than 80% at prelim dressage competitions.

“The interest we have now in our horses is, I am sure, down to people seeing them out and about competing in every sphere,” she said.

The second stallion at Laighlands is their home-bred seven-year-old Laighlands Bonnie Laddie, a big, more traditional stamp of a stallion by Ebony Hill, he is producing big, upstanding foals with lots of bone and excellent temperaments.

Allan and Ogilvy used to have a building business, Websters Building Supplies in Milnathort, but they have always had an interest in horses.

Since they sold the business and bought 60 acres of hill above Binn Farm, they have spent a lot of time improving the ground and building stables.

Allan said: “The whole place was covered in gorse and most of it is pretty steep but there is about 20 acres right at the top of the hill where we dug out all the gorse, ploughed the land and reseeded. We now take haylage off this to feed the horses through the winter.”

The family also farm the land, and buy in store cattle and sheep every year to finish.

Apart from the stallions and the weaned foals, everything else spends its life outside.

Youngsters, if not sold, are backed at three then turned away and brought back into work at four years old.

Julie said: “People seem to like to buy them either very young or once they are up and going.

“We just want them to go to good homes and I keep in touch with all the new owners.”

Pictures: Steve MacDougall. From left: Ogilvy, Julie and Allan Webster with some of their stock.

The family are now seeing much interest in their horses.