For optimum performance

WORLD Championship eventing silver medalist Padraig McCarthy and wellknown Irish horse producer Tiernan Gill are among a host of key speakers for the HSI International Breeding Conference at the Keadeen Hotel in Newbridge on Thursday (10.30am).

The conference will address breeding choices/ bloodlines, production, management and preparation of competition horses for optimum performance.

It is a must-attend for all equine professionals, breeders, riders, coaches, equine students, researchers and anyone with an interest in the future development of the Irish sport horse industry.

It promises to be a thought-provoking day with Christopher Bartle, Jens Meyer, Dr Alan Fahey, Bert van den Oetelaar and William Micklem also due to give their views regarding breeding the top sport horses of the future.

Padraig McCarthy spent close to a decade show jumping and training horses of all levels at different stables around Europe and in the USA before making the decision to go to university.

He then turned his hand to eventing and within five years rose to world championship level from his base in the UK.

Tiernan Gill is perhaps best known in equestrian circles for his RDS showing expertise. In 2004 he took his first supreme young horse championship with Flogas Marbella.

Instructor

More recently he has sourced foals in Holland, and more than 60pc of his purchases have gone on to be competed internationally up to 1.50m level.

William Micklem is a world-renowned coach and author and breeder of sport horses.

Having passed his BHSI in 1973, William went to work as chief instructor for Robert Hall in both Fulmer, England, and Pepperell, USA, which is when he began a lifetime equestrian association with Karen O’Connor.

He also started training the Irish junior and young rider horse trials teams and designed Ireland’s renowned Golden Saddle Scheme for top young competition riders from dressage, show jumping and horse trials.

William passed his Fellowship of the British Horse Society in 1981. In 1987, he took up the position as training director at the Gleneagles Mark Phillips Equestrian Centre in Scotland.

He began to write more intensively, culminating with the publication by Dorling Kindersley of

The Complete Horse Riding Manual.

The event will also host the Horse Sport Ireland’s annual breeders’ awards, a celebration of the breeders whose horses were particularly successful throughout 2018.

Priced at €25 (to include lunch), tickets are pre-paid only and places must be booked in advance.

Places will be allocated in a first-come, firstserved basis at: horsesportireland.ie/ breeding/breeding-events